Science X Newsletter Monday, Oct 12

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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for October 12, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- What is quantum in quantum thermodynamics?
- Deep-learning robot shows grasp of different objects
- Best of Last Week—White holes, elephants and cancer and the impact of dominating parents
- How hallucinations emerge from trying to make sense of an ambiguous world
- DJI Osmo: Videos, stills without the shakes and blur
- Red wine with dinner can improve cardiovascular health of people with type 2 diabetes
- Scientists convert skin cells into placenta-generating cells
- First comprehensive profile of non-protein-coding RNAs in human cancers
- Children born in the summer more likely to be healthy adults
- Researchers use 'Avatar' experiments to get leg up on locomotion
- Facebook to test mobile app shopping tab
- More extreme weather projected in the Amazon could have global climate consequences
- Global marine analysis suggests food chain collapse
- Study stops vision loss in late-stage canine X-linked retinitis pigmentosa
- Babies need free tongue movement to decipher speech sounds

Astronomy & Space news

	Hubble sees an aging star wave goodbye This planetary nebula is called PK 329-02.2 and is located in the constellation of Norma in the southern sky. It is also sometimes referred to as Menzel 2, or Mz 2, named after the astronomer Donald Menzel who discovered the nebula in 1922.
	Climate models used to explain formation of Mars valley networks The extensive valley networks on the surface of Mars were probably created by running water billions of years ago, but the source of that water is unknown. Now, a team of Penn State and NASA researchers is using climate models to predict how greenhouse warming could be the source of the water.
	CubeSat to demonstrate miniature laser communications in orbit NASA and The Aerospace Corporation of El Segundo, California, have received confirmation the Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration (OCSD) CubeSat spacecraft is in orbit and operational. OCSD launched aboard an Atlas V rocket Thursday from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
	NASA image: Morning aurora from the space station NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station on Oct. 7, 2015.
	Fast solar wind causes aurora light shows On the night of Oct. 8, 2015, a photographer in Harstad, Norway captured this image of the dancing northern lights. Auroras are created when fast-moving, magnetic solar material strikes Earth's magnetic bubble, the magnetosphere. This collision rattles the magnetosphere in an event called a geomagnetic storm, sending trapped charged particles zooming down magnetic field lines towards the atmosphere, where they collide brilliantly with molecules in the air, creating auroras.

Technology news

	Deep-learning robot shows grasp of different objects Robot researchers have had much success in getting robots to walk and run; another challenge has persisted for years, and that is getting robots to pick up and hold on to objects successfully. An international workshop on autonomous grasping and manipulation last year spoke of "new algorithms for selecting, executing, and evaluating grasps. In parallel to the progress made on the software level, new robot hands and sensors have also been designed for operating in everyday environments."
	DJI Osmo: Videos, stills without the shakes and blur A new camera product from DJI may motivate photographers to lighten up on tripods. The product is the Osmo, a 4k, 3-axis stabilized handheld camera.
	Rear-ending drivers add up in DMV self-driving accident reports The first thoughts expressed when the world learned that Google was experimenting with driverless cars included a fair share of OMGs. What if the cars went haywire, and how often could they go haywire, and would that not pose a danger to human drivers on the road?
	Electronics that better mimic natural light promise more vivid, healthy illumination Despite technological leaps in modern electronics, the quality of lighting they provide still leaves much room for improvement.
	Vehicle fuel economy standards as global climate policy: How much can they deliver and at what cost? Over the past decade, many countries and regions seeking to reduce climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions have adopted more aggressive fuel economy standards designed to boost the efficiency of new, light-duty cars and trucks. Economists, however, generally argue that a more cost-effective way to reduce CO2 emissions is to price carbon through a system such as cap-and-trade, in which emitters across all sectors of the economy pay for each ton of CO2 they put into the atmosphere. Impacts of these two approaches have been previously compared on a national and regional level, but until now, have not been evaluated on a global scale.
	Dell buying EMC in $67 billion bet on data storage Dell is buying data storage company EMC for $67 billion in a huge bet on a segment of technology that has proven to be more profitable than the slumping personal computer market.
	Stop that drone: UAV freeze technique readied by British firms A system with rays that can freeze drones mid-flight has been developed by three British companies, said BBC News earlier this month.
	Facebook to test mobile app shopping tab Facebook said Monday that it will begin testing a shopping tab for its mobile app as it works to ramp up advertising and online commerce offerings.
	Southwest warns Monday travelers to plan ahead after delays Southwest Airlines said hundreds of flights have been delayed by technical issues and warned passengers flying Monday to arrive two hours early and print boarding passes before coming to the airport.
Mobile ad-blockers could wipe out billions in ad revenue Mobile Internet sites face a new threat as millions download ad-blockers to their phones and tablets, removing pesky adverts but potentially wiping out billions of dollars in advertising revenue.
	India's Infosys posts 9.8% profits rise but cuts forecast Indian software giant Infosys on Monday reported a 9.8 percent rise in quarterly net profit, beating expectations, on the back of a weak rupee and robust demand from the United States.
	Engineers develop sonar navigation, mapping system for unmanned aircraft Researchers at the University of Georgia are working to bring a new level of precision to the navigation systems used to guide drones. The work is supported through a contract with Southern Company, one of the nation's largest energy companies, which plans to use unmanned aircraft to enhance safety for crews in the field and improve reliability for customers.
	Could Tesla's Model X drive us towards electric cars for all? The launch of Tesla's long-awaited Model X electric car has received the sort of adulation that we've come to expect of new products from Apple. The Model X is a SUV with gull-wing doors – as made famous by the DeLorean from the film "Back to the Future" – giving it the appearance of a supercar, to go with its hefty pricetag. But filter out the hype, and the question is whether this will make the slightest difference to encouraging a broader shift away from fossil fuel-powered cars to electric vehicles.
	VW diesel cars recalled in China, sales halted in Singapore Volkswagen said Monday it is recalling 1,950 diesel vehicles in China to change engine software it has admitted cheats on emissions tests and Singapore suspended sales of the company's diesel cars.
Ford to invest $1.8 billion in China research Ford Motor Co. is investing $1.8 billion to develop technologies aimed at attracting Chinese car buyers, underlining China's importance to automakers despite slowing sales growth.
China plans stricter regulation of Uber-like services China plans to more strictly regulate online ride-booking services, according to draft rules and state media, in what analysts said Monday could be a "devastating blow" to an industry pioneered by US firm Uber.
	Google joins funding round for secure messaging service Symphony Symphony, a financial industry messaging startup, announced Monday that it has raised $100 million in a new round of funding from backers that included Google.
	Twitter planning layoffs: report Twitter will lay off employees next week as freshly-returned chief Jack Dorsey pushes for a leaner operation focused on winning users, tech news website Re/code reported Friday.
	Twitter reports 'access issues' in Turkey after attack Many users in Turkey were unable to access Twitter on Saturday, the social networking site said, after at least 86 people were killed in the capital Ankara in suspected twin suicide bombings.
	VW recalls diesel vehicles in China to correct emissions Volkswagen is recalling 1,950 diesel vehicles in China to correct engine software that the automaker has admitted cheats on emissions tests.
	Southwest operations appear on track after day of delays A day after technology problems delayed hundreds of Southwest Airlines flights, the carrier's operations were running more smoothly Monday.
Big technology deals don't always compute for buyers Dell's proposed $67 billion acquisition of data storage company EMC is the most expensive ever done involving two technology companies. Many of the tech industry's other notable deals haven't panned out as well as the buyers planned. Here's a look back at some of those past acquisitions:
Streaming TV services: What they cost, what you get Cable or satellite packages, excluding promotions, can easily run $70 to $100 a month. That gets you hundreds of diverse channels—ESPN for sports lovers, premium channels like HBO and Showtime, the major networks and niche options. But maybe you can find more cost-effective options online.

Medicine & Health news

	How hallucinations emerge from trying to make sense of an ambiguous world Take a look at the black and white image. It probably looks like a meaningless pattern of black and white blotches. But now take a look at the image below and then return to the picture: it's likely that you can now make sense of the black and white image. It is this ability that scientists at Cardiff University and the University of Cambridge believe could help explain why some people are prone to hallucinations.
	Genes linked with malaria's virulence shared by apes, humans The malaria parasite molecules associated with severe disease and death—those that allow the parasite to escape recognition by the immune system—have been shown to share key gene segments with chimp and gorilla malaria parasites, which are separated by several millions of years, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. This new information about the origin and genetics of human malaria virulence factors could aid in basic understanding of the causes of malaria and provide targets for drugs and vaccines.
	Children born in the summer more likely to be healthy adults Women who were born in the summer are more likely to be healthy adults, suggests new research published in the journal Heliyon. The authors of the study, which involved almost half a million people in the UK, say more sunlight - and therefore higher vitamin D exposure - in the second trimester of pregnancy could explain the effect, but more research is needed.
New optoelectronic probe enables communication with neural microcircuits Brown University researchers have created a new type of optoelectronic implantable device to access brain microcircuits, synergizing a technique that enables scientists to control the activity of brains cells using pulses of light. The invention, described in the journal Nature Methods, is a cortical microprobe that can stimulate multiple neuronal targets optically by specific patterns on micrometer scale while simultaneously recording the effects of that stimulation in the underlying neural microcircuits of interest with millisecond precision.
	Prostate cells undergo 'reprogramming' to form tumors, study finds Scientists have gained a key insight into how prostate tumors get their start - not by rewriting the normal DNA code, but by reprogramming the master regulator of genes in prostate cells to drive malignant growth.
	Scientists uncover four different types of bowel cancer Bowel cancer can be divided up into four distinct diseases, each with its own set of biological characteristics, a major new study reports.
	New study reveals key differences in brain activity in people with anorexia nervosa When people with anorexia nervosa decide what to eat, they engage a part of the brain associated with habitual behavior. This finding by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, New York State Psychiatric Institute, the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, and New York University was published today in Nature Neuroscience.
	Researchers find pathway to cancer-associated muscle weakness Cancer researchers at Indiana University and their colleagues have discovered how cancer-induced bone destruction causes skeletal muscle weakness.
	Scientists convert skin cells into placenta-generating cells Regenerative medicine is a new and expanding area that aims to replace lost or damaged cells, tissues or organs in the human body through cellular transplantation. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent cells that are capable of long-term growth, self-renewal, and can give rise to every cell, tissue and organ in the fetus's body. Thus, ESCs hold great promise for cell therapy as a source of diverse differentiated cell-types. Two major bottlenecks to realizing such potential are allogenic immune rejection of ESC-derived cells by recipients and ethical issues.
	First comprehensive profile of non-protein-coding RNAs in human cancers Growing insights about a significant, yet poorly understood, part of the genome - the "dark matter of DNA"—have fundamentally changed the way scientists approach the study of diseases. The human genome contains about 20,000 protein-coding genes - less than 2 percent of the total - but 70 percent of the genome is made into non-coding RNA. Nevertheless, a systematic characterization of these segments, called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and their alterations in human cancer, is still lacking. Most studies of genomic alterations in cancer have focused on the miniscule portion of the human genome that encodes protein.
	Babies need free tongue movement to decipher speech sounds Inhibiting infants' tongue movements impedes their ability to distinguish between speech sounds, researchers with the University of British Columbia have found. The study is the first to discover a direct link between infants' oral-motor movements and auditory speech perception.
Researchers use 'Avatar' experiments to get leg up on locomotion Simple mechanical descriptions of the way people and animals walk, run, jump and hop liken whole leg behavior to a spring or pogo stick.
	Study stops vision loss in late-stage canine X-linked retinitis pigmentosa Three years ago, a team from the University of Pennsylvania announced that they had cured X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, a blinding retinal disease, in dogs. Now they've shown that they can cure the canine disease over the long term, even when the treatment is given after half or more of the affected photoreceptor cells have been destroyed.
RNA editing technique treats severe form of muscular dystrophy An RNA editing technique called "exon skipping" has shown preliminary success in treating a rare and severe form of muscular dystrophy that currently has no treatment, based on a new study from Northwestern Medicine and the University of Chicago. Children with the disease lose significant muscle strength early in life.
	Red wine with dinner can improve cardiovascular health of people with type 2 diabetes A glass of red wine every night may help people with type 2 diabetes manage their cholesterol and cardiac health, according to new findings from a two-year randomized controlled trial (RCT) led by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). Additionally, both red and white wine can improve sugar control, depending on alcohol metabolism genetic profiling.
	Ebola treatment beds prevented 57,000 Ebola cases and 40,000 deaths in Sierra Leone The introduction of thousands of Ebola treatment beds by the UK and Sierra Leone governments and NGOs prevented an estimated 57,000 Ebola cases and 40,000 deaths in Sierra Leone, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
	Sitting no worse for health than standing, UK study claims Sitting down is no worse for you than standing up as long as you take regular exercise, a British study said Monday, casting doubt on the health benefits of sit-stand work stations.
	Dissolving stent for heart arteries passes first large test Now you see it, now you don't. A new type of heart stent that works like dissolving stitches, slowly going away after it has done its job, passed its first major test in a large study, doctors said Monday.
Exercise and stop smoking to improve depression after heart attack "Depression is almost three times more common in people who have had a heart attack than in those who haven't," said Dr Manuela Abreu, a psychiatrist at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. "Cardiac rehabilitation with aerobic exercise can reduce depressive symptoms and improve cardiovascular fitness."
Hard-to-detect chromosomal anomalies explain neurodevelopmental birth defects Balanced chromosomal abnormalities (BCAs), a category of structural changes to the human genome, may account for a large portion of birth defects related to brain development and function, according to research presented at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) 2015 Annual Meeting in Baltimore.
Higher dose flu shot decreases hospitalization of older nursing home residents In the largest nursing home study to date on the effect of high dose flu vaccine, researchers found that shots with four times the strength of standard flu shots significantly reduced the risk of being hospitalized during the influenza season. There was a 1.2 percent difference (19.7 percent versus 20.9 percent) in admission for the group that received the high dose vaccine compared to the one that received the standard dose vaccine. The findings were presented as a late breaking research presentation on Oct. 10 at the Infectious Diseases Society of America meeting in San Diego.
Genetic variant shown to influence women's body shape and diabetes risk A genetic variant near the KLF14 gene regulates hundreds of genes that govern how and where women's bodies store fat, which affects their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to research presented at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) 2015 Annual Meeting in Baltimore.
Trends in travel over 5 decades: We're traveling farther but not more often The most striking trend of the past half-century is that individuals are travelling further but not more often. The total number of trips people make on average in a year has remained fairly stable since 1965, as has the time we spend travelling, but the distance we travel has almost doubled over the same period.
Acrylamide exposure from smokeless tobacco dwarfed by dietary exposure or smoking The first comprehensive assessment of the acrylamide content of smokeless tobacco products (STPs) has shown that exposure to acrylamide through STP use is much smaller than —approximately 1% of—exposure from the diet or from cigarette smoking.
Lithium safe, effective for children with bipolar disorder A multicenter study of young patients with bipolar disorder provides what may be the most scientifically rigorous demonstration to date that lithium—a drug used successfully for decades to treat adults with the condition—can also be safe and effective for children suffering from it.
	SOS via SMS: Help for suicidal teens is a text message away With younger generations using cellphones less for actual conversation and more for text messaging, suicide prevention organizations are setting up ways that let distraught youths seek help that way.
Intense early intervention for schizophrenia leads to recovery When the Places for People outreach team found Chandra Thirdkill, she was about 40 years old and had been homeless for two years. Her struggles, however, began as a teen. Everyone looked at her like she was ugly, she thought. No one liked her. She constantly got into fights.
Researchers develop first animal-free screening platforms to predict toxic kidney injury Researchers from the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) have developed the first animal-free screening platforms capable of predicting the toxic effects of compounds on the human kidney accurately. Their latest technological advancement involves the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in their renal screening platform (Kandasamy et al., 2015). To realize this breakthrough, the scientists have developed an effective way of producing human renal cells from iPSCs, and have combined this with machine learning methods that improved the automated and accurate prediction of nephrotoxicity. In addition to predicting toxicity, the novel iPSC-based platform also correctly identifies injury mechanisms, which can help to advance understanding of the tested compounds.
	Study says obesity doesn't protect patients with cardiovascular disease Demographers Samuel Preston of the University of Pennsylvania and Andrew Stokes of Boston University set out to solve a puzzle: Why is it that study after study shows obese or overweight people with cardiovascular disease outliving their normal weight counterparts? Would this phenomenon, referred to as the obesity paradox, hold up when approached within different parameters?
	Drug cuts mortality rate after stroke, trial finds An existing drug administered intravenously reduces the chances of dying from major stroke by 60%, according to results of a phase II trial announced Oct. 9 at the annual Neurocritical Care Society meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona.
	Understanding Olfaction: An Interview with Elizabeth Hong You walk by a bakery, smell the scent of fresh cookies, and are immediately reminded of baking with your grandmother as a child. The seemingly simple act of learning to associate a smell with a good or bad outcome is actually quite a complicated behavior—one that can begin as a single synapse, or junction, where a signal is passed between two neurons in the brain.
	'Beeting' high altitude symptoms with beet juice Ever since human beings first began climbing the world's tallest mountains, they have struggled with a basic problem: altitude sickness, caused by lower air pressures which affect the ability of our bodies to take up oxygen.
Trailblazing trial for brittle-bone disease Foetuses burdened with a crippling form of brittle-bone disease will receive stem-cell treatment early next year in a pioneering trial, the lead researcher told AFP on Monday.
	Elevated blood-sugar levels in pregnancy tied to baby's heart-defect risk Pregnant women with elevated blood-sugar levels are more likely to have babies with congenital heart defects, even if their blood sugar is below the cutoff for diabetes, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Stanford Children's Health.
Study examines concussion-like symptom reporting in uninjured athletes Uninjured athletes reported concussion-like symptoms in a new study that suggests symptom reporting in the absence of recent concussion is related to male or female sex and preexisting conditions, which can include prior treatment for a psychiatric condition or substance abuse, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics.
Study analyzes use of seven low-value services in Choosing Wisely campaign An analysis of seven clinical services with minimal benefit to patients identified as part of the Choosing Wisely campaign found significant declines in two services: the use of imaging for headaches and cardiac imaging in low risk patients, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.
	FDA approves expanded use of Opdivo in advanced lung cancer (HealthDay)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Opdivo (nivolumab) to treat patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease progressed despite platinum-based chemotherapy.
	Kids with mental ills often treated solely by primary care doctors (HealthDay)—Family doctors and pediatricians are often the sole source of a child's mental health care, particularly for kids suffering from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
	Cesarean delivery won't harm kids' health: study (HealthDay)—In a study of more than 5,000 children, Australian researchers said they found that cesarean section delivery was not linked with a higher risk of health problems in childhood.
	What to know before getting the genetic test for breast cancer A genetic test to find out if people are more susceptible to breast cancer is available, but how do you decide whether to get it? With a lot of thought, cautioned Dr. Nora Hansen, director of the Lynn Sage Comprehensive Breast Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Prentice Women's Hospital. She explained what patients should know.
	World's oldest working scientist takes on Alzheimer's Professor Fred Kummerow needs money. The bio-chemist at the University of Illinois wants to study the link between diet and Alzheimer's disease, and he won't find out until next spring if he won a three-year federal grant for his research lab.
	Turncoat protein regulates sensitivity of breast cancer cells to drug A surprising, paradoxical relationship between a tumor suppressor molecule and an oncogene may be the key to explaining and working around how breast cancer tumor cells become desensitized to a common cancer drug, found researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The drug, lapatinib, activates the suppressor called FOXO, in HER2+ breast cancer cells, but then FOXO becomes a turncoat molecule, working with an epigenetic regulator that controls gene expression. This drug-triggered relationship induces the expression of the oncogene c-Myc, leading to reduced sensitivity to the cancer drug and eventually relapse. They published their cover article today in Cancer Cell.
Cardiac patients receive comparable care from physicians, advanced practice providers Patients with coronary artery disease, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation receive comparable outpatient care from physicians and advanced practice providers— physician assistants and nurse practitioners - although all clinicians fell short in meeting performance measures, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
	Computerized cognitive training improves childhood cancer survivors' attention and memory Intensive, adaptive computer-based cognitive training presented as a video game helped improve working memory and other cognitive skills of childhood cancer survivors and holds hope for revolutionizing management of the late effects of cancer treatment. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators led the study, which appears today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Advanced life support ambulance transport increases mortality Patients with trauma, stroke, heart attack and respiratory failure who were transported by basic life support (BLS) ambulances had a better chance of survival than patients who were transported by advanced life support (ALS) ambulances, a study of Medicare patients in urban counties nationwide found.
	HIV drugs provide added benefit of protecting against hepatitis B virus In a study involving 2,400 men who have sex with men who were also enrolled in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, researchers report that men with HIV who were treated effectively with HIV therapy were the least likely (80 percent less likely) to get infected with HBV over a median follow-up of approximately 9.5 years.
	Comprehensive genomic study provides evidence that dengue has become endemic and diverse in China The first-ever comprehensive genomic analysis of the virus that causes dengue fever suggests that it may survive year-round in southern China. The study, published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, provides evidence that China may be at increased risk for more frequent and severe dengue fever outbreaks similar to the 2014 outbreak in Guangdong Province that sickened more than 40,000 people.
Extreme weight loss tactics among UK cage fighters prompt alarm and call for action UK cage fighters are indulging in potentially dangerous behaviours in a bid to lose large amounts of weight in the shortest possible time before a fight, reveal doctors in a snapshot survey of preferred slimming tactics, published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
	Americans concerned about prescription painkiller addiction (HealthDay)—Most Americans are concerned about the abuse of narcotic painkillers, despite widespread use of these legal medications, new research suggests.
	Confirm high blood pressure outside doctor's office, US task force says (HealthDay)—High blood pressure levels should generally be confirmed with home or ambulatory blood pressure monitoring before starting treatment for hypertension, a new U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation says.
	Medical gowns, gloves often source of contamination: study (HealthDay)—Health care workers often contaminate their skin and clothing when they remove their medical gowns and gloves, new research suggests.
	L. reuteri enrichment of gut microbiota ups insulin secretion (HealthDay)—Enrichment of gut microbiota with Lactobacillus reuteri is associated with increased insulin secretion, according to a study published in the October issue of Diabetes Care.
	Six-minute walk distance tied to lung transplant survival (HealthDay)—Preoperative six-minute walk distance (6MWD) is significantly tied to post-lung transplant survival, according to a study published in the Oct. 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
	Immediate hypersensitivity to raw garlic described (HealthDay)—Raw garlic can induce immediate hypersensitivity reactions, according to a letter to the editor published in the October issue of the Journal of Dermatology.
	Hospital factors can overcome 'weekend effect' (HealthDay)—More nurses and electronic medical records can help hospitals overcome the "weekend effect" (WE) associated with urgent general surgery procedures performed on weekends, according to a study published in the October issue of the Annals of Surgery.
	California governor OKs medical marijuana regulations A trio of bills aimed at bringing order and oversight to California's medical marijuana industry nearly 20 years after the state led the nation in legalizing pot for medical use won Gov. Jerry Brown's signature, his office said Friday.
	Gun violence researchers becoming an endangered species? Amid the bloodbaths of 21st-century America, you might think that there would be a lot of research into the causes of gun violence, and which policies work best against it.
Organic produce means reduced pesticides in kids, study shows New research out of the Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health at UC Berkeley shows that switching from conventional to organic fruits and vegetables, even for just a few days, significantly reduces pesticide levels in children's bodies.
Many not aware of thrombosis, A deadly cardiovascular foe Judy Kleinmann injured her hip after a motorcycle accident 12 years ago. She worked as a landscaper and later at a greenhouse before the pain made a more sedentary job in a physician's office much more attractive.
Report points the way in fight against antibiotic resistance The aim of Uppsala Health Summit, this summer's international summit about antibiotic resistance, was to make real progress in combatting this threat to public health. The conclusions have now been presented in a report which provides policy makers and medical professionals with a number of concrete recommendations.

Biology news

	Fruit fly pheromone flags great real estate for starting a family In what they say was a lucky and unexpected finding, researchers at Johns Hopkins say they've discovered that male fruit flies lay down an odorant, or pheromone, that not only attracts females to lay eggs nearby, but also guides males and females searching for food. The discovery, they say, offers clues about how flies, and probably other creatures, navigate complex environments and use odors to guide important behavioral decisions.
	Climate change clips wings of migratory birds in Poland It takes the dexterity of a lacemaker to remove the tiny bird caught in nets strung between pine trees on Poland's Baltic coast, a veritable paradise for dozens of migratory species.
	Ecotourism can put wild animals at risk, scientists say cotourism, in which travelers visit natural environments with an eye toward funding conservation efforts or boosting local economies, has become increasingly popular in recent years. In many cases it involves close observation of or interaction with wildlife, such as when tourists swim with marine animals.
	Recreating embryonic development '"in a dish"' to study drugs that cause birth defects Researchers in Singapore, for the first time, have recreated two key processes essential for fetal formation in vitro. The team has not only controlled the differentiation of stem cells into other cell types, but they have also demonstrated the successful migration of these transformed cells.
	RNA's part in determining the health of stem cells What makes stem cells so interesting is that they are pluripotent: they have the potential to become any cell in an organism. Their ability to differentiate into any cell and be used to replace those that are damaged or diseased holds promise, but only once the secret to controlling them has been unlocked.
Establishment of systems metabolic engineering strategies to develop microbial strains Although conventional petrochemical processes have generated chemicals and materials which have been useful to mankind, they have also triggered a variety of environmental problems including climate change and relied too much on nonrenewable natural resources. To ameliorate this, researchers have actively pursued the development of industrial microbial strains around the globe in order to overproduce industrially useful chemicals and materials from microbes using renewable biomass. This discipline is called metabolic engineering.
	Four killed trying to stop elephant poachers in Congo Three wildlife wardens and a member of the armed forces were killed as they attempted to tackle elephant poachers in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Garamba national reserve, an African conservationist group which manages the park said.

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