Science X Newsletter Sunday, Jun 7

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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for June 7, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Rabbit virus improves bone marrow transplants, kills some cancer cells
- Untouched cave to provide clues to Black Hills history
- South Koreans triumph in US robot challenge
- Airbus developing reusable space rocket launcher
- Apple set to turn up music dial
- Yaskawa robot makes the cuts like human master in sword demo (w/ Video)
- World's last tribes on collision course with modern society
- Google releases more details on self-driving car accidents
- Robots compete in response to California disaster simulation
- After hacking, government workers warned of potential fraud
- Strokes steal eight years' worth of brain function, new study suggests
- Research reveals key interaction that opens the channel into the cell's nucleus
- Fruit fly genetics reveal pesticide resistance and insight into cancer
- Air Force scientists are working on hypersonic air vehicle

Astronomy & Space news

Airbus developing reusable space rocket launcher European aircraft and aerospace giant Airbus has unveiled plans for a reusable space rocket launcher that should be ready in 2025, which the firm says will be radically different from the concept of rival US firm Space X.

Technology news

	Robots compete in response to California disaster simulation It's shaping up to be a snail's pace race featuring cutting-edge robots doing simple but critical tasks.
	Google releases more details on self-driving car accidents Google is disclosing more details about the 12 accidents involving its self-driving cars so far as part of a commitment to provide monthly updates about the safety and performance of the vehicles.
	After hacking, government workers warned of potential fraud An immense hack of millions of government personnel files is being treated as the work of foreign spies who could use the information to fake their way into more-secure computers and plunder U.S. secrets.
	Yaskawa robot makes the cuts like human master in sword demo (w/ Video) Awareness, focus, precision, speed—highly desirable qualities not only for human workers but for robots. Yaskawa Electric Corporation recently issued a video that is turning heads as to just what present-day robotics engineers can accomplish.
	Apple set to turn up music dial Apple is expected to unveil a ramped up music service Monday that builds on the iPhone maker's strengths in a challenge to Spotify, Pandora and other established players.
	South Koreans triumph in US robot challenge South Korean boffins carried home the $2 million top prize Saturday after their robot triumphed in a disaster-response challenge inspired by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan.
	Air Force scientists are working on hypersonic air vehicle Engineers said the US Air Force is getting closer to testing a hypersonic weapon. They are developing a hypersonic weapon based on an experimental scramjet program. What is a scramjet? NASA said in a "scramjet," or Supersonic Combustion Ramjet, the oxygen needed by the engine to combust is taken from the atmosphere passing through the vehicle rather than from an onboard tank. "Researchers predict scramjet speeds could reach 15 times the speed of sound. An 18-hour trip to Tokyo from New York City becomes a 2-hour flight," said NASA.
	At G-7, Japan's energy plan is not all that green Japan may find itself the odd man out when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe presents his government's blueprint for combating climate change at this weekend's summit of the world's leading industrialized democracies.
	Google puts India PM in criminal search line-up Google on Friday was working to get India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi out of the line-up of photos served up in searches for "Top 10 Criminals."
	US calls for cyber reform after massive hack The White House urged Congress to come out of the "dark ages" and pass new cyber security rules, using a massive security breach to press its case for reform.
	Apple wants a lead role in streaming music Apple's iTunes helped change the way music-lovers bought their favorite songs, replacing plastic discs with digital downloads. Now the maker of iPods and iPhones wants to carve out a leading role in a revolution well underway, with a new, paid streaming-music service set to launch this summer.
Firm: Woman behind Silicon Valley gender suit demanded $2.7M The woman behind a high-profile gender discrimination lawsuit against a Silicon Valley venture capital firm demanded $2.7 million not to appeal the jury verdict against her, the firm said Friday.
Netflix to expand into Italy, Portugal in October Netflix will debut in Italy and Portugal in October as the Internet video service accelerates its international expansion.

Medicine & Health news

	Rabbit virus improves bone marrow transplants, kills some cancer cells University of Florida Health researchers have discovered that a rabbit virus can deliver a one-two punch, killing some kinds of cancer cells while eliminating a common and dangerous complication of bone marrow transplants.
	Strokes steal eight years' worth of brain function, new study suggests Having a stroke ages a person's brain function by almost eight years, new research finds - robbing them of memory and thinking speed as measured on cognitive tests.
Autologous stem cell therapy helpful in traumatic brain injury The use of cell therapy after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children can reduce the amount of therapeutic interventions needed to treat the patient, as well as the amount of time the child spends in neurointensive care, according to research by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School.
Discovery of new genetic mutation in aortic disease allows better diagnosis Thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection (TAAD), an enlargement or tearing of the walls of the aorta in the chest, is, together with abdominal aortic aneurysms, responsible for about 2% of all deaths in Western countries. The aorta is the largest artery in the body, and carries blood from the heart. About one out of every five patients with TAAD has a family member with the same disorder, therefore indicating a genetic cause. However, the relevant genetic mutations discovered so far only explain about 30% of all cases. Through the study of a large family with TAAD features, an international team of genetic researchers have now discovered that a mutation in the TGFB3 gene is also responsible for the condition.
	Novel genetic mutations may arise during early embryonic development Until now, de novo genetic mutations, alterations in a gene found for the first time in one family member, were believed to be mainly the result of new mutations in the sperm or eggs (germline) of one of the parents and passed on to their child.
	Noninvasive prenatal fetal testing can detect early stage cancer in mothers Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for chromosomal foetal disorders is used increasingly to test for conditions such as Down's syndrome. NIPT examines DNA from the foetus in the mother's blood, and therefore does not carry the risk of miscarriage involved in invasive testing methods. Now, for the first time, researchers have found another advantage of NIPT; it can detect maternal cancers at an early stage, before symptoms appear. The study, to be presented to the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Saturday), is published simultaneously in the journal JAMA Oncology.
First national study of noninvasive prenatal testing shows it works Results from a national study of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in women at high risk of having a baby with Down's syndrome will be presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Saturday). The Netherlands is the first country in the world to include NIPT in a government supported, healthcare-funded trisomy syndrome screening programme. In many other countries, such screening is offered by commercial companies and without governmental guidance, so studying the accuracy of the programme and its acceptability to prospective parents was important, the conference will hear.
Noninvasive prenatal testing: Effective, safe, preferred by parents Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for Down's syndrome is feasible, acceptable to parents, and could be introduced into the National Health Service (NHS), UK researchers say. The results of a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) study carried out by the first NHS laboratory to provide NIPT testing will be reported to the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Saturday).
Detergents linked to genital defects in babies: study Pregnant women regularly exposed to a range of detergents, solvents and pesticides have a substantially greater risk of giving birth to boys with genital deformities, according to a new French study.
	South Korea MERS virus cases reach 50 people South Korea on Saturday confirmed nine more cases of the MERS virus, which has killed four people, but said it did not represent a spread of the outbreak as the infected were already in quarantine.
50 years of diabetes research and treatment From how people test their glucose levels to how long they can expect to live, almost everything has changed over the past 50 years for Americans with diabetes. A special symposium held at the American Diabetes Association's 75th Scientific Sessions features a look back at what physicians and researchers have learned and how the lives of patients have changed during the past five decades.
	Fifth person dies of MERS virus in South Korea A fifth person in South Korea has died of the MERS virus, as the government announced Sunday that it was strengthening measures to stem the spread of the disease and public fear.
S. Korea vows 'all-out' effort to curb growing MERS outbreak South Korea reported its fifth death from MERS as the government on Sunday vowed "all-out" measures to curb the outbreak that was threatening to spread nationwide, including tracking mobile phones of those in quarantine.
Researchers launch phase II trial of BCG vaccine to reverse type 1 diabetes A phase II clinical trial testing the ability of the generic vaccine bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) to reverse advanced type 1 diabetes has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The approval of this trial, which will shortly begin enrolling qualified patients, was announced today at the 75th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) by Denise Faustman, MD, PhD, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Immunobiology Laboratory and principal investigator of the study.
Guinea extends Ebola emergency measures Ebola-hit Guinea has extended a health emergency declared in March until the end of June, citing the persistence of the deadly virus in the country, the presidency said on Saturday.
Ebola spreads suspicion and rumours in Guinea The only possible place to encounter Ebola in Conakry is the main treatment unit, yet elsewhere in Guinea the virus is thriving in a febrile atmosphere of deep mistrust and swirling conspiracy theory.

Biology news

	Fruit fly genetics reveal pesticide resistance and insight into cancer For being so small, fruit flies have had a large impact on genetic research. Thomas Werner, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Michigan Technological University, has bridged the miniscule and the massive in an effort to better understand the mechanisms behind several unique features of fruit fly genes.
	Research reveals key interaction that opens the channel into the cell's nucleus Cells have devised many structures for transporting molecular cargo across their protective borders, but the nuclear pore complex, with its flower-like, eight-fold symmetry, stands out. Monstrously large by cellular standards, as well as versatile, this elaborate portal controls access to and exit from the headquarters of the cell, the nucleus.
	Bottle-fed baby leopards make debut at Washington zoo Four clouded leopard cubs are now on display at a Tacoma, Washington, zoo.
	Half of live dolphins caught in Japan exported despite hunt outcry: report About half of live dolphins caught in the Japanese coastal town of Taiji were exported to China and other countries despite global criticism of the hunting technique used, a news report has said.

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