Science X Newsletter Wednesday, Oct 14

The all-new 2015 Multiphysics Simulation magazine is here. See how engineers are using simulation for design and innovation. View online or download: http://goo.gl/rB1Kqc

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Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for October 14, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Researchers suggest living in 'eternal summer' may be adversely impacting our health
- Study shows antioxidant use may promote spread of cancer
- Deep brain stimulation overcomes cognitive deficits in Rett mice
- Rising seas will drown mangrove forests
- 125-million-year-old mammal fossil reveals the early evolution of hair and spines
- Tesla's autopilot lets cars drive, change lanes themselves
- New research could revolutionize flexible electronics, solar cells
- Mathematicians find 'magic key' to drive Ramanujan's taxi-cab number
- More VW trouble: 2016 diesels have new suspect software
- Bubble plumes off Washington, Oregon suggest warmer ocean may be releasing frozen methane
- Deadly bacteria stiff-arm the immune system
- Extra brain cells make males remember sex
- Using experts 'inexpertly' leads to policy failure, warn researchers
- Biodiversity stabilizes ecosystems during climate extremes
- Ebola may persist in semen for nine months: study

Astronomy & Space news

	Cassini Begins Series of Flybys with Close-up of Saturn Moon Enceladus NASA's Cassini spacecraft will wrap up its time in the region of Saturn's large, icy moons with a series of three close encounters with Enceladus starting Wednesday, Oct. 14. Images are expected to begin arriving one to two days after the flyby, which will provide the first opportunity for a close-up look at the north polar region of Enceladus.
	A cosmic sackful of black coal Dark smudges almost block out a rich star field in this new image captured by the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. The inky areas are small parts of a huge dark nebula known as the Coalsack, one of the most prominent objects of its kind visible to the unaided eye. Millions of years from now, chunks of the Coalsack will ignite with the glow of many young stars.
	Blast waves in the sun's atmosphere Two teams of researchers led by Nariaki Nitta from the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in the USA and by Radoslav Bucík from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany have independently discovered a new solar phenomenon: large-scale waves in the star's atmosphere accompanied by energetic particle emissions rich in helium-3. Helium-3 is a light variety of the inert gas helium. The huge waves may contribute significantly to accelerate the particles into space, the MPS scientists now report in the Astrophysical Journal. Decisive for this discovery were the two spacecraft STEREO A and ACE making it possible to simultaneously observe the sun from two different directions. In the near future, no such opportunity will arise again.
	What smacks into Ceres stays on Ceres, research suggests A new set of high-velocity impact experiments suggests that the dwarf planet Ceres may be something of a cosmic dartboard: Projectiles that slam into it tend to stick.
	To save on weight, a detour to the moon is the best route to Mars Launching humans to Mars may not require a full tank of gas: A new MIT study suggests that a Martian mission may lighten its launch load considerably by refueling on the moon.
	NASA, Israel ink space cooperation agreement NASA and the Israel Space Agency signed an agreement Tuesday to expand cooperation in civil space activities, the Israeli government said.
	AIMing a light across millions of kilometres Imagine beaming a light across millions of kilometres of empty space, all the way back to Earth. ESA's proposed Asteroid Impact Mission is intended to do just that: demonstrate laser communications across an unprecedented void.
	Astronaut trials innovative SkinSuit in space An innovative SkinSuit designed to reduce the debilitating physical effects of space flight has been trialled for the first time on the International Space Station (ISS) by a European Space Agency astronaut.
	ALMA telescope unveils rapid formation of new stars in distant galaxies Galaxies forming stars at extreme rates nine billion years ago were more efficient than average galaxies today, researchers find.
	Jupiter, Venus and Mars stand proud in the morning sky Armagh Observatory reports that the next three weeks, from mid-October to the first week of November, will provide an interesting opportunity to observe a "dance" of the brightest planets Venus, Jupiter and Mars in the morning sky towards the East before dawn.
	Putin slams delays in building showpiece cosmodrome Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday criticised delays in the construction of a new cosmodrome in the country's far east, which has been plagued by corruption and strikes over unpaid wages.

Technology news

	US jury finds Apple infringed on mobile chip patent A US jury on Tuesday found that chips powering coveted Apple mobile devices infringe on technology patented by Wisconsin University researchers.
	Boxers, bakers, architects: Your watch, your way with BLOCKS London-based BLOCKS has been working on their dream project, a smartwatch that is modular, for some time. Their premise to prospective customers: Why buy a whole new smartwatch when you can simply snap in a new feature of your choice?
	How to fall gracefully if you're a robot Miss Georgia tripped in the final round. Jennifer Lawrence stumbled on her way to accept an Oscar. Even rock stars, world leaders and presidential candidates have fallen in front of the crowd or completely off stage.
	Research reveals robot flaws are key to interacting with humans Humans are less likely to form successful working relationships with interactive robots if they are programmed to be too perfect, new research reveals.
	Soft robot changes color as it grips and walks Soft robots can bend, walk and grip. And, unlike their rigid counterparts, some can get flattened and bounce back into shape. Now scientists report a new advance in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces: a way to make elastic material for soft robots that changes color when it stretches. They say this process opens the door to robot camouflage, new ways to deliver medicines and other applications.
	More VW trouble: 2016 diesels have new suspect software U.S. regulators say they have a lot more questions for Volkswagen, triggered by the company's recent disclosure of additional suspect software in 2016 diesel models that potentially would help exhaust systems run cleaner during government tests.
	Tesla's autopilot lets cars drive, change lanes themselves Electric car maker Tesla Motors is leapfrogging competitors with a new autopilot system that lets cars change lanes by themselves.
Twitter CEO Dorsey: Tech's latest would-be comeback kid Twitter boss Jack Dorsey, the newly anointed savior of the quirky but troubled microblogging service, is the latest in a long line of tech company founders who've been called back to revive their wayward startups. After co-founding Twitter in 2006 and serving a previous two-year stint as CEO, Dorsey returned to the top job last week. His first moves: slashing staff and touting new features intended to draw in more users.
Officials in Utah defend NSA's role fighting cyber-attacks The National Security Agency's massive data center in Utah isn't being used to store Americans' personal phone calls or social media activity, but plays a key role in protecting the country from cyber-attacks by hostile foreign governments, U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah said Tuesday.
	Facebook to ramp up video viewing features Facebook said on Tuesday it is testing an array of features aimed at getting people to watch more videos at the leading social network.
	Toyota aims to nearly eliminate gasoline cars by 2050 Toyota, under ambitious environmental targets, is aiming to sell hardly any regular gasoline vehicles by 2050, only hybrids and fuel cells, to radically reduce emissions.
	Back to the Future: Truth is stranger than sci-fi When Marty McFly and "Doc" Brown burst into 2015 in a time machine, straight from the year 1985, they encounter a brave new world of garbage-fuelled flying cars, self-tying shoes and robot waiters.
	Ebook antitrust monitor to end imposed stint at Apple An antitrust monitor imposed on Apple as the result of an e-book price-fixing case two years ago will end his stint on Friday, according to a judge's ruling.
Snapchat closes Snap Channel on Discover, layoffs expected Disappearing messaging platform Snapchat is winding down its own channel for original content called Snap Channel, with layoffs potentially affecting about a dozen people, although they could be rehired in other roles.
	Experts use internet routers to protect web from Angler malware's lures It may not be a household name like Microsoft, Apple or Sony, but Cisco Systems is almost the same size. Cisco is the world's largest supplier of networking equipment such as routers and switches which plug together the various networks that make up the internet. This puts them in the position of being able to use the enormous distribution of their equipment to disable a major ongoing malware attack, Angler.
	The road to longer battery life Are you sick of your phone's battery dying after only a few hours? Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology are hard at work on improving something called the solid electrolyte interphase as a way to boost battery life.
	Tech funding surging despite bubble fears: survey Investors poured increasing amounts of cash into startups in the third quarter, defying fears of a bubble in the tech sector, a survey showed Wednesday.
	Methodology could lead to more sustainable manufacturing systems Engineers at Oregon State University have developed a new "sustainable development methodology" to help address a social and regulatory demand for manufacturing processes that more effectively consider their economic, environmental and social impacts.
	Uber eyes a slice of local delivery Uber on Wednesday unveiled its local delivery service for three US cities, aiming for a slice of the fast-growing segment.
	Twitter gets new executive chairman from Google ranks Twitter announced Wednesday that it had named Google's former chief business officer Omid Kordestani as its executive chairman, in a further shakeup of its top ranks.
	Flowing toward red blood cell breakthroughs A team of researchers from Brown University, ETH Zurich, and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre is using America's most powerful supercomputer to help understand and fight diseases affecting some of the body's smallest building blocks.
	EU clears chipmaker Intel's $16.7 bn buyout of Altera EU regulators on Wednesday cleared Intel, the world's biggest chipmaker, to buy US firm Altera for $16.7 billion in one of the largest ever Silicon Valley deals.
	LivingSocial cuts deeper, slashes 20% of staff Online deals group LivingSocial said Wednesday it was cutting a further 20 percent of its workforce as it transitions to become an "experiences marketplace."
	BrainShield to enhance football helmet effectiveness Researchers at Simon Fraser University's Surrey campus have developed an impact-diverting decal that, when affixed to a helmet, can significantly reduce the sharp twisting and compression of the brain that occurs during most helmet impacts.
	Senator calls for Experian to share details on data breach The top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee is calling for the credit agency Experian to disclose more details about a data breach in which personal information on millions of T-Mobile customers was stolen.
	Uber slip exposes data of some US drivers Uber on Wednesday confirmed that a software slip briefly exposed personal data of hundreds of US drivers.
	Netflix adds 3.62M subscribers in 3Q, but US growth lags Bingeing on Netflix appears to be losing some of its appeal in the U.S., even as the addiction rapidly spreads to other parts of the world.
	Square files for keenly awaited stock market debut Digital payments startup Square, founded by Twitter chief Jack Dorsey, announced Wednesday that it has filed with for a stock market offering to raise $275 million.
Netflix grows to 69 million members Streaming television giant Netflix said Wednesday its global membership grew to 69.17 million as it gears for further expansion.
	Basic technology for preventing collisions by predicting changes in pedestrian movement Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd., and Clarion Co., Ltd. today announced that they have developed the basic technology for preventing collisions while maintaining safe and practical speeds by predicting changes in pedestrian movements and rapidly calculating optimum speed patterns in real time. The companies have verified the validity of the technology using experimental vehicles and determined that it can be implemented at safe and practical driving speeds. Going forward, the Hitachi Group will accelerate to further develop the technology through repeated trials and contribute to the commercialization of autonomous driving technology.
	Court says UK politicians don't get protection from snooping British lawmakers are not immune from communications-monitoring, a British court ruled Wednesday, saying a 50-year-old doctrine protecting them from phone tapping has no legal force.
German police warn against posting kids' photos on Facebook Police in western Germany have issued an urgent appeal to parents: don't post photos of your children on social media websites for all to see.
Moldovan phishing scheme took $3.5M from drilling accounts A man from the eastern European country of Moldova ran an email phishing scheme that enabled him and others to steal banking information from U.S. companies, including $3.5 million taken from the accounts of a western Pennsylvania drilling firm, federal prosecutors said.

Medicine & Health news

Deep brain stimulation overcomes cognitive deficits in Rett mice Deep brain stimulation – usually used to treat movement disorders – overcomes the learning and memory deficits in mice whose symptoms mimic those of Rett syndrome, a neurological disease usually found in young girls, said researchers led by those from Baylor College of Medicine and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital.
	Sleep deprivation affects stem cells, reducing transplant efficiency, study finds Drowsy mice make poor stem cell donors, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
	Brains work via their genes just as much as their neurons It's not headline news that our brains are the seat of our thoughts and feelings. The brain is a body's decision-maker, the pilot of its actions and the engineer that keeps all systems going. The brain suits the body's actions to its surroundings, taking in sensory details and sending out appropriate and timely responses. We've long attributed the marvelous workings of the brain to the intricate structures formed by its highly specialized cells, neurons. These structures constitute the hardware of the brain.
	A new way to test for rejection or infection following lung transplantation (Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers with Stanford University has found a new way to test for infection or impending rejection of lungs transplanted into a patient. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team explains how their technique works and why it is so much safer than current methods.
	Blood T cells are resistant to HIV's primary death pathway Scientists from the Gladstone Institutes have discovered that blood-derived T cells are resistant to the chief cause of cell death in HIV infection. Instead, it is T cells in the lymphoid tissues that are most susceptible and whose death leads to the progression from HIV infection to AIDS.
Treatment restores some function in animal models of spinal muscular atrophy In work involving several new generations of mouse model development, Jackson Laboratory (JAX) researchers have tested a therapeutic intervention for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) that restores some function lost due to a mutation in one gene (SMN1) and amplifies the levels of protective genes (SMN2).
	Larger brains do not lead to high IQs As early as 1836, the German physiologist and anatomist Friedrich Tiedemann, in an article in the Philosophical Transactions, expressed his opinion that "there is undoubtedly a connection between the absolute size of the brain and the intellectual powers and functions of the mind". With the advent of brain imaging methods (e.g., MRI, PET), reliable assessments of in-vivo brain volume and investigations of its association with IQ are now possible.
	Study shows antioxidant use may promote spread of cancer A team of scientists at the Children's Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) has made a discovery that suggests cancer cells benefit more from antioxidants than normal cells, raising concerns about the use of dietary antioxidants by patients with cancer. The studies were conducted in specialized mice that had been transplanted with melanoma cells from patients. Prior studies had shown that the metastasis of human melanoma cells in these mice is predictive of their metastasis in patients.
	Extra brain cells make males remember sex A pair of neurons have been found in the brain of male nematode worms that allow them to remember and seek sex even at the expense of food. These neurons, which are male-specific, are required for sex-based differences in learning, suggesting that sex differences in cognitive abilities can be genetically hardwired.
	Study charts 'genomic biography' of form of leukemia A new study by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard offers a glimpse of the wealth of information that can be gleaned by combing the genome of a large collection of leukemia tissue samples.
	New neuroimaging method better identifies epileptic lesions Epilepsy affects more than 65 million people worldwide. One-third of these patients have seizures that are not controlled by medications. In addition, one-third have brain lesions, the hallmark of the disease, which cannot be located by conventional imaging methods. Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have piloted a new method using advanced noninvasive neuroimaging to recognize the neurotransmitter glutamate, thought to be the culprit in the most common form of medication-resistant epilepsy. Their work is published today in Science Translational Medicine.
	New drug candidate is promising therapeutic option for angiogenic retinal diseases A research team led by scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the University of New Mexico School of Medicine has identified a small molecule that treats animal models of aged macular degeneration (AMD) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) by preventing the overgrowth of blood vessels that are characteristic of these two retinal diseases.
	Ebola may persist in semen for nine months: study The Ebola virus may persist in some men's semen for nine months after they were initially infected, far longer than previously known, according to preliminary research out Wednesday.
	Lack of referrals for suspected cancer leads to more deaths Deaths are higher in cancer patients whose GPs do not regularly send patients through the two-week urgent referral route for suspected cancer, according to a Cancer Research UK and National Institute for Health Research-funded study.
	Most teen mood swings decline with age Adolescence is typically regarded as a period of heightened emotionality. Although the teen years are an important time for youth to learn to regulate their emotions, little research has looked at the development of teens' emotional stability. Now a new longitudinal study has found that adolescents' mood swings decline gradually as they get older, which should reassure parents about their moody teens while also helping identify when instability is considered risky and requires intervention.
	Stress during pregnancy related to children's later movement, coordination Stress experienced by mothers during pregnancy is related to their children's behavior, as well as mental and cognitive outcomes in middle childhood and into adolescence, but few studies have looked at the relationship between maternal pregnancy stress and children's motor development. Now a new longitudinal study has found that mothers who experienced more stressful events during their pregnancies had children who scored lower on a test of movement competence.
	Drop off feared in the number of physicians conducting research Physician-scientists are responsible for many lifesaving medical discoveries but their ranks could be thinning in coming years.
Inhalant use linked to head injuries, traumatic experiences and mental illness Incarcerated youth who have suffered head injuries, traumatic experiences and mental illness diagnoses are more likely to abuse multiple inhalants, according to researchers at Georgia State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
New study revels powerful people rely on their gut 'motor' feelings when making judgments A new series of studies by academics at Royal Holloway, University of London and at University of London College found that people who have social power are strongly influenced by internal body cues stemming from their motor system when making judgements about preferences of paintings, objects, movements or letter sequences.
	Research that is simply beyond belief New research involving a psychologist from the University of York has revealed for the first time that both belief in God and prejudice towards immigrants can be reduced by directing magnetic energy into the brain.
A step forward in obtaining blood stem cells in laboratory An international study led by researchers from IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute) published in the journal Nature Communications has revealed that the intensity or efficiency of the activation of a protein called Notch, which is involved in the different phases of embryonic development, determines the fate of cells, i.e. if cells will form the aorta artery or blood (hematopoietic) stem cells. For artery cells, many Notch molecules need to be activated, whereas for hematopoietic cells many fewer are needed.
Study shows effects of toilet facilities on child health in rural Africa Roughly one out of four people worldwide has no access to a toilet. A program underway in 50 countries could provide a solution, by motivating communities to build latrines and stop open defecation. The approach increases access to – and use of – sanitation facilities, according to a study co-authored by a Stanford researcher.
	Providing chronic pain relief without the pills Nicole Zeig still vividly remembers how it felt the first time she took a prescription painkiller.
	Obesity worsens lung function for kids, young people with asthma In adults with asthma, patients who are obese have worse lung function and more difficulty controlling their symptoms than asthma patients who are not obese. Following patients from childhood into young adulthood, a new study shows the progression toward worse lung function in those who become obese as they age.
	Looking at the brain with a geologist's "eye" Using a geologist's imaging tool, researchers have made unprecedented high-resolution images of how carbon atoms from glucose are integrated into brain cells, providing new insight and opening new doors into the fate of glucose in the brain.
A molecular switch to stop inflammation Our immune system is vital to us and can sometimes overreact causing chronic illnesses, such as for instance rheumatism and allergy. Now, researchers from Umeå University and University of Gothenburg have identified a molecular switch – MYSM1 – that can suppress such an overreaction and avoid inflammation. The study is published in the prestigious journal Immunity.
	Young drivers don't see dangers of driving tired Drivers are more likely to get behind the wheel drowsy than drunk despite it being just as dangerous, and the worst offenders are those under 30, a QUT study has found.
Healthy food vending machines offer fresh, paleo, gluten-free options We normally don't associate vending machines with healthy food choices but new businesses are seeking to change our minds.
	Get more out of your vitamin D If you take a vitamin D pill to meet your requirements for the sunshine vitamin, you'll get more out of it if you eat it with a little fat. Fat stimulates the release of bile into the small intestine, which makes it easier for the body to absorb fat-soluble vitamins like D.
	An immune system "mistake" could be the cause of organ failure in intensive care patients At least one in every two intensive care patient displays Systematic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS). This clinical picture resembles sepsis but without any identifiable bacterial or fungal infection being present. Until now the exact cause of this syndrome was unknown. Researchers at MedUni Vienna Department of Internal Medicine II have now discovered a possible cause of this "pseudo-sepsis": the immune system mistakes the mitochondria that find their way into the blood following circulatory collapse or cardiac arrest for bacteria and so attacks them. The explanation for this goes back 1.5 billion years and is based on the so-called endosymbiotic theory.
Antipsychotics initiated frequently and used for long term in Alzheimer's patients Antipsychotic drugs are initiated in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) more frequently than in the general population - already 2-3 years before the Alzheimer's diagnosis, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland. Most commonly, antipsychotics were initiated during the six months following the Alzheimer's diagnosis; however, the incidence of new antipsychotic users was high also later on. The results were published in British Journal of Psychiatry.
	Researchers develop vaccine to treat high cholesterol A team of researchers at the University of New Mexico (UNM) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed a vaccine to treat high cholesterol. The vaccine, which targets a molecule called PCSK9, a protein involved in cholesterol metabolism, is a cost-effective alternative to current expensive cholesterol drugs and could lead to a widely applicable vaccine-based approach for controlling high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease.
Likely drug interactions in placenta could harm fetus To date, studies in pregnant women examining transport of drugs across the placenta are rare and inadequate, said Tomo Nabekura, PhD. Such knowledge could be vital to preserving fetal health. In a new laboratory study, Nabekura and colleagues have illuminated a piece of this puzzle, and the results hint that mothers taking new anti-hepatitis C and/or anti-HIV drugs along with anti-hypertensives or non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) could be raising the risk of birth defects or stunting fetal growth, respectively. The research was published ahead of print in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
	Medical researchers bypass nerves to activate muscles directly with light Neuroscience researchers at Dalhousie Medical School and the Brain Repair Centre in Halifax, N.S., have shown that muscles can be activated directly with light, bypassing the nervous system and offering a potential solution to muscle-wasting and paralysis caused by nerve injuries and neurodegenerative diseases.
	Study challenges scientific principle about Alzheimer protein amyloid beta Scientific Reports, a Nature group journal, has recently published results that challenge the findings of studies to date on the initial aggregates formed by amyloid beta, a protein closely associated with the onset and development of Alzheimer's disease.
	Neutrophils starve fungal invaders The most frequent immune cells in the human blood, so-called neutrophils, efficiently kill invading microorganisms and slowly starve microbes to death by removing crucial trace elements. This is shown by researchers from Umeå University in Sweden in a study published in a special issue of Metallomics.
	Researchers find gene facilitating repair of acutely injured kidney In the kidney, injured cells can be kicked into reparative mode by a gene called Sox9, according to a new paper published in Cell Reports.
	Type 2 diabetes patients find exercise more difficult, study says Women with Type 2 diabetes experience a barrier to physical activity that threatens to make them more sedentary and cause their health to worsen, according to a new study by Amy Huebschmann, MD, MS of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Bio-molecules in human breast milk stop inflammation Human breast milk, which provides essential nutrients and antibodies to newborns, has long been known to play an important role in infant development and the immune system. In a new study published in Mucosal Immunology, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) report that human breast milk serves as a reservoir for bio-molecules that help to resolve inflammation and combat infection.
In the long run, emotional abuse hurts a child as much as violence or neglect Emotional abuse may be as harmful as physical abuse and neglect. This finding led by a team of researchers at McGill complements previous imaging research showing that emotional and physical pain both activate the same parts of the brain.
	Graft properties affect knee ligament surgery outcome more than surgical technique In anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, graft stiffness and pre-strain play a more vital role than the choice of surgical technique, indicates a new study from the University of Eastern Finland. The study developed a computational 3D model of the knee joint, which can be used in the prevention of osteoarthritis (OA), specifically OA resulting from trauma.
	Study explores whether early life stress changes gene expression, increasing cardiovascular risk Researchers are looking across the entire human genome to see if early life stress causes persistent changes in gene expression that increase the lifelong risk of cardiovascular disease.
	The gaze that hinders expression Empathy - the ability to identify and understand other people's emotions - has many components, some sophisticated and involving complex thought processes, others basic but essential nonetheless. The latter include joint attention - which is activated by direct eye contact between two or more individuals, and allows them to focus their attention on the same object; and facial mimicry - the tendency to reproduce on one's own face the expressions of emotion seen in others. Subjects suffering from autism have difficulty with both these abilities, but according to a new study just published in Autism Research, it is also important to study how these two functions interact.
One step closer to a new drug for alcohol dependence Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden might be one step closer to finding an effective drug for alcohol dependence. In two separate studies, they show that the dopamine stabilizer OSU6162 can reduce the craving for alcohol in alcohol dependent people and normalises the level of dopamine in the brain reward system of rats that have consumed alcohol over a long period of time. However, thorough clinical studies are needed to determine if the OSU6162 also can help alcohol dependent people drink less alcohol.
	What metabolism could reveal about aging and mortality Why some people live much longer than others is an enduring mystery. Now, based on a study of a worm, scientists are getting one step closer to understanding longevity. They report in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research that the metabolic profiles of the worms could accurately predict how long they would live and that middle age could be a key turning point.
Researchers develop tool to predict need for life support It is now possible to determine which patients have an increased chance of one day needing life support with mechanical ventilation. Researchers have developed a simple tool to predict an individual's five-year risk of requiring this care.
More than one-third of perimenopausal women develop insomnia Millions of women may likely be sleep-deprived. It's already a known fact that women are more predisposed to insomnia. Now a new study presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) earlier this month suggests that perimenopausal women have an even greater risk for developing insomnia. Considering that perimenopause will affect roughly 500 million women within the next decade, that's a lot of tired women.
The brain's dress code One dress—two perceptions. For some, it is black-blue, for others, it is white-gold. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, the neuroplasticity group headed by Prof. T. Schmidt-Wilcke (Department of Neurology, Director Prof. Dr. Martin Tegenthoff) solved the riddle of the illusion. In no time at all, the dress had captured the attention of media and scientists worldwide. Many renowned research institutes have explored the phenomenon from various angles, by analyzing the psychophysics or details of the image components. The Bochum researchers Lara Schlaffke, Lauren Haag and Anne Golisch now expanded the previous findings by providing insights into the differences in human brain activity caused by the contrasting perceptions.
Suicide prevention program associated with reduction in suicide attempts Counties that implemented Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Suicide Prevention Program activities had lower rates of suicide attempts among young people ages 16 to 23 than counties that did not, according to an article published online by JAMA Psychiatry.
Comparing total body examination vs. lesion-directed skin cancer screenings Total-body examination found a higher absolute number of skin cancers but lesion-directed screening performed by a dermatologist appeared to be an acceptable alternative screening method in a Belgian study, according to an article published online by JAMA Dermatology.
	Crohn's disease treatments don't fully restore healthy gut microbes in children A gut microbe analysis of children receiving treatment for Crohn's disease reveals that diet-based and anti-inflammatory therapies alter different components of the microbial community without fully restoring the normal balance of gut bacteria and fungi. The surprising findings, published October 14 in Cell Host & Microbe, could lead to new strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.
	Does 'reactivated' Ebola pose a threat? The Ebola virus can linger in survivors for many months, as in the case of British nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who has had a serious relapse almost a year after she first fell ill.
	Computers match doctors in predicting patient discharges A computer can do as good a job of predicting how many patients will be discharged from a hospital unit on a given day as doctors and nurses can, according to new research from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and Johns Hopkins University. In some cases, the computer does even better.
	New data may help physicians better understand risk of lung cancer Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, second only to cardiovascular disease. Lung cancer, the most common form, causes more deaths than breast, prostate and colorectal cancers combined. Now, University of Missouri researchers have developed a new scoring system for a common lung cancer diagnostic test that may help physicians better understand the risk for malignancy when evaluating patients.
	Fracking chemicals tied to reduced sperm count in mice Prenatal exposure to a mixture of chemicals used in the oil and natural gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, at levels found in the environment lowered sperm counts in male mice when they reached adulthood, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's journal Endocrinology.
Mother's gestational diabetes diagnosis slows fetal brain response after meals When a pregnant woman has gestational diabetes, her unborn child tends to react more slowly to sounds after the mother consumes sugary foods or drinks compared to the offspring of a woman who does not have the condition, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
	Breakthrough research reveals a new target for Alzheimer's disease treatment A research team led by Amantha Thathiah (VIB/KU Leuven) has determined that a protein - known as GPR3 - might play an important role in alleviating the cognitive deficits and reducing the generation of 'amyloid plaques'. These abnormal clusters of protein fragments build up between nerve cells and disrupt communication in the brain, which makes them prime suspects for causing Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The results were announced in the leading journal Science Translational Medicine. The identification of GPR3 as an AD therapeutic target provides an important new perspective in AD drug development.
New York's rich live 11 years longer than its poor New York is a city of extreme inequality, where people in the poorest neighborhood of Brooklyn die 11 years earlier than those living around Wall Street, according to data released Wednesday.
New clinical guideline to help clinicians treat circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders A new clinical practice guideline published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine provides clinicians with updated recommendations for the treatment of intrinsic circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders (CRSWDs).
New position paper supports use of telemedicine by sleep specialists A new position paper published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine supports telemedicine as a means of advancing patient health by improving access to the expertise of board-certified sleep medicine specialists.
	Despite promise, vitamin D and calcium do not reduce colorectal cancer risk The New England Journal of Medicine reports results of a 2,259-person study conducted at 11 academic medical centers showing that dietary supplementation with vitamin D and/or calcium after removal of pre-cancerous colorectal adenomas (aka polyps) does not reduce risk of developing future adenomas. Despite promising findings in models of the disease and in previous, smaller trials, the study offers strong evidence against the usefulness of these supplements in the prevention of future polyps.
	Researchers identify safe level to treat low blood sugar in newborns Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have shown that treating hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose, in newborns according to current recommendations is safe and appears to prevent brain damage.
	Can work stress be linked to stroke? Having a high stress job may be linked to a higher risk of stroke, according to an analysis of several studies. The meta-analysis is published in the Oct. 14, 2015, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Poor children will be hit hardest by government welfare cuts, warn experts Poor children will be hit hardest by government welfare cuts, warn experts writing in The BMJ this week. David Taylor-Robinson and colleagues at the University of Liverpool say the welfare changes heralded in the chancellor's summer budget have serious implications for child health.
India's pharmacies shut down to protest online sales Around 800,000 Indian pharmacies downed their shutters Wednesday to demand a crackdown on online drug sales, which they say is unregulated and eroding their business.
National Initiative in Mali Aims to Reduce Childhood Mortality Mali suffers one of the highest global burdens of child deaths, with more than 1 in 10 children at risk of death before age 5 in 2015, according to The World Bank. Many such deaths occur because fast-acting but preventable diseases aren't stopped quickly enough.
Probiotics and the gut-brain axis A recent study published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity has found that intake of multispecies probiotics has a beneficial effect on cognitive reactivity to sad mood in a randomized controlled trial.
	Dietary interventions can improve memory performance for diseases like Alzheimer's Dietary supplementation could play a crucial role in keeping Europe's ageing population healthy, an EU-funded study has confirmed. The LIPIDIDIET project, which was completed in March 2015, demonstrated that women susceptible to Alzheimer's disease (i.e. those who possess a gene variant associated with the disease) lose weight more sharply after the age of 70, whether they go on to develop dementia or not. Results of the study were recently published online in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, and suggest that there is a significant untapped market here for the nutrition and supplements sector.
Indian man who woke up on autopsy table dies An Indian man who shocked hospital staff when he woke up on an autopsy table just before a post-mortem was about to begin has died, authorities said Wednesday.
British Ebola nurse now 'critically ill': hospital A British nurse who was successfully treated in January after contracting Ebola in Sierra Leone is now "critically ill" due to a resurgence of the virus, the hospital treating her said Wednesday.
	Drink to that: Russian cities ponder 1-day-a-week booze ban Some Russian officials are daring to think the seemingly unthinkable in the land of vodka—banning the sale of alcohol once a week in the country's two main cities.
	The dilemma of screening for prostate cancer Primary care providers are put in a difficult position when screening their male patients for prostate cancer—some guidelines suggest that testing the general population lacks evidence whereas others state that it is appropriate in certain patients. Now a new perspective piece offers some guidance on when to screen patients and how to involve them in decisions about screening and treatment.
	Effects of traumatic injury and disease on functional brain networks examined in brain connectivity New research clearly shows that injury, disease, and related therapeutic interventions can impact critical crosstalk and connectivity between functional networks and brain regions. The effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, and repetitive brain stimulation are among the topics examined in articles published in the Injury and Disease special issue of Brain Connectivity.
USDA awards contracts to two companies for bird flu vaccines A federal agency has awarded contracts to two companies to manufacture a bird flu vaccine.
Penn bioethicist calls on researchers for more evidence-based end-of-life care programs Although the public and private sectors are currently engaged in an unprecedented array of efforts to improve end-of-life care, too many of these programs are not evidence-based, according to a scholar from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, Scott Halpern, MD, PhD, associate professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Medical Ethics and Health Policy, says that despite recent federal decisions that signal a renewed interest in improving end-of-life care, investigators and research sponsors must be more involved to "identify, develop and rigorously test interventions so they can offer guidance" on implementing programs that work among the terminally ill.
Dietary supplements send 23,000 to hospitals each year in US A new federal study estimates that dietary supplements send 23,000 Americans to hospital emergency rooms each year.

Biology news

	Researchers suggest living in 'eternal summer' may be adversely impacting our health (Phys.org)—A team of researchers at the University of Aberdeen in the U.K. has had a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, outlining what they describe as the dangers of living in an "eternal summer." By artificially changing the environment we live in, they argue, we may be working against health related bodily systems that have evolved over many years to protect us from dangers unique to each season.
	Four biological kingdoms influence disease transmission in monarch butterflies Experiments with monarch butterfly caterpillars and the milkweed plants on which they feed have shown for the first time that interactions across four biological kingdoms can influence disease transmission.
	Divorce in birds is affected by their social group Whether a pair of birds will divorce or stay together after they first breed is influenced by the social environment in which the relationship is formed, according to a new study by researchers from Oxford University.
	Mutational 'hot spot' leads to adaptation in high-altitude birds New research led by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of New Mexico has pinpointed changes in a single, mutation-prone gene site that ultimately allow wrens to breathe easy in the rarefied air of the Andes.
	Deadly bacteria stiff-arm the immune system The most severe Group A Streptococcus (strep) infections are often the work of one particularly nefarious strain known as M1T1, named in part for the type of tentacle-like M protein projecting from the bacterium's surface. While many previous studies proposed ways M1 might contribute to strep virulence, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have uncovered a new explanation that may trump all others: M1's ability to hold off antimicrobial peptides—natural antibiotics that comprise one of the immune system's front lines of defense.
	Biodiversity stabilizes ecosystems during climate extremes Can biodiversity help protect ecosystems from extreme conditions? That question is much on the minds of scientists and policy makers as a changing climate brings more wildly swinging conditions at the same time human activities reduce the number of species available to produce food and oxygen and help keep our planet in balance.
	Oxytocin nose-drop brings marmoset partners closer Researchers from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, show for the first time that common marmosets—Callithrix jacchus, a species of New World monkey—that receive oxytocin in nose-drops attract more social interaction from their mates. Oxytocin is a hormone released naturally in the blood and brains of humans and other mammals, during social and sexual behaviors. Previous studies showed that individuals who receive an oxytocin boost show greater sociability, through increased cooperation, altruism and communication with members of the same social group. However, much less is known about how others interact with those treated with oxytocin.
	First ever twin panda cubs born in Canada The first ever giant panda cubs born in Canada were announced Tuesday by the Toronto zoo.
	Pregnant chimp adopts orphan in 'unheard of' act An Australian zoo Wednesday unveiled a baby chimp adopted by a pregnant female in an "unheard of" act after his mother died during birth.
Increasing crop resistance to pathogens We all know that animals have an immune system - but plants have systems to fight infection too. Plant cells have receptor proteins which bind with parts of a pathogen. These receptor proteins are located on the surface of plant cells and enable the plant to recognize what kind of attacker needs to be repelled. Working with international colleagues, researchers at the University of Tübingen have discovered a pattern common to many microbes which can set off a plant's immune reaction. The nlp20 peptide fragment is a component of toxins in bacteria, fungi and oomycetes. A common pathogen producing this nlp20-containing virulence factor is Phytophthora infestans, which causes potato blight. The disease led to the Great Famine of 1845 in Ireland - and it still causes significant damage to potato and tomato crops today.
	Desert cat hunters cut wildlife protection costs WA nature lovers daunted by the cost of electric exclusion fencing and other methods of protecting threatened species from predators may be interested to know of another, perhaps cheaper, method of combating pests practised by desert Aborigines.
	Weed sizzle holds potential for paddock control Australia's passion for a barbecue is transcending from the home into the paddock.
	Parasitic wasp database explores the genetic world of tiny stingers Parasitic wasps are able to survive by keenly predicting the changing of the seasons based on the length of days throughout the year - and a new online database launched by the University of Leicester explores the genetic explanation for how.
	New concept to help set priorities in water management The basic principle behind most strategies aimed at renaturalising ecosystems is to increase biodiversity by restoring natural habitat structure, which should lead to improved ecosystem services in the process. These projects often do not result in the success researchers had hoped for because the complexity of ecological relationships is so vast that it is difficult to detect the precise ecological factors that have priority over the many others in a particular case. Researchers working at the University of Montana and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) have now developed a theoretical framework - the concept of ecological simplification - aimed at closing this gap. They tested it in two iconic river landscapes: the Missouri River in the U.S. state of Montana and in the Elbe River in Saxony-Anhalt. The results were recently published in the BioScience journal.
High-speed search methods to better estimate climate threats to biodiversity Climate change is perhaps felt most acutely in the Arctic right now, but by the start of the next century, animal species in the Amazon basin region will be harder hit as the Earth warms.
	Straw-colored fruit bats: Ecosystem service providers and record-breaking flyers African straw-coloured fruit bats fulfil important ecosystem functions by dispersing seeds and pollen during their flights. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell together with colleagues from Ghana fitted African straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) with GPS-loggers to reveal the routes flown by the animals. Travel distances differed substantially according to season: during the dry season they covered up to 180 kilometres per night, while distances flown in the wet season was just one-third of this or less. This could be related to variations in population size during these periods. While the observed colony only consisted of a few thousand individuals during the wet season, in the dry season its population increased to over 100,000 bats. The more bats there are, the greater the competition food, and the further the animals have to fly to find sufficient food supplies.
	Invasive species as junk food for predators If there's an upshot to the appearance of invasive species, it's that they might provide an additional food source for the native animals whose territory they are invading.
	Endangered orangutans face a new threat The loss of habitats is the greatest threat to the endangered orangutans, and now a new study says their existence could be further jeopardized if conservation efforts don't include reintroducing these great apes into natural environments with enough high-energy food for them to survive.
	Improving safety in horse racing—it's all in the data It is one year since the tragic deaths of jockeys Carly-Mae Pye and Caitlin Forrest in Australia. Since then, horse racing has claimed two more lives – track work riders English-born Lizz Rice and German-born Friederike Ruhle.
	Lighting the way A microscopy technique is poised to shine new light on biological questions: as sheets of light can scan everything from developing embryos to single cells or functioning brains, a technique called light-sheet microscopy is gaining traction. It enables scientists to observe living cells in three dimensions, for extended periods of time. Now Luxendo, a start-up company launched by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and its technology transfer arm EMBLEM Technology Transfer (EMBLEM) in Heidelberg, Germany, and funded by the EMBL Technology Fund II (ETF II), in Heidelberg and Life Science Partners (LSP), in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, will bring these cutting-edge microscopes to users across the globe.
	OECD warns on fishing capacity as Asia share grows Years of overfishing have cut OECD countries' productive capacity while Chinese-led consumption growth has shifted production focus to Asia, a report by the Paris-based organisation said Wednesday.
	European body puzzled by uproar over Danish zoo dissection A European zoo organization says it supports a Danish park's plan to dissect a year-old lion culled to avoid inbreeding, adding some of the online uproar disregards the educational part of it.
26 more elephants killed with cyanide in Zimbabwe Rangers in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park have discovered the carcasses of 26 elephants at two locations, dead of cyanide poisoning along with 14 other elephants who were found last week, officials said Wednesday.

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