Science X Newsletter Friday, May 29

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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for May 29, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Human in chatbot mode: Interface study explores perceptions
- Memory shape alloy can be bent 10 million times and still snaps back
- Cheetah robot lands the running jump (w/ Video)
- New 'designer carbon' boosts battery performance
- Mechanism for aprotic sodium-air batteries
- Team invents microscopic sonic screwdriver
- Herschel's hunt for filaments in the Milky Way
- New technique harnesses everyday seismic waves to image the Earth
- Chemical deterrent from snow fleas identified
- Little-known quake, tsunami hazards lurk offshore of Southern California
- Researchers identify less-invasive method for kidney diagnostics
- Alzheimer's culprit causes memory loss even before brain degeneration
- Researchers engineer E. coli to produce new forms of popular antibiotic
- Genetic biomarker may predict cancer patients' response to immunotherapy drug
- New lab can create hurricane conditions on demand

Astronomy & Space news

	How comets were assembled Rosetta's target "Chury" and other comets observed by space missions show common evidence of layered structures and bi-lobed shapes. With 3D computer simulations Martin Jutzi of PlanetS at the University of Bern was able to reconstruct the formation of these features as a result of gentle collisions and mergers. The study has now been published online in the journal Science Express.
	Microbes can survive in meteorites if shielded from UV radiation, study says Outer space might be the toughest environment for life, but some hearty microbes have been able to survive in it for surprising amounts of time. How long they can do so and why they are able to withstand the difficulties of space remains a topic of controversy.
	Herschel's hunt for filaments in the Milky Way Observations with ESA's Herschel space observatory have revealed that our Galaxy is threaded with filamentary structures on every length scale. From nearby clouds hosting tangles of filaments a few light-years long to gigantic structures stretching hundreds of light-years across the Milky Way's spiral arms, they appear to be truly ubiquitous. The Herschel data have rekindled the interest of astronomers in studying filaments, emphasising the crucial role of these structures in the process of star formation.
	Sharp-eyed ALMA spots a flare on famous red giant star Super-sharp observations with the telescope ALMA have revealed what seems to be a gigantic flare on the surface of Mira, one of the closest and most famous red giant stars in the sky. Activity like this in red giants—similar to what we see in the Sun—comes as a surprise to astronomers. The discovery could help explain how winds from giant stars make their contribution to our galaxy's ecosystem.
	Cassini prepares for last up-close look at Hyperion NASA's Cassini spacecraft will make its final close approach to Saturn's large, irregularly shaped moon Hyperion on Sunday, May 31.
	Orion heat shield analysis work nears conclusion at NASA's Marshall Center The harsh buzz of powered cutting tools reverberates in the close air of Building 4705 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, as a dozen or so technicians and engineers work to remove burnt ablative material—the incinerated outer layer of a spacecraft's heat shield—from the massive, dish-shaped structure at the center of the facility.
	Image: Giant filaments on the face of the sun say "keep right" Is the sun trying to send a message? A pair of giant filaments on the face of the sun have formed what appears to be an enormous arrow pointing to the right. If straightened out, each filament would be about as long as the sun's diameter, 1 million miles long.
	What is lunar regolith? When you're walking around on soft ground, do you notice how your feet leave impressions? Perhaps you've tracked some of the looser earth in your yard into the house on occasion? If you were to pick up some of these traces – what we refer to as dirt or soil – and examine them beneath a microscope, what would you see?
	NASA orders first ever commercial human spaceflight mission from Boeing The restoration of America's ability to launch American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) from American soil in 2017 took a major step forward when NASA ordered the first ever commercial human spaceflight mission from Boeing.
	What was here before the solar system? The solar system is old. Like, dial-up-fax-machine-old. 4.6 billion years to be specific. The solar system has nothing on the universe. It's been around for 13.8 billion years, give or take a few hundred million. That means the universe is three times older than the solar system.
	The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope: Unlocking the secrets of dark matter and dark energy At a traditional stone-laying ceremony outside La Serena, Chile on April 14th, construction officially began of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). This ambitious international astrophysics project is slated to start scanning the heavens in 2022. When it does, LSST should open up the "dark universe" of dark matter and dark energy—the unseen substance and force, respectively, composing 95 percent of the universe's mass and energy—as never before.

Technology news

	Human in chatbot mode: Interface study explores perceptions Researchers Kevin Corti and Alex Gillespie of the London School of Economics and Political Science are delving into interesting human interface territory. If a "real" person speaks with chatbot answers, will it affect the other person's perception of what is artificial intelligence and what is not AI? Would human delivery of a chatbot system makes a difference in how people perceive AI?
	Mechanism for aprotic sodium-air batteries The automobile industry has been interested in finding batteries that allow electric cars to travel at a comparable distance to gas-powered cars. Currently, electric cars use a lithium ion battery, but there is interest in a metal battery that uses air as the cathode because the battery would not need to house the cathode solution. Originally, researchers focused on lithium-air batteries because energy density is similar to gasoline. However, several technical barriers have stymied progress with lithium-air batteries.
	Cheetah robot lands the running jump (w/ Video) In a leap for robot development, the MIT researchers who built a robotic cheetah have now trained it to see and jump over hurdles as it runs—making this the first four-legged robot to run and jump over obstacles autonomously.
	Project Jacquard to weave interactivity into textiles "Wearables" represents a broad-category of how we will interact with the digital world away from our laptop screens. It embraces arm bands, socks, bracelets, rings and watches. Google is now enhancing that spectrum, having done some serious playtime exploring fabric. Welcome to Project Jacquard, which Google announced at this year's I/O developer conference in California.
	Software designed to plan NASA space missions applied to online advertising Ever opened a webpage to see an advertisement that's pertinent to your recent search history? Perhaps you've recently browsed online for a new car, and opened a webpage to see an ad for that specific make and model.
	Engineers debut adhesive material based on gecko feet A promising new adhesive material was born out of a scrap.
	Rumor-detection software IDs disputed claims on Twitter A week after the Boston marathon bombing, hackers sent a bogus tweet from the official Twitter handle of the Associated Press. It read: "Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured."
After security scandal, a tech firm says it's changing focus A Silicon Valley startup says it's shutting down operations and shifting to a new business model after it was blamed earlier this year for turning unwitting computer users into targets for annoying web ads—and hackers.
	Apple buys a maker of futuristic augmented-reality software Apple has bought a company that makes augmented-reality software, which adds information or images to real-world scenes when viewed through a special headset or even a smartphone camera.
	Cognitive radio technology optimises use of scarce spectrum As the number and variety of smartphones and other connected devices keeps growing, the need for radio spectrum grows with it. Cognitive radio technology developed under the EU-funded QOSMOS project could help meet these needs while controlling telecom costs, improving service and driving the development of new markets.
	Lasers are the key to mastering challenges in lightweight construction Many joining and cutting processes are possible only with lasers. New technologies make it possible to manufacture metal components with hollow structures that are significantly lighter and yet just as stable as solid components. In addition, lasers can be used to combine various lightweight construction materials and steels with each other. The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen is presenting a range of such solutions at the LASER World of Photonics trade fair from June 22 to 25, 2015 in Munich, Germany..
	Return of the 'snooper's charter' reflects a worldwide move towards greater surveillance Returned to government with a majority and free of their coalition partners, the UK Conservative Party presses on with its signature policies, including curbs on immigration and banning legal highs – and a renewed effort to pass a "snooper's charter" bill of increased surveillance powers.
	Mathematician designs social sustainability software Edgar Antonio Valdés Porras has designed a software and service-oriented theoretical methodology supporting sustainability for cities, which if implemented, would increase economic impact points and infrastructure in Mexico and the Netherlands.
	App data vulnerability threatens millions of users Researchers of the Technische Universität Darmstadt and Fraunhofer SIT have investigated Cloud databases and established: developers wrongly use authentications for cloud services thereby threatening millions of user accounts which become susceptible to attack.
Equinix to buy data center operator TelecityGroup for $3.3B Data center Equinix will bulk up its presence in Europe through the acquisition of British counterpart TelecityGroup in a cash-and-stock deal valued at around $3.3 billion.
	Microsoft Research project can interpret, caption photos If you're surfing the web and you come across a photo of the Mariners' Felix Hernandez on the pitchers' mound at Safeco Field, chances are you'll quickly interpret that you are looking at a picture of a baseball player on a field preparing to throw a pitch.
	Silk Road website mastermind faces lengthy jail term The American convicted of masterminding criminal website Silk Road, which sold $200 million worth of drugs to customers all over the world using digital currency Bitcoin, will be jailed Friday.
	Snapchat gets $537 million in fresh funding Snapchat on Friday informed US regulators that it has raised $537 million in a new round of equity funding that could climb as high as $650 million.
Amazon ups Ohio jobs to 1,000, begins collecting sales taxes Amazon has announced a Midwest expansion in Ohio that will include 1,000 well-paying jobs over the next several years.
	The top 10 highest-paid female CEOs Female CEOs are outpacing their male colleagues in pay, although they remain vastly outnumbered in the top echelons of American companies.
	Managing the "Internet of Things Researchers in Hong Kong have developed a software platform designed to manage and control devices for "Internet of Things" (IoT) systems. The platform can be tailored for everything from city management sensors and devices to controlling home appliances.
Doctor evidence brings valuable health data to IBM Watson ecosystem Today, Doctor Evidence, a clinical health research data provider, announced a content partnership with IBM Watson to contribute valuable clinical cancer research content to Watson's oncology solutions and developer ecosystem. The partnership is part of IBM's work to help the medical community advance patient-centered care through its new Watson Health unit.

Medicine & Health news

	Brain wave study shows how different teaching methods affect reading development Beginning readers who focus on letter-sound relationships, or phonics, instead of trying to learn whole words, increase activity in the area of their brains best wired for reading, according to new Stanford research investigating how the brain responds to different types of reading instruction.
	Networking neurons thrive in 3-D human 'organoid' A patient tormented by suicidal thoughts gives his psychiatrist a few strands of his hair. She derives stem cells from them to grow budding brain tissue harboring the secrets of his unique illness in a petri dish. She uses the information to genetically engineer a personalized treatment to correct his brain circuit functioning. Just Sci-fi? Yes, but...
	Genetic biomarker may predict cancer patients' response to immunotherapy drug In a report of a proof-of-principle study of patients with colon and other cancers for whom standard therapies failed, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say that mistakes in so-called mismatch repair genes, first identified by Johns Hopkins and other scientists two decades ago, may accurately predict who will respond to certain immunotherapy drugs known as PD-1 inhibitors. Such drugs aim to disarm systems developed by cancer cells to evade detection and destruction by immune system cells.
	Alzheimer's culprit causes memory loss even before brain degeneration The study, published May 29 in the open access Nature Publishing Group journal Scientific Reports, reveals a direct link between the main culprit of Alzheimer's disease and memory loss.
	Parental smoking puts nearly half a million UK children into poverty Smoking is not only bad for your health; it also puts 400,000 children in poverty. Smoking places a financial burden on low income families, suggesting that parents are likely to forgo basic household and food necessities in order to fund their addiction, according to UK research published in the open access journal BMC Public Health.
	Knowing when infant tummy troubles may be serious Spitting up and occasional constipation are unfortunate – yet normal – facts of life for most infants.
	One in five women with breast cancer don't know about test results that might help them avoid chemo Although 90 percent of women with early-stage breast cancer said they were aware they took a genomic test that identified their level of risk for a recurrence of the disease, one in five didn't know the results of that analysis, according to a new fact sheet by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
	School lunchbox inspections 'perverse' A University of Queensland health expert has labelled the practice of inspecting children's lunchboxes at school as both "perverse" and unlikely to improve children's health.
	Measuring kidney health could better predict heart disease risk Simple measures of kidney function and damage may be just as good at predicting who is at risk for heart failure and death from heart attack and stroke as traditional tests of cholesterol levels and blood pressure, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health-led research suggests.
	Personalized saline may provide solution to heart death Saline solution is a staple of every hospital. No matter the ailment, doctors have known for more than a century that saline is key to keeping patients hydrated and maintaining their blood pressure levels. But the solution could do more, according to Steven Poelzing, an associate professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.
	Researchers help biomed company land FDA approval for Ebola detection Researchers from LLNL and three other institutions have assisted a Bay Area biomedical company in advancing its Ebola virus detection test for use.
	A simple diagnostic test to detect tuberculosis in humans Tuberculosis (TB) represents a growing worldwide healthcare burden. Second only to HIV in terms of its global impact, TB infected 8.5 million people and caused 1.4 million deaths in 2011. If these statistics are to improve, early detection is critical.
	Changing activity in the ageing brain Normal ageing affects our ability to carry out complex cognitive tasks. But exactly how our brain functions change during this process is largely unknown. Now, researchers in Malaysia have demonstrated that ageing changes the activity patterns in specific brain regions involved in memory and cognition.
	Life-prolonging protein could inhibit ageing diseases Researchers have found a molecule that plays a key link between dietary restriction and longevity in mammals. This discovery may lead to the development of new therapies to inhibit age-related diseases.
	Researchers in Hong Kong have developed new technology that enables safer and more frequent screenings for scoliosis. Scoliosis is a medical condition that is defined as a three-dimensional spine deformity with curvature of more than ten degrees in the coronal plane (a vertical plane that divides the body into its front and back halves). For young teenagers, the condition – known as adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) – can progress to a large curvature that is six times greater than that in people above 16 years of age, as their bodies are still in the process of developing and hence are more vulnerable to curvature.
	Leading-edge diabetes treatment program hits milestone An Edmonton health care team has cemented its status as global leaders in a groundbreaking diabetes treatment.
	A new perspective on Phantom Eye Syndrome Researchers from the University of Liverpool have found that approximately half of patients who have an eye removed because of a form of eye cancer experience `phantom eye syndrome.'
	Research proposes new way to reverse resistance to chemotherapy A serious medical problem that oncologists face is multi-drug resistant cancers. In order to address this issue, Guillermo Aquino-Jarquín from the Children's Hospital Federico Gómez of Mexico, seeks expression profiles and characterization of small molecules that regulate proteins involved in multi-drug resistance, thus reversing their negative effects.
	Even moderate BMI reduction could ease A-fib burden (HealthDay)—Incremental increases in body mass index (BMI) are associated with excess risk of incident, postoperative, and post-ablation atrial fibrillation (AF), according to a review published online May 27 in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology.
	Excess weight linked to worse prostate cancer prognosis (HealthDay)—Radiation therapy for prostate cancer may be less effective for overweight and obese men than for men of normal weight, a new study suggests.
Restricting firearms access for people who misuse alcohol may prevent violence Restricting access to firearms for people who misuse alcohol could prevent firearm violence, but policies that more clearly define alcohol misuse should be developed to facilitate enforcement, according to a review of existing research and public policies by the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program.
	Footpaths and parks support active school commute While it probably won't make the idea of attending school more appealing social scientists say different infrastructure and behaviour change programs are key to encouraging young people to take a more active route to school.
	Combined drug treatment combats kidney disease A recent discovery by drug researchers whereby coupling specific cell membrane receptors has altered kidney cell function has triggered a re-think of how to treat chronic kidney disease (CKD) more effectively.
Adolescent medicine expert helps parents share the dangers of e-cigarettes with teens Though many think e-cigarettes are helping to reduce the number of smokers in the US, research is showing the opposite is true when it comes to teens. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released data showing that in just one year the number of middle and high school students using e-cigarettes has tripled.
Charcot foot operations help diabetes patients walk normally again A growing number of diabetics are being diagnosed with a debilitating foot deformity called Charcot foot.
	Psychologist finds link between PTSD and prison Americans who spend time in prison are nearly twice as likely to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder than those who don't, according to a new study by UWM psychology professor Shawn Cahill and his graduate students.
Antibiotic approved for treating infant abdominal infections The antibiotic meropenem was approved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration for treating abdominal infections in children less than 3 months of age. The approval came after a study by a National Institutes of Health research network evaluated the drug in treating children in this age group.
Race influences warfarin dose, study says A new report demonstrates that clinical and genetic factors affecting dose requirements for warfarin vary by race. The study, published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), proposes race-specific equations to help clinicians better calculate warfarin dosage.
Social work researchers create easier, accurate way to analyze TSCC trauma results The 54-question Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Children (TSCC) has been used for decades to test how trauma affects youth in hopes of developing the best treatment and support possible. But interpreting the results can be labor intensive and difficult because the work is done manually and involves a complex matrix from which to draw conclusions.
Study shows colorectal cancer genetically different in older and younger patients While the overall rate of colorectal cancer (CRC) is declining, CRC specifically among young patients is increasing. Previous studies have shown that CRC in patients younger than 50 years old tends to be more aggressive than CRC in older patients. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in conjunction with the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2015 offers early evidence of genetic differences between CRC in young and old patients, possibly pointing toward different treatments and strategies in combating the young form of the disease.
Altered pain processing in patients with cognitive impairment People with dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment (CI) have altered responses to pain, with many conditions associated with increased pain sensitivity, concludes a research review in Pain, the official publication of the International Association for the Study of Pain.
Migraine surgery for teens—good results in initial experience As in adults, migraine surgery is effective for selected adolescent patients with severe migraine headaches that don't respond to standard treatments, reports a study in the June issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
Study shows sexual dysfunction after gynecologic cancer treatment A University of Colorado Cancer Center study presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2015 shows decreased sexual activity in women following treatment for gynecologic cancers, down from 6.1-6.8 times per month before treatment to 2.6-4.9 times per month after treatment.
	Newer, easier to manage medications may not always be the best choice If you are over age 75, and taking an anticoagulant, the old standard may be the gold standard, Mayo Clinic researchers and collaborators have determined.
	Pembrolizumab shows real promise against head and neck cancer Immunotherapy with the anti-PD-1 antibody pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was effective in one out of four patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer, according to results presented at the 2015 meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Smoking legislation prevents over 11,000 child hospital admissions in England each year The introduction of smoke-free legislation in England was associated with over 11,000 fewer admissions to hospital a year from respiratory infections in children, according to a new study.
	CDC investigating error that caused live anthrax shipments The U.S. Army's top general said Thursday that human error probably was not a factor in the Army's mistaken shipment of live anthrax samples from a chemical weapons testing site that was opened more than 70 years ago in a desolate stretch of desert in Utah.
S. Korea confirms 12 MERS cases (Update) South Korea confirmed five MERS cases Friday, bringing the total number of patients infected with the potentially deadly virus to 12, including a man who defied a quarantine protocol and travelled to China, health officials said.
Who you gonna call? Beijing smokebusters to go on patrol China's capital seeks to snuff out smoking in indoor public places on Monday with a new ban, unprecedented fines and a hotline to report offenders, but enforcement is doubtful in one of the world's most tobacco-addicted countries.
	Anthrax shipments came from military site in Utah desert The U.S. Army's mistaken shipment of live anthrax samples to government and commercial laboratories occurred at a military post in a desolate stretch of the Utah desert that has been testing chemical weapons since it opened in 1942.
	Nutrition expert discusses how research changes food policy, politics Pat Crawford is the senior director of research at the Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) at the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Prior to coming to NPI, she co-founded and directed the Center for Weight and Health at the University of California at Berkeley for 15 years. She is a Cooperative Extension nutrition specialist, as well as an adjunct professor in the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley. Crawford led the 10-year longitudinal NHLBI Growth & Health Study, an epidemiologic study on the development of obesity in African-American girls and FitWIC, the five-state obesity prevention initiative in WIC. She is currently leading studies evaluating a wide variety of state and national nutrition programs and policies. An internationally respected researcher, Crawford served on the California Legislative Task Force on Diabetes and Obesity and chaired the Institute of Medicine's Workshop on Food Insecurity and Obesity.
The history of vaccinations and how smallpox was eradicated It was called the "most dreadful scourge of the human species." It killed at least one-third of the people it infected. It decimated entire populations, striking old and young, rich and poor alike.
	Food barometer measures a population''s eating habits A survey by Taylor's-Toulouse University Centre (TTUC) is collecting data on the food habits of individuals and how their choices are related to modernisation and other social factors. Results show that almost 40% of all Malaysian meals are consumed outside the home – one of the highest dining out rates worldwide.
'Hippy crack' among legal highs UK government wants to ban Legal highs such as "hippy crack" would be made illegal under a draft law published by Britain's government Friday.
Active substance targeting dreaded hospital germs In the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), scientists have conducted clinical studies on an active substance against the dreaded hospital pathogen Staphylococcus aureus: a highly effective protein from bacteriophages that rapidly kills the bacteria, which frequently occurs in the nose. The protein leaves natural microflora intact. Such prophylactic treatment of nasal colonization could counteract the spread of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in hospitals, and thereby prevent infections in patients.
RTOG 0537 shows acupuncture-like ENS may provide relief for radiation-induced dry mouth Phase III results of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0537 indicate that acupuncture-like, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (ALTENS) may be equally effective as pilocarpine, the current prescription medication in a pill, to treat radiation-induced xerostomia (dry mouth), according to a study published in the June 1, 2015 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). RTOG 0537 is a phase II/III, multi-center, randomized trial comparing ALTENS with pilocarpine, which is the current standard of treatment for radiation-induced xerostomia.
Prosthetic hands with a sense of touch? Breakthroughs in providing 'sensory feedback' from artificial limbs Researchers are exploring new approaches to designing prosthetic hands capable of providing "sensory feedback." Advances toward developing prostheses with a sense of touch are presented in a special topic article in the June issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
CHOP global health focuses on children with cerebral palsy in southern Africa Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of childhood disability in the world, affecting between 1 and 2 infants per thousand. But the neurological condition tends to be understudied, especially in developing countries.
	ONT-380 has stage IV HER2+ breast cancer patient 'worrying about normal stuff again' Promising clinical trial results presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2015 show activity of the investigational anti-cancer agent ONT-380 against HER2+ breast cancer, in one case specifically against brain metastases and in another case in overall survival of heavily pretreated HER2+ breast cancer patients.
	Analysis of fluid that bathes the human eye identifies 386 new proteins as biomarker candidates Researchers conducting a comprehensive proteomics analysis of human aqueous humor samples identified 763 proteins - including 386 proteins detected for the first time - in this clear fluid that helps maintain pressure in the eye and nourishes the cornea and the lens. These proteins could have a role in disease processes affecting the eye and serve as valuable biomarkers for the development of diagnostics and drug candidates to improve visual health, as discussed in the article "Proteomics of Human Aqueous Humor," published in OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology.

Biology news

	Cold improves longevity for some C. elegans worms, shortens life span for others Century-old wisdom holds that cold-blooded creatures—flies, worms, fish—live longer in colder environments. And more recent studies have found it's true for mammals as well: Dropping the core body temperatures of mice by less than one degree Fahrenheit can extend their lives by 20 percent.
	Godwits are flexible... when they get the chance Black-tailed godwits are able to cope with unpredictable weather. This was revealed by a thorough analysis of the extraordinary spring of 2013 by ecologist Nathan Senner of the University of Groningen and an international group of colleagues.
Predictive tool to identify sequences causing mutations, genome instability and diseases Scientists from A*STAR's Bioinformatics Institute (BII) have developed an analytical model and computational tool to rapidly and accurately predict the occurrence and locations of R-loop Forming Sequences (RLFSs) in any genome or artificial nucleic acid sequences. R-loops, which are three-stranded RNA and DNA hybrid structures, can be crucial to many normal biological processes and have also been associated with triggering mutations, DNA breaks and diseases. These hybrid structures provide intriguing possibilities for use as novel targets for diagnostics and treatment of diseases including cancer, autoimmune and neurodegenerative conditions.
	Natural enzyme examined as antibiotics alternative In 1921, Alexander Fleming discovered the antimicrobial powers of the enzyme lysozyme after observing diminished bacterial growth in a Petri dish where a drop from his runny nose had fallen. The famed Scottish bacteriologist published his findings a year later, but ultimately decided that the enzyme didn't meet his criteria for a useful antibiotic—unlike penicillin, a later discovery.
	Honey bee behavior altered by insecticides Certain insecticides common to U.S. orchards appear to make honey bees substantially less busy, according to a new study led by UNL entomologists.
	Bacterial tenants in fungal quarters Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich researchers have sequenced the genome of a bacterial symbiont hosted by a mycorrhizal fungus. Analysis of the symbiont's genetic endowment reveals previously unknown facets of the partnership between this odd couple.
	China crushes half a tonne of ivory in symbolic gesture China destroyed more than six hundred kilograms of ivory in front of media and diplomats Friday, as it seeks to shed its image as a global trading hub for illegal elephant tusks.
	Biologists demonstrate how signals in plant roots determine the activity of stem cells The roots of a plant are constantly growing, so that they can provide the plant with water and minerals while also giving it a firm anchor in the ground. Responsible for these functions are pluripotent stem cells. In order to avoid differentiation and to remain pluripotent, these stem cells are dependent on signals from their neighbouring cells. These signals are generated by only a small group of slowly dividing cells in the so-called quiescent centre inside the root. An international consortium under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Thomas Laux, a biologist from the University of Freiburg, has identified the transcription factor WUSCHEL HOMEOBOX (WOX) 5 as the signal molecule, showing that it moves through pores from the cells inside the quiescent centre into the stem cells. The team of researchers has published their findings in the professional journal Developmental Cell.

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