Science X Newsletter Tuesday, Jan 5

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for January 5, 2016:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Pure quantum-mechanical mixture of electrons and photons demonstrated in bismuth selenide
- Computer model matches humans at predicting how objects move
- Criteria to predict experimentally stable allotropes
- Facebook study suggests online users reinforce their views by creating echo chambers
- Bacteria streaming through a lattice behave like electrons in a magnetic material
- Inside the hepatitis C virus is a promising antiviral
- Andromeda galaxy scanned with high-energy X-ray vision
- Chandra finds supermassive black hole burping nearby
- Study of a pregnant cockroach paves a new direction in genetics research
- New material for detecting photons captures more quantum information
- Let's go wild: How ancient communities resisted new farming practices
- Researchers propose conceptual device for solar-powered water sanitation
- Lipoprotein nanoplatelets shed new light on biological molecules and cells
- Put the cellphone away! Fragmented baby care can affect brain development
- Remembering past events might take place quicker than we thought, research shows

Astronomy & Space news

	Three Saturnian moons in one image What looks like a pair of Saturnian satellites is actually a trio upon close inspection.
	Andromeda galaxy scanned with high-energy X-ray vision NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has captured the best high-energy X-ray view yet of a portion of our nearest large, neighboring galaxy, Andromeda. The space mission has observed 40 "X-ray binaries"—intense sources of X-rays comprised of a black hole or neutron star that feeds off a stellar companion.
	Chandra finds supermassive black hole burping nearby Evidence for powerful blasts produced by a giant black hole has been discovered using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This is one of the nearest supermassive black holes to Earth that is currently undergoing such violent outbursts.
	Rare galaxy with 2 black holes has 1 starved of stars An astrophysicist has discovered something even rarer than a double-black hole galaxy: a skinny black hole.
	Runaway stars leave infrared waves in space Astronomers are finding dozens of the fastest stars in our galaxy with the help of images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.
	Watch Venus brush past Saturn this weekend Welcome to 2016! The early morning sky is where the action is this first week of the year. We were out early this Monday morning as skies cleared over Central Florida on our yearly vigil for the Quadrantid meteors. Though only a handful of meteors graced the dawn skies, we were treated to a splendid line-up, including Jupiter, Mars, Spica, Antares, Saturn, Venus, the waning crescent moon AND a fine binocular view of Comet C/2013 US10 Catalina.
	British astronaut's first spacewalk set for Jan 15 Tim Peake, the first British astronaut to travel to the International Space Station, is poised to embark on his first spacewalk January 15, global space agencies announced Tuesday.
2016 preview for the European Space Agency 2016 will be another full and exciting year for the European Space Agency. This ESA TV video takes a look at what's ahead.
	What is the heliocentric model of the universe? The Scientific Revolution, which took in the 16th and 17th centuries, was a time of unprecedented learning and discovery. During this period, the foundations of modern science were laid, thanks to breakthroughs in the fields of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and astronomy. And when it comes to astronomy, the most influential scholar was definitely Nicolaus Copernicus, the man credited with the creation of the Heliocentric model of the universe.

Technology news

	Computer model matches humans at predicting how objects move We humans take for granted our remarkable ability to predict things that happen around us. For example, consider Rube Goldberg machines: One of the reasons we enjoy them is because we can watch a chain-reaction of objects fall, roll, slide and collide, and anticipate what happens next.
	Faraday reveals sleek, sporty concept car in Vegas The automotive future according to a new electric car maker looks an awful lot like a Corvette crossed with the Batmobile.
	Wi-Fi HaLow has low power, long range advantages The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced the Wi-Fi HaLow designation for products incorporating IEEE 802.11ah technology. All in all, said tech watchers, this is a new low-power and long-range version which carries key advantages.
	Driverless taxi on Seoul campus offers glimpse of future A South Korean university is testing a sedan that can pick up and transport passengers without a human driver, giving a glimpse into the future of autonomous public transport.
	Ford teams with Amazon to connect homes with cars Ford unveiled an alliance Tuesday with US online giant Amazon aimed at allowing people to connect their cars into "smart home" networks.
	Tweets too short? Twitter mulling 10,000 characters: report Twitter's 140 character limit on tweets has long frustrated and challenged its most verbose users.
	Heads up display for safe cycling makes CES appearance Garmin, the navigation tech company, has taken advantage of this year's CES in Las Vegas to announce Varia Vision, an in-sight display. Garmin has been known for its GPS navigation and wireless devices and applications; this new product should be of interest to Garmin fans wanting to add another level of safety in their bicycle treks, including daily rides in big-city traffic.
China economy weighs on consumer tech spending Spending on personal tech gadgets is taking a hit from the economic slowdown in China and the strong US dollar, researchers from the Consumer Technology Association said Monday.
	Japan to send plutonium cache to US under nuclear deal: report Japan will send a huge cache of plutonium—enough to produce 50 nuclear bombs—to the United States as part of a deal to return the material that was used for research, reports and officials said Tuesday.
	Are electric vehicles really best option for greener driving? Jaguar Land Rover has become the latest car manufacturer to announce its entry into the world's first fully electric racing series – the FIA Formula E World Championship. It is reported that the racing series will serve as a platform for the development of an electric-powered road car – perhaps an SUV to rival Tesla's Model X.
	The genie is out of the bottle – it's foolish to think encryption can now be banned Politicians have turned their sights on encryption once more following terrorist outrages in Paris and San Bernardino, California.
New sensor to aid in vitro fertilization The tricky process of monitoring early-stage embryos during the in vitro fertilization process could become much easier with the development of a new fibre-optic sensor that can measure concurrently, hydrogen peroxide and pH (acidity-alkalinity concentrations) in solution.
	Bio-digester supplies energy to 3000 farms The principle of action of a cow's digestive system served as a model to create a container that receives organic waste, mostly livestock manure, where it is mixed with millions of bacteria to obtain natural gas consisting mostly of methane, called biogas, as well as a high-quality bio-fertilizer.
	Process variation threatens to slow down and even pause chip miniaturization For past several decades, the processor industry has enjoyed the benefits of chip miniaturization and the exponential increase in the number of on-chip transistors as predicted by Moore's law. However, as process technology scales to small feature sizes, precise control of fabrication processes has become increasingly difficult. As a result, 'process variation' (PV), which refers to the deviation in parameters from their nominal specifications, has greatly exacerbated.
	Lab licenses tool to improve government computer network security Government agencies, along with state and local governments, could receive a helping hand from a computer network security tool developed by computer scientists and engineers at DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
	The latest at gadgets: Samsung fridge comes with screen (Update 8) The latest developments surrounding the consumer-electronics show in Las Vegas known as CES (all times local):
	App usage soars as smartphones take hold Global app usage soared in 2015 as a growing base of smartphone users found new ways to use their devices, a study showed Tuesday.
	Autonomous car breakthroughs featured at CES gadget show (Update) Powerful computers that can drive better than people, high-definition road maps and low-cost sensors are about to remove some big barriers to self-driving cars.
	New TV tech promises sharper colors, but not much to watch For years, TV makers have focused on making pictures sharper by squeezing more pixels onto screens. Now, their attention is shifting to improving the way sets display color, with a newish technology called HDR taking center stage.
	Fighting fire with FireFOAM Roughly 40 percent of all industrial property loss in the United States comes from fire, and fire is the leading cause of commercial property damage. For insurance companies, understanding how fires spread can help save their industrial clients from massive property and business interruption losses, ultimately saving both insurer and insured millions of dollars. Businesses with large warehouses are at particular risk, because as storage warehouses get bigger, providing adequate protection using traditional ceiling-mounted sprinkler systems is becoming more challenging.
Lumosity to pay $2M to settle deceptive ad allegations The developer of Lumosity "brain training" games will pay $2 million to settle federal allegations that it misled customers about the cognitive benefits of its online apps and programs.
	Yahoo pulls plug on video hub as CEO refocuses company Yahoo pulled the plug on an online video hub that had once been envisioned as the beleaguered company's answer to Netflix and YouTube.
	Ultra-thin, high-def TVs battle for CES crown A battle for the title of best new television opened Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics Show, with LG unveiling a new model no thicker than four stacked credit cards.
Latvian who co-wrote worldwide computer virus can go home A Latvian computer code writer who admitted a role in spreading a virus to over a million computers worldwide, including some at NASA, can return home after serving over 20 months in prison.
	Fitbit 'smart fitness watch' disappoints market (Update) Fitbit on Tuesday unveiled its "smart fitness watch," aiming to get into the growing smartwatch segment with upgraded fitness tracking features.
	Huawei targets premium segment with new phone, watch Chinese electronics giant Huawei took aim Tuesday at the premium segment dominated by Apple, unveiling a new large-screen smartphone along with a tablet and luxury smartwatch.
CES shifts its focus to innovations changing the tech industry As CES ballooned into an overwhelming crush of products, press events and panels in recent years, longtime attendees grumbled that the consumer-electronics show was just too much stuff and not enough substance.
Ford triples autonomous fleet, poses drone challenge Ford is to unveil Tuesday a smorgasbord of technology initiatives ranging from tripling its fleet of autonomous Fusion sedans to funding new mobility startups and also challenging software wizards to program drones and F-150 pickup trucks to navigate disaster relief sites.
Five tech categories to watch at CES CES doesn't always present a clear picture of technology trends. Longtime technology journalist Harry McCracken likened the consumer-electronics show to a circus fun house mirror, exaggerating the importance of some technologies while minimizing the potential of others.
Hoverboard sparks house fire in Australia An Australian family home was gutted when a hoverboard caught fire as it was charging, officials said Tuesday.
	Radiation detectors at US ports of entry now operate more effectively, efficiently Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection is improving radiation scanning equipment used at many of our nation's ports of entry. Radiation portal monitors now better detect radiological threats while alarming much less frequently on non-threatening materials, resulting in big savings. The improvements, known as Revised Operational Settings, are being implemented during the annual calibrations of radiation portal monitors used to detect radiological threats in cargo and conveyances entering the U.S. through official ports of entry. ROS will greatly improve CBP's operational efficiencies in keeping terrorists weapons out of the U.S., while facilitating lawful international trade and travel.
French telecoms: Orange in talks about buying rival Bouygues French telecoms giant Orange is in talks about a possible buyout of rival phone provider Bouygues Telecom.
	IT experts say Ukraine blackout caused by a cyberattack A power failure that plunged parts of western Ukraine into the dark last month was caused by a cyberattack, IT experts said Tuesday, and one source called it a world first.
Netflix extends online video licensing deal with DreamWorks Netflix's online video service will feature more series and movies from DreamWorks Animation as part of a contract extension with the studio.

Medicine & Health news

	Map shows hotspots for bat-human virus transmission risk West Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia are most at risk from bat viruses 'spilling over' into humans resulting in new emerging diseases, according to a new global map compiled by scientists at UCL, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the University of Edinburgh. The map shows risk levels due to a variety of factors including large numbers of different bat viruses found locally, increasing population pressure, and hunting bats for bushmeat.
	New findings on embryonic heart valves may prevent congenital heart defects in newborns Cornell biomedical engineers have discovered natural triggers that could reduce the chance of life-threatening, congenital heart defects among newborn infants. Those triggers can override developmental, biological miscues, leading to proper embryonic heart and valve formation.
	Neurobiology scientists discover new mechanism for detecting sour taste Researchers have discovered a new way that taste cells detect sourness, a sensation that is linked to acidity.
	The brain concentrates on the objective Which is more important when we plan an action: the overarching goal or the approach along the way? Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig have discovered that we initially focus on the goal. They demonstrated it in a study conducted with trained pianists whose mental processes concentrate more on the targeted harmony of a melody than on finger positions for individual chords.
	Researchers make progress on identifying people who will experience adverse responses to vaccinations (MedicalXpress)—A team of researchers working in the U.K. has fingered a pattern in gene-expression immune cells that could help doctors predict which people are likely to have adverse responses to vaccinations. In their paper published in the journal Nature Immunology, the team describes their study of the response to flu vaccinations in 178 healthy adults in the U.K. and how they sifted out some of the gene-expression immune cells that were responsible for adverse reactions.
	Defect in retinal computation linked to congenital nystagmus Botond Roska and his group at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) implicate a clearly defined neuron type and its circuit in the retina in the pathophysiology of idiopathic congenital nystagmus. In a mouse model of the disease, which shows similar clinical symptoms as patients, a defect in starburst cells elicited by dysfunctional FRMD7 leads to the loss of the horizontal optokinetic reflex.
	Changes in brain connectivity protect against developing bipolar disorder Naturally occurring changes in brain wiring can help patients at high genetic risk of developing bipolar disorder avert the onset of the illness, according to a new study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published online today in the journal Translational Psychiatry. The study's findings open up new avenues for researchers to explore ways the brain can prevent disease expression, also known as resilience, with the hope of developing better treatments.
	The brain can be trained to regulate negative emotions, study reports A simple, computer-training task can change the brain's wiring to regulate emotional reactions, according to a recent study published in NeuroImage by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers.
	Inside the hepatitis C virus is a promising antiviral A peptide derived from the hepatitis C virus (HCV) kills a broad range of viruses while leaving host cells unharmed by discriminating between the molecular make-up of their membranes, reveals a study published January 5 in the Biophysical Journal. The peptide was potent against a range of cholesterol-containing viruses, including West Nile, dengue, measles, and HIV.
	Put the cellphone away! Fragmented baby care can affect brain development Mothers, put down your smartphones when caring for your babies! That's the message from University of California, Irvine researchers, who have found that fragmented and chaotic maternal care can disrupt proper brain development, which can lead to emotional disorders later in life.
	Powerful protein promotes post-injury regeneration and growth of injured peripheral nerves The peripheral nervous system is a vast network of nerves that exists primarily outside of brain and spinal cord and connects to the far reaches of the body. The very expanse of peripheral nerves makes them highly vulnerable to injuries such as blunt-force blows, cuts, and leg and arm fractures, as well as diseases that attack peripheral nerves such as diabetes, Charcot-Marie-Tooth, and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Unlike the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), peripheral nerves do have the capacity to regenerate, and inflammatory immune responses play a key role in regeneration.
	Remembering past events might take place quicker than we thought, research shows Research published in the Journal of Neuroscience has shown that retrieving memories of events from our past may take place quicker than we previously thought - and it is possible to interfere with that process.
	Study finds cerebrovascular disease to be major determinant of psychosis in patients with Alzheimer's About half of all patients with Alzheimer's disease develop symptoms of psychosis, such as delusions or hallucinations.
Penetrating head gunshot wounds in children and adolescents: Factors predicting outcomes Researchers from Memphis, Tennessee, have examined intracranial gunshot wounds (GSWs) in children and adolescents, and identified nine clinical, laboratory, and radiological factors that were predictive of these patients' outcomes. The factors are described and discussed in the article "Pediatric intracranial gunshot wounds: the Memphis experience," by Michael DeCuypere, MD, PhD, and colleagues, published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics.
	Study shows high frequency of spontaneous mutation in Ebola virus In late December, nearly two years after the epidemic began, the World Health Organization has declared the African country of Guinea to be free of Ebola virus infections. But, the race to find a cure and therapies to combat the disease are forging ahead as officials warn that inattention could lead to another epidemic.
DHEA improves vaginal discomfort after menopause A new phase III trial with positive results is taking intravaginal DHEA a step closer to governmental approval. The formulation could provide women who cannot or do not wish to use intravaginal estrogen with an effective vaginal alternative for easing vaginal symptoms and pain with sex after menopause. The trial results were published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society.
Chinese woman dies of H5N6 bird flu, another woman critical Health authorities in southern China said Tuesday that a 26-year-old woman has died of a strain of bird flu, and another woman is reportedly in serious condition.
	Reliably detecting dengue fever Tiger mosquitoes are indigenous to Africa and Asia. However, they are increasingly being found around the Mediterranean and are bringing the dengue virus with them. Up to now, there's been no sure-fire antibody test for detecting this virus. Researchers have now developed such a test, creating a cost-effective and fail-safe way to diagnose dengue.
	Blind woman's joy as she is able to read the time thanks to 'bionic eye' A patient who is the first in the UK to receive the world's most advanced 'bionic eye' has been able to read the time for the first time in more than five years.
	Mexican-origin childhood obesity rates affected by generation, economic status Childhood obesity rates are on the rise in the U.S., with Mexican-origin children having the highest obesity rates across all ethnic groups. Penn State researchers are looking into possible factors that influence the diets of these children.
Lipid-based prenatal supplement improves infant health and nutrition in Bangladesh Fortified, lipid- or fat-based nutritional supplements provided during pregnancy to women in Bangladesh reduced stunting, abnormally low weight and small head size in babies born to these women, reports a team of University of California, Davis, researchers who led the international project.
New model uses public health statistics to signal when disease elimination is imminent Ecologists at the University of Georgia have developed a model showing that public health surveillance data can be used to signal when a disease is approaching eradication. Their research, just published in Theoretical Ecology, lays the groundwork for a potential new tool in the fight against infectious diseases.
Anti-inflammatory drug and gut bacteria have a dynamic interplay, according to study A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) changed the composition and diversity of gut microbes, which in turn shaped how the drug is broken down and ultimately, cut its effectiveness, according to an animal study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Gut bacteria that make up the gastrointestinal microbiome play an important role in the metabolism of most chemicals humans ingest, motivating studies of microbe-driven breakdown of clinically important drugs. In fact, gut bacteria are involved in the digestion of over 30 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs.
	Stored fat is a feat of evolution In spite of the bad press, stored fat is actually a really wonderful thing. Without the capacity to store energy in the form of fat, we would have been unlikely to survive through millions of years of evolution and we would certainly look very different to the way we look today. We needed the capacity to store energy to survive periods of famine, and fat is a very sensible way to do this.
	Screening for ovarian cancer may save lives, new study suggests New results from an ovarian cancer screening trial, led by UCL, suggests that screening based on an annual blood test may help reduce the number of deaths caused by the disease by around 20%.
Teens with autism and caregivers should plan early for adulthood As the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders continues to rise, medical professionals have emphasized early diagnosis, intervention and treatment. However, less attention has been given to children with autism once they reach their teen years and adulthood. Now, one University of Missouri researcher is working to find ways to support teens with autism and their caregivers so the teens can transition into adulthood successfully and independently.
	Making patients safer in surgery Surgery is getting safer thanks to research by an Oxford University team that has brought together two previously competing theories about how best to protect patients.
Can pharmacists help fill the growing primary care gap? By 2020 157 million people in the US will be living with at least one chronic health condition. As the number of Americans managing diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol increases, the ranks of primary care providers (PCPs) who currently perform the majority of chronic disease management are dwindling.
Short-term international programs for medical students can have unintended consequences As American medical students increasingly want and expect to have international work experience, more and more short-term programs are being offered to give them that opportunity, according to Melissa Melby, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Delaware.
Overweight young people can avoid diabetes risk if they lose weight early enough, says new research Obese young people can still turn their chances of developing life threatening illness around if they change before middle age, says new research.
	High blood sugar levels could lead to heart attack complications Scientists at the University of Leicester have demonstrated for the first time the mechanism by which the level of sugar in your blood can affect the contraction of blood vessels, with potentially dangerous effects on the heart and blood pressure.
	New test could detect early hearing loss in cystic fibrosis patients Experts in Nottingham are investigating whether a new type of hearing test could successfully detect early hearing loss in people with cystic fibrosis (CF).
	Wage gap could explain why women are more likely to be anxious and depressed than men The odds of major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder were markedly greater among women who earned less than their male counterparts, with whom they were matched on education and years of experience, according to new research conducted at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Results of the study are online in the journal Social Science & Medicine.
Study details how good bacteria might help prevent middle ear infections and pneumonia A new study from the Forsyth Institute is helping to shed more light on the important connections among the diverse bacteria in our microbiome. According to research published in mBio, scientists at Forsyth, led by Dr. Katherine P. Lemon, along with their collaborator at Vanderbilt University, have demonstrated that a harmless bacterium found in the nose and on skin may negatively impact the growth of a pathogen that commonly causes middle ear infections in children and pneumonia in children and older adults.
	Study raises questions about reporting incidental genetic findings A review of medical records of patients with genetic variations linked with cardiac disorders found that patients often did not have any symptoms or signs of the conditions, questioning the validity of some genetic variations thought to be related to serious disorders, according to a study in the January 5 issue of JAMA.
	Twin study estimates familial risks of 23 different cancers A large new study of twins has found that having a twin sibling diagnosed with cancer poses an excess risk for the other twin to develop any form of cancer. Among the 23 different types of cancer studied, an excess familial risk was seen for almost all of the cancers, including common cancers such as breast and prostate cancer, but also more rare cancers such as testicular cancer, head and neck cancer, melanoma, ovarian and stomach cancer.
Exercise, diet improves ability to exercise for patients with common type of heart failure Among obese older patients with a common type of heart failure, calorie restriction or aerobic exercise training improved their ability to exercise without experiencing shortness of breath, although neither intervention had a significant effect on a measure of quality of life, according to a study in the January 5 issue of JAMA.
	Study dispels belief healthy diets are costly Research conducted by The Miriam Hospital and The Rhode Island Community Food Bank demonstrated that - contrary to popular belief - healthy diets rich in fruits and vegetables are affordable. In fact, the study found that a plant-based, extra-virgin olive oil diet is cheaper than the most economical recommendations for healthy eating coming from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The comparison to the USDA diet showed an annual savings of nearly $750 per person, while also providing significantly more servings of vegetables, fruits and whole grains. The study and its findings were published last month in the Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition.
Use of oral antifungal medication during pregnancy, risk of spontaneous abortion In an analysis of approximately 1.4 million pregnancies in Denmark, use of the oral antifungal medication fluconazole during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion compared with risk among unexposed women and women who used a topical antifungal during pregnancy, according to a study in the January 5 issue of JAMA.
	Premium-based financial incentives did not motivate obese employees to lose weight Employers around the nation are increasingly searching for ways to help their employees make healthy lifestyle choices including encouraging obese employees to lose weight, often by offering financial incentives in the form of reduced health insurance premiums to help encourage success. But these programs are likely to fail, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published today in the January issue of Health Affairs.
Palliative care offers greater cost savings for cancer patients with multiple chronic conditions Patients with incurable cancer and numerous other serious health conditions who consulted with a palliative care team within two days of hospitalization had significant savings in hospital costs, according to a new study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Published today in the January issue of the journal Health Affairs, the study also determined that the higher number of serious coexisting conditions patients had, the greater reduction in direct hospital costs.
	Fast and sharp: Medicaid expansion gives hospitals immediate relief from uninsured care Just six months after opening up health insurance to more low-income people, states saw a huge drop in the amount of care their hospitals provided to uninsured patients, and a rise in care for people with coverage, a new study finds.
Mexico's murder rate led to decrease in men's average life expectancy in first decade Mexico's staggering homicide rate has taken a toll on the mortality rate for men—and it could be even worse than the statistics indicate, a new study from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health suggests.
	Fearful chickens and worried mice: Shared genetic influences on anxiety Chickens that chicken out in unfamiliar surroundings may shed light on anxiety in humans, according to research published in the January issue of the journal Genetics, a publication of the Genetics Society of America.
	Mental Synthesis experiment could teach us more about our imagination While there is general consensus that the ability to imagine a never-before-seen object or concept is a unique and distinctive human trait, there is little that we know about the neurological mechanism behind it. Neuroscientist Dr. Andrey Vyshedskiy proposes a straightforward experiment that could test whether the ability to imagine a novel object involves the synchronization of groups of neurons, known as neuronal ensembles. Since the process involves mentally combining familiar images, scenes or concepts, Dr. Vyshedskiy proposes calling this process 'mental synthesis.' His research idea is published in the open-access Research Idea and Outcomes (RIO) Journal.
Sharing of research data and findings should be the norm in public health emergencies Opting in to data sharing should be the default practice during public health emergencies, such as the recent Ebola epidemic, and barriers to sharing data and findings should be removed to ensure those responding to the emergency have the best available evidence at hand according to Vasee Moorthy and colleagues from the World Health Organization (WHO) in a Policy Forum article published in PLOS Medicine.
A stronger ethical culture within the US military health care environment is needed The health professional community should urge the United States Secretary of Defense to adopt and implement the recent recommendations of the Defense Health Board, and in addition rescind directives authorizing participation of health professionals in interrogation and force-feeding because they are inconsistent with professional ethics according to Leonard Rubenstein, from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Berman Institute of Bioethics, Baltimore, and colleagues in a new Essay published this week in PLOS Medicine.
A broken bone may lead to widespread body pain—not just at the site of the fracture Breaking a major bone may increase risk of widespread chronic body pain in later life, a new study has found.
Team finds possible new pharmacological target for one of the most important and elusive oncogenes The MYC oncogene intervenes in many types of cancer, some of which are very aggressive; researchers suspect that controlling its activity could open avenues to new treatments. However, MYC is an especially complex oncogene that has resisted therapeutic manipulation to date. Researchers of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) have now managed to identify a protein that is essential for MYC to cause cancer in mouse models, and they believe that it could be a new target for future anti-cancer drugs. The paper, which has been published today in Nature Communications, uses genome wide data analysis techniques to study the behaviour of MYC in networks that consist of hundreds of genes.
	Parkinson's disease: New insights into a traveling protein In Parkinson's disease, the protein "alpha-synuclein" aggregates within neurons of patients and appears to propagate across interconnected areas of the brain. How this happens remains largely unknown. It has been proposed that alpha-synuclein may behave like a "prion": pathological forms of the protein may be capable of changing the conformation of normal alpha-synuclein and thus triggering its aggregation and neuron-to-neuron propagation (a phenomenon referred to as "seeding"). Recent findings by scientists at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) reveal that aggregation, spreading and pathology caused by alpha-synuclein do not necessarily involve prion-like seeding. Instead, they could be triggered by enhanced alpha-synuclein expression and trans-neuronal passage of monomeric and oligomeric forms of the protein. Researchers led by Prof. Donato Di Monte report on this in the journal Brain.
Why white, older men are more likely to die of suicide In the United States, older men of European descent (so-called white men) have significantly higher suicide rates than any other demographic group. For example, their suicide rates are significantly higher than those of older men of African, Latino or Indigenous descent, as well as relative to older women across ethnicities.
	Radiation an important addition to treatment for pancreatic cancer surgery candidates Radiation therapy was associated with a lower risk of cancer recurrence in pancreatic cancer surgery patients, making it, like chemotherapy, an important addition to treatment, Mayo Clinic research found. Whether radiotherapy helps patients after pancreatic cancer surgery has been a long-standing question, and the findings suggest that it does, says senior author Christopher Hallemeier, M.D., a radiation oncologist at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. The study is published in the American Society for Radiation Oncology's International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.
	Novel RNA delivery system may treat incurable blood cancers With a median survival rate of just five to seven years, Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) is considered the most aggressive known blood cancer—and available therapies are scarce. Three thousand Americans are diagnosed with MCL every year, and despite progress in personalized therapies to treat metastases elsewhere in the body, systemic therapeutic drug delivery to cancerous blood cells continues to challenge the world of cancer research.
	Talk therapy to tackle fear of the dentist (HealthDay)—Many people are familiar with the fear that can precede a visit to the dentist, but new research shows that talk therapy can help when that anxiety becomes a crippling phobia.
	Childhood cancer treatment may raise adult heart disease risk (HealthDay)—Children who survive cancer may face a higher risk of heart disease as adults, new research suggests.
	Support for first-line erlotinib in NSCLC with EGFR mutations (HealthDay)—For patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, erlotinib is active, and treatment beyond progression is feasible and may delay salvage therapy in selected patients, according to a study published online Dec. 30 in JAMA Oncology.
	Diet proven to lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease also ranked No. 1 easiest to follow A diet created, studied and reported on by researchers at Rush University Medical Center has been ranked the easiest diet to follow and the second best overall diet (tying in both categories) for 2016 by U.S. News & World Report.
	Antidepressant drug linked with increased risk of birth defects when taken in early pregnancy Using paroxetine—a medication prescribed to treat conditions including depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder—during the first trimester of pregnancy may increase newborns' risk of congenital malformations and cardiac malformations. That's the conclusion of a recent analysis published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
	Mosquitoes more likely to lay eggs in water sources near flowers Certain mosquitoes are more likely to lay eggs in water sources near flowers than in water sources without flowers, according to an article published in the Journal of Medical Entomology.
Female urologists still earn less money than their male counterparts Although the field of urology remains largely male dominated, the proportion of female physicians specializing in urology has increased from less than 0.5% in 1981 to 10% today, and 33% of students entering urology internships and residency programs are now female. Researchers report in The Journal of Urology that gender inequality between male and female urologists persists with women currently earning approximately $76,000 less than men annually.
	During Great Recession employees drank less on the job, but more afterwards Periods of economic uncertainty tend to influence drinking problems among people who lose their jobs, as some turn to alcohol due to stress or because they have more free time and fewer responsibilities.
Local health departments key to expanding mental health care in US Local health departments could play a significant role in tackling mental health issues in the United States, according to a recent study conducted by faculty in Drexel's Dornsife School of Public Health.
Commensal bacteria regulate immune cells in lungs to produce proteins for host defense Microbiota—the trillions of bacteria that co-exist in the body—regulate the ability of lung dendritic cells to generate immune responses, according to a study led by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, published online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
	Study finds no increased risk of autism, ADHD with prenatal antidepressant exposure - An analysis of medical records data from three Massachusetts health care systems finds no evidence that prenatal exposure to antidepressants increases the risk for autism and related disorders or for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In their report being published online in Translational Psychiatry, the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based research team finds evidence that any increased incidence of autism or ADHD found in previous studies was probably associated with the severity of the mother's depression - a known risk factor for several neuropsychiatric disorders - and not from antidepressant exposure during pregnancy.
	Health agency takes on advertising for electronic cigarettes (Update) The nation's lead public health agency on Tuesday focused its attack on electronic cigarettes on the issue of advertising, saying too many kids see the ads.
	Medicaid tobacco cessation: Big gaps remain in efforts to get smokers to quit A new study, published in the January 2016 issue of Health Affairs, by researchers at Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University, provides new data on how often state Medicaid programs provide help with smoking cessation. Based on data about the level of medications purchased by Medicaid, the researchers estimate that only 10 percent of smokers on Medicaid received medication to help them stop smoking every year.
	Prevalence of diabetic macular edema varies by test (HealthDay)—Diabetic macular edema (DME) is more often diagnosed using monocular fundus photography than optical coherence tomography (OCT) central subfield thickness (CST), according to a study published online Dec. 30 in JAMA Ophthalmology.
	Side-to-side isoperistaltic strictureplasty helpful in Crohn's (HealthDay)—For patients with Crohn's disease (CD), side-to-side isoperistaltic strictureplasty (SSIS) is beneficial, with acceptable recurrence rates, according to a study published online Dec. 30 in JAMA Surgery.
	Axillary pCR linked to improved breast cancer survival (HealthDay)—For women with breast cancer treated with primary systemic chemotherapy (PST), achieving axillary pathologic complete response (pCR) is associated with improved survival, according to a study published online Dec. 30 in JAMA Oncology.
	Try home remedies for child's cough or cold (HealthDay)—Instead of turning to over-the-counter cough and cold remedies, parents should consider treating their children with home remedies, says a leading group of U.S. pediatricians.
	Aspirin may decrease death from prostate cancer, study finds (HealthDay)—Men who take aspirin regularly may have a lower risk of dying from prostate cancer, a new study suggests.
	ASCO: Cabozantinib improves progression-free survival in RCC (HealthDay)—For patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, cabozantinib is associated with improved progression-free survival (PFS), with consistent improvement across all patient subgroups, according to a study scheduled to be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, held from Jan. 7 to 9 in San Francisco.
	Researchers argue in defense of the annual check-up (HealthDay)—Arguments urging doctors to abandon routine physical exams are based on insufficient evidence, according to an Ideas and Opinions piece published online Jan. 5 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researchers work on device to let paralyzed limbs move Researchers are making progress in a quest to create a device that would allow people who have been paralyzed by injury or stroke to move their limbs.
	E-cigarettes damage DNA in lab study Heavy exposure to electronic cigarette vapor damages DNA in cell cultures, causing genetic instability that could lead to cancer, according to a study by VA San Diego Healthcare System and University of California, San Diego, researchers.
	Trouble sleeping? You might be slumbering in a dust bowl It's cold and flu season, but if you have the sniffles and feel exhausted, the culprit might not be a germ.
Review: Standing desk aims to get you on your feet and out of your chair This job is introducing me to all kinds of new things. Like standing at my desk.
	Cannabis-based drug reduces seizures in children with treatment-resistant epilepsy Children and young adults with severe forms of epilepsy that does not respond to standard antiepileptic drugs have fewer seizures when treated with purified cannabinoid, according to a multi-center study led by researchers from UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco.
Over 400 conditions co-occur with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), study finds Researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have identified 428 distinct disease conditions that co-occur in people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), in the most comprehensive review of its kind.
Child health study looks at 'checkpoint' between childhood and adolescence The latest assessments in a major research project on child health in Australia will be taking place on Murdoch's South Street Campus this week.
Traditional Medicaid expansion and 'private option' both improve access to health care Two different approaches used by states to expand Medicaid coverage for low-income adults—traditional expansion and the 'private option'—appear to be similarly successful in reducing numbers of the uninsured and in expanding access to and affordability of health care, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
HIV/AIDS management: Trial demonstrates importance of cotrimoxazole prophylaxis in malaria-endemic regions Cotrimoxazole (CTX) discontinuation is inferior to CTX continuation among ART-treated, immune-reconstituted HIV-infected adults living in a malaria-endemic region, according to a trial published this week in PLOS Medicine by Christina Polyak at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and University of Washington, U.S., and colleagues. These trial findings were important for December 2014 WHO guidelines recommending that CTX prophylaxis be continued regardless of CD4 cell count or HIV/AIDS clinical stage in settings where malaria is endemic and/or severe bacterial infections are common.
Racial disparities in kidney transplantation rates eased by new allocation system Year-old changes to the system that distributes deceased donor kidneys nationwide have significantly boosted transplantation rates for black and Hispanic patients on waiting lists, reducing racial disparities inherent in the previous allocation formula used for decades, according to results of research led by a Johns Hopkins transplant surgeon.
	Hawaii becomes first state to raise smoking age to 21 (HealthDay)—Hawaii has become the first state to raise the legal smoking age to 21 for both traditional and electronic cigarettes. State health officials hope the new law, effective Jan. 1, will make it harder for teenagers to try smoking or to develop the deadly habit, the Associated Press reported.
	Women in Oregon no longer need Rx for birth control (HealthDay)—Oregon has become the first state to allow women to obtain birth control without a doctor's prescription.
Symptoms and quality of life after military brain injury New research shows four distinct patterns of symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) in military service members, and validates a new tool for assessing the quality-of-life impact of TBI. The studies appear in the January-February issue of The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (JHTR), an annual special issue devoted to TBI in the military.
	Biogerontology Research Foundation calls for a task force to classify aging as a disease The first paper published on June 15th, the authors provide a set of arguments for classifying ageing as a disease. The paper by Bulterijs, Roy and colleagues propositions that disease classification is too often dependent on social and cultural context, and that separating 'normal' progression from 'healthy' aging lacks coherence and hinders efforts to ameliorate age-related suffering. For example, several currently recognized diseases, such as osteoporosis, isolated systolic hypertension, and senile Alzheimer's disease, were in the past ascribed to normal aging. Recognising aging as a unique, but multisystemic disease would provide a framework to tackle and prevent many chronic conditions; alleviating both financial, social and moral burden.
Association for Cancer Physicians releases cancer patient strategy for UK The Association for Cancer Physicians (ACP), which represents and supports medical oncologists in the UK, has published a new Strategy for improving cancer patient services and outcomes.
Levetiracetam shows promise for the treatment of feline audiogenic reflex seizures A group of UK-based investigators from Davies Veterinary Group and the UCL School of Pharmacy, who recently engaged the veterinary world with an article defining the previously undocumented syndrome of feline audiogenic reflex seizures (FARS), have published follow-up findings about the treatment of the condition. Their paper, 'Levetiracetam in the management of feline audiogenic reflex seizures: a randomised, controlled, open label study', appears in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery.
	Injuries among Dungeness crab fishermen examined in new study Commercial Dungeness crab fishing on the West Coast is one of the highest risk occupations in the United States, based on fatality rates. But non-fatal injuries in the fishery appear to go largely unreported, a new study from Oregon State University shows.
	Merck CEO: Eager for deals, strong prospects for new drugs Merck's chief executive says the drugmaker is "raring to go" on deals this year, particularly for small and midsize acquisitions of companies or their experimental drugs.
Medicare to test if seamless social work can improve health Doctors, community workers and social researchers have long recognized a link between the hardships of poverty and health problems.
Heavy users of mental health care have substantially different patterns of health care use While a small number of people account for a disproportionately large portion of health services use, heavy users of mental health care have substantially different patterns of health care use than other heavy users of health care, according to new research by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES).
Medication errors: tips to keep you safe Medication errors are very common. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 82 percent of adults are on at least one medication and 29 percent take five or more. With numbers such as those, it's no wonder mistakes happen. The CDC also says adverse drug events, which are instances where medication errors cause harm, are responsible for an approximated 700,000 emergency department visits a year. Some typical medication errors include:
Brain scans show long-term effects of heavy drinking Something to mull over: New technology reveals how excessive drinking causes lasting damage to your brain.

Biology news

	Bats adapt their echolocation calls to noise Bats find their way acoustically when they are flying by using echolocation calls, often also employing them when hunting for food. A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich has now discovered how these animals handle interference in the form of environmental noise. They analyzed thousands of echolocation calls under various natural ambient noise conditions and showed that bats adapt both the amplitude of their calls and their duration to the noise level. Although every individual reacted slightly differently in the process, all the mechanisms used improve the detectability of the signal.
	Researcher studies why offspring of older parents have reduced longevity An NDSU faculty member is among a group of international researchers studying why older parents produce offspring who tend to have shorter lives.
	Bacteria streaming through a lattice behave like electrons in a magnetic material There are certain universal patterns in nature that hold true, regardless of objects' size, species, or surroundings. Take, for instance, the branching fractals seen in both tree limbs and blood vessels, or the surprisingly similar spirals in mollusks and cabbage.
	Study of a pregnant cockroach paves a new direction in genetics research The sequencing of the first genome involving a cockroach species may one day serve as a model system comparable to how research on mice can apply to humans. In this case, the model could hold new revelations about how stress during pregnancy could affect both the mother and her offspring. Emily Jennings, a University of Cincinnati doctoral student in the Department of Biological Sciences, will present a study using RNA-sequencing analysis on a pregnant insect at the annual national meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. The meeting takes place Jan. 3-7, in Portland, Oregon.
	The dandelion uses latex to protect its roots against insect feeding Dandelions are troublesome weeds that are detested by most gardeners. Yet dandelions also have many insect enemies in nature. However, they are able to protect themselves with their latex, a milky, bitter-tasting sap. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, and the University of Bern, Switzerland, have now demonstrated that a single compound in the latex protects dandelion roots against voracious cockchafer larvae. Thus, latex plays a crucial role in dandelion defense against root feeders. (PLOS Biology, January 2016, Open Access)
	Traveling salesman uncorks synthetic biology bottleneck Researchers have created a computer program that will open a challenging field in synthetic biology to the entire world.
	Snakes show that eating can be bad for your health Eating is essential for life. Animals must eat to live, grow, and reproduce. But like most things, eating comes with tradeoffs. Dr. Zach Stahlschmidt of the University of the Pacific and his colleagues have found that along with the benefits of eating, there's a price to pay.
	Buzz, buzz, slap! Why flies can be so annoying You know the drill. A picnic in the park, a walk in the bush or a barbecue with friends and family – all perfect summer activities that can be ruined by annoying flies that never leave you alone.
	Far-reaching benefits from canine cancer research A study mapping genes associated with two cancers common in golden retrievers could lead to better prevention and treatment of the disease in dogs as well as similar cancers in people.
	Unique high-resolution map on bat diversity in Africa Researchers of the ITC Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation of the University of Twente have developed a unique map of all 250 African bat species on a high-resolution scale (1 km2). There are very few examples of biodiversity richness based on quantitative data at a continental scale, especially for challenging guilds like bats. The findings of the research are presented in the January edition of the scientific journal Ecological Modelling.
	OCT may speed detection of pneumonia-related bacteria in ICU patients The ability to better detect and assess bacteria linked to a form of pneumonia prevalent in hospital intensive care units (ICUs) could soon become possible, according to research reported in the latest issue of the Journal of Biomedical Optics. The journal is published by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.
Genetic changes in birds could throw light on human mitochondrial diseases Deakin University and UNSW Australia researchers have made a rare observation of rapid evolution in action in the wild, documenting the spread of a newly arisen genetic mutation in invasive starlings, which could shed light on mitochondrial disease in humans.
US to consider alternative to Yellowstone dam U.S. officials will consider an alternative to a dam proposed on the Yellowstone River over worries it could hurt an endangered fish species that dates to the time of dinosaurs, after a judge on Tuesday approved a settlement in a lawsuit over the project.
	Scientists discover nursery ground for sand tiger sharks in Long Island's Great South Bay Scientists and veterinarians working for WCS's New York Aquarium have discovered something noteworthy in the near shore waters of Long Island's Great South Bay: a nursery ground for the sand tiger shark, a fearsome-looking but non-aggressive fish.
	What a 'CERN' for agricultural science could look like The Large Hadron Collider, a.k.a. CERN, found success in a simple idea: Invest in a laboratory that no one institution could sustain on their own and then make it accessible for physicists around the world. Astronomers have done the same with telescopes, while neuroscientists are collaborating to build brain imaging observatories. Now, in Trends in Plant Science on January 5, agricultural researchers present their vision for how a similar idea could work for them.
Government agencies to cull up to 900 Yellowstone bison Government agencies aim to kill or remove up to 900 wild bison from Yellowstone National Park this winter as part of an ongoing effort to reduce the animals' annual migration into Montana by driving down their population.
	Japan sushi boss pays $117,000 for endangered tuna A Japanese sushi boss paid more than $117,000 Tuesday for a giant bluefin tuna as Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market held its last New Year auction ahead of a much-needed modernisation move.
Kaolin effectively controls whitefly in beans In Colombia, bean crops contribute significantly to the region's agriculture. Because these important crops are vulnerable to pests and diseases, growers often need to rely on chemicals to protect valuable crops. New research on the use of kaolin (aluminosilicate clay) contains information that can help bean producers limit the use of conventional pesticides and develop new strategies for integrated pest management.
	Irradiation preserves blueberry, grape quality It is often necessary to treat produce for insects in order to transport crops out of quarantine areas. Fumigation with methyl bromide, one of the most common treatments, is in the process of being phased out because of its depleting effect on the ozone layer. Alternately, ionizing irradiation at low doses is being used worldwide as a promising phytosanitary treatment for fruit such as guava, rambutan, and mango. New research reveals that irradiation can also be effective for treating blueberries and grapes for export without compromising fruit quality.

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