Science X Newsletter Monday, Sep 26

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for September 26, 2016:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

Human Level Artificial Intelligence 2016: Artificial General Intelligence and then some (Part 1)

Rosetta: The end of a space odyssey

Click and declick of amine and thiol coupling reaction

Pulsar discovered in an ultraluminous X-ray source

Best of Last Week—The directionless universe, China's huge radio telescope and oxytocin enhanced spirituality

A rule of chemistry suppressed: Promising new ways to look inside cells, make LEDs

Photons do the twist, and scientists can now measure it

New finding supports Moon creation hypothesis

Hubble spots possible water plumes erupting on Jupiter's moon Europa

Parkinson's disease protection may begin in the gut: Intestinal cells' immune response protects vital neurons

NASA to reveal 'surprising' activity on Jupiter's moon Europa

Sewbo robot can sew a t-shirt thanks to stiffened fabric

First test of driverless minibus in Paris Saturday

Snapchat introduces video-catching sunglasses

China begins operating world's largest radio telescope

Astronomy & Space news

	Rosetta: The end of a space odyssey Europe's trailblazing deep-space comet exploration for clues to the origins of the Solar System ends Friday with the Rosetta orbiter joining robot lab Philae on the iceball's dusty surface for eternity.
	Pulsar discovered in an ultraluminous X-ray source (Phys.org)—A team of European astronomers has discovered a new pulsar in a variable ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) known as NGC 7793 P13. The newly found object is the third ultraluminous X-ray pulsar detected so far, and also the fastest-spinning one. The findings are detailed in a paper published Sept. 21 in the arXiv pre-print server.
	Hubble spots possible water plumes erupting on Jupiter's moon Europa Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have imaged what may be water vapor plumes erupting off the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. This finding bolsters other Hubble observations suggesting the icy moon erupts with high-altitude water vapor plumes.
	NASA to reveal 'surprising' activity on Jupiter's moon Europa There's something going on beneath the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa. But what?
	China begins operating world's largest radio telescope The world's largest radio telescope began searching for signals from stars and galaxies and, perhaps, extraterrestrial life Sunday in a project demonstrating China's rising ambitions in space and its pursuit of international scientific prestige.
	Astronomers image newly discovered comet Earlier this week, Slooh member Bernd Lütkenhöner and Slooh astronomer Paul Cox were able to image the newly discovered Comet C/2016 R3 (Borisov) under extraordinary conditions. The comet had been close to the Sun since its discovery on September 11, 2016, by Gennady Borisov, making it extremely difficult to observe.
	Hubble views a colorful demise of a sun-like star This image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the colorful "last hurrah" of a star like our sun. The star is ending its life by casting off its outer layers of gas, which formed a cocoon around the star's remaining core. Ultraviolet light from the dying star makes the material glow. The burned-out star, called a white dwarf, is the white dot in the center. Our sun will eventually burn out and shroud itself with stellar debris, but not for another 5 billion years.
	Sounding rocket solves one cosmic mystery, reveals another In the last century, humans realized that space is filled with types of light we can't see – from infrared signals released by hot stars and galaxies, to the cosmic microwave background that comes from every corner of the universe. Some of this invisible light that fills space takes the form of X-rays, the source of which has been hotly contended over the past few decades.
	New low-mass objects could help refine planetary evolution When a star is young, it is often still surrounded by a primordial rotating disk of gas and dust, from which planets can form. Astronomers like to find such disks because they might be able to catch the star partway through the planet formation process, but it's highly unusual to find such disks around brown dwarfs or stars with very low masses. New work from a team led by Anne Boucher of Université de Montréal, and including Carnegie's Jonathan Gagné and Jacqueline Faherty, has discovered four new low-mass objects surrounded by disks. The results will be published by The Astrophysical Journal.
	Mercury found to be tectonically active Images acquired by NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft show geologic features that indicate Mercury is likely still contracting today, joining Earth as a tectonically active planet in our Solar System.
	Rosetta: How to end the fairytale Once upon a time, two intrepid space adventurers called Rosetta and Philae set out from Earth to explore a comet far, far away.
	Rosetta: What did Europe's comet mission uncover? Europe's Rosetta spacecraft, due to switch off Friday (Sept 30) after a 12-year odyssey, carried 11 scientific instruments to sniff, smell and photograph a comet from all angles.
Video: Ensuring quality for Ariane Ariane 5's powerful solid rocket booster is the largest produced in Europe generating 700 tonnes of thrust for liftoff.
	A mechanical harmony to NASA's Webb Telescope sunshield NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has a giant custom-built, kite-shaped sunshield driven by mechanics that will fold and unfold with a harmonious synchronicity 1 million miles from Earth.
	How can you see the Northern Lights? The Northern Lights have fascinated human beings for millennia. In fact, their existence has informed the mythology of many cultures, including the Inuit, Northern Cree, and ancient Norse. They were also a source of intense fascination for the ancient Greeks and Romans, and were seen as a sign from God by medieval Europeans.
	Bright binocular nova discovered in Lupus On September 20, a particular spot in the constellation Lupus the Wolf was blank of any stars brighter than 17.5 magnitude. Four nights later, as if by some magic trick, a star bright enough to be seen in binoculars popped into view. While we await official confirmation, the star's spectrum, its tattle-tale rainbow of light, indicates it's a nova, a sun in the throes of a thermonuclear explosion.
Video: Zombie vortices in protoplanetary disks and their roles in star and planet formation The understanding of the early stages of planet formation from a disk of orbiting particles is an ongoing challenge for astrophysics and planetary science. Dr. Marcus will address the importance of instabilities in the particle disk as a link in the planetary formation chain.
	Australian technology installed on world's largest single-dish radio telescope The world's largest filled single-dish radio telescope launched on Sunday, and it relies on a piece of West Australian innovation.

Technology news

	Human Level Artificial Intelligence 2016: Artificial General Intelligence and then some (Part 1) (TechXplore)—In its inception, the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) sought to create computers with general intelligence analogous to our own. This proved to be too challenging and elusive, thereby leading AI research to focus more narrowly on the development of intelligent systems capable of performing only problem- and domain-specific tasks, thereby giving rise to narrow, or weak, Artificial Intelligence. That said, interest in creating systems possessing human-like (and potentially beyond) general, or strong, Artificial Intelligence has reemerged and been termed Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). However, since the term Artificial Intelligence is often mistakenly used to describe both AI and AGI, confusion among the general population often ensues.
	Sewbo robot can sew a t-shirt thanks to stiffened fabric (Tech Xplore)—A robot that sews has attracted attention of a number of sites watching for news in robotics systems. Sewbo has announced what the company says is the world's first robotically sewn garment.
	First test of driverless minibus in Paris Saturday The French capital's transport authority will on Saturday carry out its first test of a driverless minibus, in the hope that regular routes for the hi-tech vehicles will be up and running within two years.
	Snapchat introduces video-catching sunglasses Vanishing message service Snapchat announced Saturday it will launch a line of video-catching sunglasses, a spin on Glass eyewear abandoned by Google more than a year ago.
	Indonesia struggles to tap volcano power Columns of steam shoot from the ground at an Indonesian power plant sitting in the shadow of an active volcano, as energy is tapped from the red-hot underbelly of the archipelago.
	MIT's flea market specializes in rare, obscure electronics Once a month in the summer, a small parking lot on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's campus transforms into a high-tech flea market known for its outlandish offerings. Tables overflow with antique radio equipment, some of it a century old. Visitors can buy a telescope that's the size of a cannon. One man has hauled in a NASA space capsule he owns.
	California eyes unusual power source: its gridlocked roads All those cars on California's famously gridlocked highways could be doing more than just using energy - they could be producing it.
	Researchers restore first ever computer music recording New Zealand researchers said Monday they have restored the first recording of computer-generated music, created in 1951 on a gigantic contraption built by British genius Alan Turing.
	Computer engineers boost app speeds by more than nine percent Researchers from North Carolina State University and Samsung Electronics have found a way to boost the speed of computer applications by more than 9 percent. The improvement results from techniques that allow computer processors to retrieve data more efficiently.
	Crystalline fault lines provide pathway for solar cell current A team of scientists studying solar cells made from cadmium telluride, a promising alternative to silicon, has discovered that microscopic "fault lines" within and between crystals of the material act as conductive pathways that ease the flow of electric current. This research—conducted at the University of Connecticut and the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, and described in the journal Nature Energy—may help explain how a common processing technique turns cadmium telluride into an excellent material for transforming sunlight into electricity, and suggests a strategy for engineering more efficient solar devices that surpass the performance of silicon.
	Powered for life: Self-charging tag tracks fish as long as they swim With each swish of a tail, scientists now have a tool that could study the movements of fish throughout their entire lives.
	Apple addressing iOS 10 iTunes backup security issue in upcoming security update (Tech Xplore)—Apple has confirmed a flaw and said it will fix it. What's it all about?
	In Yahoo breach, hackers may seek intelligence, not riches If a foreign government is behind the massive computer attack that compromised a half billion user accounts at Yahoo, as the company says, the breach could be part of a long-term strategy that's aimed at gathering intelligence rather than getting rich.
Facebook apologizes to advertisers for counting error Facebook is apologizing to advertisers for what it calls an error that overstated the average length of time users watched videos on the site.
	MH370 wreckage hunter won't give up until mystery solved The fedora, the bomber jacket and the consuming quest invite comparisons to Indiana Jones. Blaine Gibson, though, hasn't matched the film hero's triumph in finding the legendary chest containing the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments.
	Online services want your birthdate—creating security risk Of all the personal information people tend to give out willy-nilly on the internet, birthdate is perhaps the most ubiquitous.
Indian airline says Samsung Note 2 emitted smoke in plane A Samsung Note 2 phone emitted smoke and sparks on a flight from Singapore to southern India, the airline said.
	Connecticut becoming a hub for new bioscience companies Connecticut hasn't become the Silicon Valley of bioscience quite yet, but five years after lawmakers made a massive investment to support the development of that industry, there is a thriving hub in Farmington.
US guidelines on self-driving cars get good reception at G-7 U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Sunday that his counterparts in the Group of Seven nations welcomed U.S. guidelines on regulating self-driving cars and have agreed to work together on creating such standards to maintain safety.
	Firefighting: Samsung recall threatens reputation, bottom line Exploding batteries and an embarrassing recall of a flagship gadget during a controversial, closely-watched leadership transition—it's been a bad year for Samsung, and analysts warn the trouble isn't over yet.
	Will the hack of 500 million Yahoo accounts get everyone to protect their passwords? Yahoo has confirmed that account information of around 500 million users was stolen by hackers in 2014. This hack, which Yahoo blamed on a foreign "state-sponsored actor", could have been part of, or following on from, an earlier breach in 2012 in which 450,000 accounts were compromised.
An algorithm for taxi sharing Researchers in Uruguay have developed an evolutionary algorithm to allow a smart city to facilitate efficient taxi sharing to cut an individual's transport costs as well as reduce congestion and traffic pollution. Details are outlined in the International Journal of Metaheuristics.
	Removing gender bias from algorithms Machine learning is ubiquitous in our daily lives. Every time we talk to our smartphones, search for images or ask for restaurant recommendations, we are interacting with machine learning algorithms. They take as input large amounts of raw data, like the entire text of an encyclopedia, or the entire archives of a newspaper, and analyze the information to extract patterns that might not be visible to human analysts. But when these large data sets include social bias, the machines learn that too.
	'Pokemon Go' fervor has cooled, but the game isn't dead yet Does "Pokemon Go" have a second act?
	How to stream the high-stakes presidential debates Television viewership for Monday's presidential debate is expected to be high, but you don't need a television to watch.
	Disney considering bid for Twitter: report The Walt Disney Company is evaluating a potential bid for Twitter, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
	Collaboration enhances optical chip design process A unique collaboration between a U.S. telecommunications equipment provider and a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory has helped dramatically improve design cycle times for future high-speed optical networking components.
Iran begins first web-based nationwide census Iran's state TV is saying the country has started its first web-based national general census.
UK police investigate Pippa Middleton royal photo 'hack' Scotland Yard were investigating Saturday after reports that 3,000 photographs had been hacked from Pippa Middleton, sister-in-law of Britain's Prince William, and someone was trying to sell them.
	Researcher develops intelligent encryption libraries Sometimes, when two people or software applications are communicating via the Internet, a third party is listening. Cryptographic protocols could prevent this situation, but software developers often find it difficult to correctly integrate them into applications. This is the reason why researchers at the TU Darmstadt want to automate encryption.
Viability tests of Ericsson's pre-commercial 5G technology In the European race to make 5G a reality by the year 2020, time and opportunity are of the essence. At the Madrid-based 5TONIC Lab, Ericsson is already conducting viability tests of a novel networking technology that aspires to enable the prompt rollout of 5G networks.
	Closure of Palestinian pages sparks Facebook censorship fears Facebook apologised Monday after temporarily disabling accounts linked to two Palestinian news sites critical of Israel, a move that drew concern over potential online censorship.
Ex-Verizon worker accused of selling customer phone records A former Verizon Wireless technician is accused of using the company's computers to obtain customers' private call records—plus data showing where customers' phones were—and then selling them to an unnamed private investigator, federal prosecutors said.
Get Started: Internet security bill may aid small businesses CYBERSECURITY BILL

Medicine & Health news

	Parkinson's disease protection may begin in the gut: Intestinal cells' immune response protects vital neurons Your gut may play a pivotal role in preventing the onset of Parkinson's disease. And the reason may be its knack for sleuthing.
	New study describes what happens when the brain is artificially stimulated Stimulating the brain via electricity or other means may help to ease the symptoms of various neurological and psychiatric disorders, with the method already being used to treat conditions from epilepsy to depression.
	Anti-inflammatory drugs may strengthen airway immunity to fight infections, study suggests Toxins from mold found growing on nuts or corn can weaken the airways' self-clearing mechanisms and immunity, opening the door for respiratory diseases and exacerbating existing ones, suggests a study in Scientific Reports published this month from otolaryngology researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
	Link found between circadian rhythm gene and spread of certain breast cancer (Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers at the National Cancer Institute has found a possible link between genes responsible for regulating the circadian rhythm and the spread of a certain type of breast cancer. The team has posted a paper describing their study and results on the open access site PLOS Genetics.
Gene regulation in brain may explain repetitive behaviors in Rett syndrome patients Three-year-old Naomi slaps her forehead a few times, bites her fingers and toddles across the doctor's office in her white and pink pajamas before turning her head into a door with a dull thud. Her mother quickly straps on a helmet and adjusts the rainbow chinstrap, then watches as Naomi puts a hand back in her mouth and continues exploring the room.
	Excess dietary zinc worsens C. diff infection Too much dietary zinc increases susceptibility to infection by Clostridium difficile – "C. diff" – the most common cause of hospital-acquired infections.
	New genetic links for heart disease risk factors identified Scientists from the Welcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators have discovered 17 rare human genetic variations associated with risk factors for diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
	The language of senses Sight, touch and hearing are our windows to the world: these sensory channels send a constant flow of information to the brain, which acts to sort out and integrate these signals, allowing us to perceive the world and interact with our environment. But how do these sensory pathways emerge during development? Do they share a common structure, or, on the contrary, do they emerge independently, each with its specific features? By identifying gene expression signatures common to sight, touch and hearing, neuroscientists at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, discovered a sensory "lingua franca" which facilitates the brain's interpretation and integration of sensory input. These results, to be read in Nature, pave the way towards a better understanding of perception and communication disorders.
	'Morning sickness' linked to lower miscarriage risk: study Morning sickness is linked to a lower risk of miscarriage, according to research out Monday that suggests a woman's nausea and vomiting early in pregnancy may have protective effects for the fetus.
	Broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies pave the way for vaccine A small number of people infected with HIV produce antibodies with an amazing effect: Not only are the antibodies directed against the own virus strain, but also against different sub-types of HIV that circulate worldwide. Researchers from the University of Zurich and University Hospital Zurich now reveal which factors are responsible for the human body forming such broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies, thereby opening new avenues for the development of an HIV vaccine.
	Researchers discover how cancer's 'invisibility cloak' works UBC researchers have discovered how cancer cells become invisible to the body's immune system, a crucial step that allows tumours to metastasize and spread throughout the body.
	Why do more men than women commit suicide? Why do more men die when they attempt suicide than women? The answer could lie in four traits, finds scientists.
Newly discovered immune cell type protects against lung infections during chemotherapy St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have identified a new form of an immune cell that protected mice from life-threatening lung infections under conditions that mimic cancer chemotherapy. The research appears online today in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
	Artificial sweeteners hit sour note with sketchy science University of Sydney researchers have confirmed widespread bias in industry-funded research into artificial sweeteners, which is potentially misleading millions by overstating their health benefits.
	Walking is medicine? It helped high-risk seniors stay mobile It's not too late to get moving: Simple physical activity—mostly walking—helped high-risk seniors stay mobile after disability-inducing ailments even if, at 70 and beyond, they'd long been couch potatoes.
	Regulatory RNA essential to DNA damage response Stanford researchers have found that a tumor suppressor known as p53 is stabilized by a regulatory RNA molecule called DINO. The interaction helps a cell respond to DNA damage and may play a role in cancer development and premature aging.
	'Teashirt' gene links autism and kidney problems, new study finds A gene dubbed the 'Teashirt' by its discoverers has been identified as a link between children with kidney problems and autism, in a new study which has implications for how doctors working on both conditions administer tests to their patients.
FDA approves lower-cost alternative to biotech drug Humira Federal regulators on Friday approved the first alternative version of the second-best selling drug in the world, Humira, the blockbuster injection used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.
CDC: 3 Miami businesses epicenter of 1st US Zika outbreak The Zika outbreak in Miami's Wynwood arts district centered on three businesses with outdoor areas shared by employees, customers and breeding mosquitoes, and the number of people infected was likely greater than reported, said an investigative summary released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health officials: Multistate E.coli outbreak sickens seven The Centers for Disease Control says a multistate outbreak of E.coli has sickened seven people, sending five to the hospital.
Man spends 43 years in wheelchair on wrong diagnosis A Portuguese man spent 43 years in a wheelchair because of a mistaken medical diagnosis, finally re-learning to walk only in his fifties, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
	Mother uncovers lasting impact of baby son's organ donation An ultrasound showed one of Sarah Gray's unborn twins was missing part of his brain, a fatal birth defect. His brother was born healthy but Thomas lived just six days. Latching onto hope for something positive to come from heartache, Gray donated some of Thomas' tissue for scientific research—his eyes, his liver, his umbilical cord blood.
Doctors 'prescribe' fresh produce with help from food banks The idea is simple: Load fresh fruits and vegetables into a refrigerator truck and drive it to a health clinic, then have a doctor write a "prescription" for food to improve the diets of low-income people with diabetes and high blood pressure.
Philippines reports first Zika pregnancy case The Philippines on Monday reported its first known case of a pregnant woman infected with the Zika virus that threatens unborn babies, as authorities warned people to avoid mosquitos.
	Not all sleep apnea patients are obese Contrary to popular opinion, not all people who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are obese. However, a new study from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and the Prince of Wales Hospital (POWH) highlights that normal-to-overweight patients with OSA likely require a different approach to treatment, which presents a challenge to clinicians.
	Long-term monitoring of sapovirus infection in wild carnivores in the Serengeti Sapoviruses are an emerging group of caliciviruses, well-known agents of gastric enteritis, but very little is currently known about their role in wildlife ecology or the genetic strains that infect wildlife. Research findings by a group of scientists led by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) describe for the first time sapovirus infection in African wild carnivores in the Serengeti ecosystem, including the spotted hyena, the African lion and the bat-eared fox. The results from two decades of monitoring reveal several sapovirus outbreaks of infection in spotted hyenas and, counter-intuitively, that the risk of infection declined as group sizes increased. These findings were published in PLOS ONE.
	New insights into latent HIV infections In spite of ever more effective therapies, HIV keeps managing to survive in the body. A comprehensive project conducted by the Austrian Science Fund FWF has clarified the molecular processes which contribute to this effect. In the process, approaches were discovered for possible therapies to combat the hidden reservoir formed by the virus.
New insights on how brain tumours spread and become resistant to therapy Research teams from Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University have jointly discovered that the usually protective enzyme FBW7 is commonly mutated and inactivated in childhood brain cancers causing tumors to spread and become more difficult to treat. The study, recently published in the scientific journal EMBO Journal, contribute to improving knowledge that is relevant to the development of more effective cancer treatments and future individualized treatment strategies.
Pregnant women shouldn't vape E-cigarettes are increasingly popular, and adult women of childbearing age are the most common users. This is especially true in Kentucky, which has the country's second highest rate of smoking during pregnancy. Many women try to quit or reduce their smoking while pregnant, and may turn to e-cigs under the belief that they are safer or harmless during pregnancy. But are e-cigs and other electronic smoking products safe for an unborn child?
	New paper outlines ways of reducing impacts of pollution, climate change, noise and crime A new study from Washington University in St. Louis suggests eight interventions that will help create healthier and more sustainable cities of the future, built to reduce the negative impacts of pollution, climate change, noise and crime.
	Cost, not lack of information, is greatest barrier to basic healthcare in Mali Free or subsidized health care helps families with young children meet World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for medical care, according to a new study.
	Induced pluripotent stem cells—10 years after the breakthrough Human cortex grown in a petri dish. Eye diseases treated with retinal cells derived from a patient's own skin cells. New drugs tested on human cells instead of animal models.
	Working out how much exercise to do takes more than gadgets Ancient Greek scholars realised long ago that physical activity was a requirement for good health. Hippocrates proposed that "eating alone will not keep a man well – he must also take exercise", while Galen [later noted](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12) that "the body is in need of motion, exercise is healthy and rest morbid."
	How to put children ahead of broken relationships University of Virginia psychology professor Robert Emery's message to divorcing couples is simple; parents should be parents so that kids can be kids.
	Global review of research confirms thyroid cancer overdiagnosis A widescale review of research into thyroid cancer has confirmed that the increased incidence of the disease globally is most likely due to overdiagnosis.
	How kids can benefit from boredom From books, arts and sports classes to iPads and television, many parents do everything in their power to entertain and educate their children. But what would happen if children were just left to be bored from time to time? How would it affect their development?
	Custom-tailored strategy against glioblastomas Glioblastomas are incurable malignant brain tumors. Usually the patients affected survive for only a few months. In addition, every tumor is quite different, which makes treatment very difficult. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now developed a completely new method as the basis for creating custom-tailored, two-stage therapies. Using tumor samples from a patient, they do lab tests to determine which substances can first make the different types of cancer cells uniform and then effectively kill them. The study has already been published online and will soon appear in the print edition of the technical journal Clinical Cancer Research.
	New findings on prostate cancer screening The prostate-specific antigen test for prostate cancer was developed in the 1990s, quickly followed by an explosion of PSA screening for the disease and a further explosion of treatment. Treatment consists of either radiation or surgical removal of the prostate. The treatments have hard-to-live-with side effects such as urinary and bowel incontinence and loss of sexual function.
	Compared with Europe, American teens have high rates of illicit drug use American youths in 10th grade have a high illicit drug use compared to their European counterparts, but have among the lowest rates of drinking and smoking, according to a new study.
	Professor unveils first data on new dental fillings that will repair tooth decay The first data on dental fillings that can actively repair tooth decay is presented by Professor Robert Hill. Professor Hill is Chair of Physical Sciences at the Institute of Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London and co-founder and director of research at BioMin Technologies.
Start training for retirement as early as 50, research urges The University of Alicante presents the results of a project to establish European guidelines for preparing the population for life after full-time employment. The results urge people to start planning as soon as 50.
	Cardiovascular team carries out a new type of procedure on a heart valve A team led by Francesco Maisano, co-director of the University Heart Center at the University Hospital Zurich (UHZ) and professor for Heart Surgery at the University of Zurich, made up of heart surgeons and cardiologists used new catheter technology to repair a leaky tricuspid valve for the very first time.
	The birth of politics in children—the case of dominance As they grow up, do children become young Robin Hoods? Depending on their age, they do not allocate resources in the same way between dominant and subordinate individuals. Thus a tendency towards egalitarianism develops and becomes even stronger between the ages of 5 and 8 years. These findings by a team of scientists from the CNRS and the Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (France), Lausanne and Neuchâtel (Switzerland) universities provide a clearer understanding of how the notion of equality develops in human beings, and of their sense of justice. It is published on 26 September 2016 in Developmental Psychology.
	Discovering the neural mechanisms of skill learning Most people can swing a hammer, but most people cannot swing said hammer with the fluid speed and precision of a master carpenter. The difference is thousands of hours of practice and the systematic organization of hundreds of thousands of the brain's neurons.
	Research finds talc doesn't cause cancer; juries disagree Two lawsuits ended in jury verdicts worth $127 million. Two others were tossed out by a judge who said there wasn't reliable evidence that the talc in Johnson & Johnson's iconic baby powder causes ovarian cancer. So who's right? And is baby powder safe?
	Many patients enter cancer trials with unrealistic expectations (HealthDay)—Many cancer patients hold unrealistic hopes when they decide to join early stage clinical trials of experimental treatments, new research shows.
	Nine of ten US teens don't get enough exercise (HealthDay)—Over 90 percent of U.S. high school students don't get enough exercise to stay fit and healthy, and the pattern persists after they graduate, a new study finds.
	Consuming fewer calories reduces the risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm Mice placed on a low-calorie diet are less likely to develop abdominal aortic aneurysms, according to a new study in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. The paper, "Calorie restriction protects against experimental abdominal aortic aneurysms in mice," which will be published online September 26 ahead of issue, suggests new ways to prevent the often fatal condition from occurring in humans.
Aging experts say strengthening eldercare workforce must be a priority for the next president To advise policymakers and health leaders on the key healthcare challenges facing the next presidential administration, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) launched the Vital Directions for Health and Health Care initiative. Aging experts John Rowe, MD, the Julius B. Richmond Professor of Health Policy and Aging at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health; Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, of the John A. Hartford Foundation; and Mailman School of Public Health Dean Linda P. Fried, MD, and colleagues were asked to provide guidance to inform U.S. policy on better health for an aging population and recommend priority opportunities. A summary paper titled, "Viewpoint: Preparing for Better Health and Health Care for an Aging Population," is published online in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Enzyme hyaluronidase shows promise as treatment for muscle stiffness caused by brain injury A naturally occurring enzyme called hyaluronidase may be an effective alternative treatment for spasticity, or muscle stiffness, a disabling condition in people who have had a stroke or other brain injury.
SBRT offers prostate cancer patients high cancer control and low toxicity in fewer treatments High dose stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for men newly-diagnosed with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer results in shorter treatment times, low severe toxicity and excellent cancer control rates, according to research presented today at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). The study is the first large, multi-institutional study of SBRT in prostate cancer with long-term follow-up.
Unmet need for radiation therapy found among nearly half of eligible cancer patients in nine developing countries Although approximately 50 percent of cancer patients in developing countries need radiation therapy (RT) to treat their disease, up to half of these patients do not have access to it, according to research presented today at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Examining nine middle-income countries, researchers found that between 18 and 82 percent of patients who can benefit from RT in these countries do not receive the treatment.
Intervention closes racial gap and improves treatment rates for early stage lung cancer Enhanced, culturally-competent communication with early stage lung cancer patients can narrow racial gaps in curative treatment completion and increase treatment rates for all races, according to research presented today at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). The study, part of a project supported by the National Cancer Institute, found that multiple, coordinated modalities of patient support essentially eliminated the inequity in curative treatment and improved completion of care for all patients.
Extremely hypofractionated radiation therapy shows promising results for intermediate risk prostate cancer patients For men with intermediate risk prostate cancer, side effects at two years following radiation therapy (RT) were comparable for extremely-hypofractionated treatment, which was delivered in seven fractions across two and a half weeks, and conventional treatment of 39 fractions across eight weeks, according to research presented today at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
	Unknown exposure to second-hand smoke associated with increased mortality A new biomarker has identified known and unknown exposure to second-hand smoke and confirmed a strong association to increased mortality in non-smokers, according to a new study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The results, published this month in the journal Carcinogenesis, provide a more accurate way to gauge second-hand smoke exposure than questionnaires, and present a strong case for more stringent limits on smoking and increased preventive screenings for those more likely to have been exposed to second-hand smoke.
Closing the gender gap: Young women with premature acute coronary syndrome now do as well as men It has become commonly accepted that women do worse than men following a heart attack or other coronary event. Earlier studies have documented that young women are more likely to die from cardiac-related events compared to men in the twelve months after hospital discharge. A new study published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, drawing on contemporary data from 26 hospitals, reports that young patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have good one-year prognosis and that both men and women now do equally well.
Women with hearing loss more likely to have preterm or low birth weight babies Hearing loss is a marginalizing and disabling condition, resulting in various adverse social and health outcomes. Babies born to women with hearing loss were significantly more likely to be premature and have low birth weight, according to a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Understanding and addressing the causes are critical to improving pregnancy outcomes among women with hearing loss, say investigators.
Hypofractionated radiation therapy can halve treatment time for poor performance status lung cancer patients For patients with stage II and III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) unable to receive standard treatments of surgery or chemoradiation (CRT), hypofractionated radiation therapy (RT) results in similar overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates, limited severe side effects and shorter treatment times when compared to conventional RT, according to research presented today at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
Three novel intrinsic subtypes of prostate cancer identified In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers have identified and validated three distinct molecular subtypes of prostate cancer that correlate with distant metastasis-free survival and can assist in future research to determine how patients will respond to treatment, according to research presented today at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Findings represent a step toward the implementation of personalized medicine in prostate cancer care.
Advances in radiation therapy have improved survival rates for early stage lung cancer patients A new analysis of records in the Veteran's Affairs Central Cancer Registry demonstrates a clear positive impact of the increased use of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) to treat patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in recent years, according to research presented today at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Escalated adoption of this advanced form of radiation therapy (RT) from 2001 to 2010 was associated with substantial increases in overall survival (OS) rates and lung cancer specific survival (LCSS) rates.
Medulloblastoma patients should receive both chemotherapy and radiation post-surgery In a recent study, a Yale Cancer Center team revealed that the addition of chemotherapy to postoperative treatment for adults with medulloblastoma improves survival. The benefit of chemotherapy, in addition to craniospinal radiation, was seen in adult patients with medulloblastoma (MB), including those with localized disease who received high-dose radiation treatment following surgery. The findings were presented September 26 at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology (ASTRO) meeting in Boston.
Healthcare leaders recommend restructuring health care system to better serve needs of US throughout 21st century To keep up with the evolving needs of our nation's health and health care system, a series of papers published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on Sept. 26 recommends restructuring the U.S. health care system in ways that will support more efficient, targeted health care delivery.
	Scientists track down possible new treatment for epilepsy Increasing the concentration of specific fats in the brain could suppress epileptic seizures. This is evident from ground-breaking research carried out by the research groups of Professor Patrik Verstreken (VIB-KU Leuven) and Professor Wim Versées (VIB-Vrije Universiteit Brussel). The results of their close collaboration have been published in the leading trade journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.
	Rapid adaptation of Aspergillus fungus presents doctors with a dilemma The fungus Aspergillus fumigatus is capable of rapid genetic adaptation in both natural environments and in humans according to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases by Radboud university medical center/CWZ and Wageningen University & Research. This presents doctors with a dilemma: prescribe medication that may increase drug resistance or not providing treatment and increase the likelihood of the fungus settling in the lungs?
	Exercise can increase levels of hunger-promoting endocannabinoids even if you are sleep-deprived A research group at Uppsala University has investigated how levels of endocannabinoids – which target the same receptors as cannabis – are affected by short sleep duration, and whether acute exercise can modulate this effect.
Widespread adoption of SBRT has improved survival rates for elderly patients with early stage lung cancer Survival rates for elderly patients who received stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) rose from roughly 40 to 60 percent over the past decade, concurrent with the increasing adoption of SBRT, according to research presented today at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
	UTI testing technology cuts screening time to four hours Researchers using DNA sequencing to profile antibiotic resistance in infection have achieved a turnaround time from 'sample to answer' of less than four hours for urinary tract infections (UTIs).
	Fatty diet activates oldest branch of immune system, causing intestinal tumors A high-fat-diet-induced immune reaction causes inflammation leading to intestinal cancer in a mouse model – even among animals that are not obese—according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Case Western Reserve University, the Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI), and others. Epidemiological and clinical evidence have linked obesity with inflammation and increased risk of cancer. Up to now, however, the molecular mechanisms linking these three conditions have been elusive. The interdisciplinary team published their findings in Molecular Cancer Research.
	Research opens the possibility of new, noninvasive genetic prenatal testing Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital and RareCyte, Inc. have determined that it is feasible to develop a prenatal, noninvasive genetic test based on rare fetal cells that are present in the mother's blood. The study appears in Prenatal Diagnosis.
	Mouse study shows how 'hair-of-the-dog' approach works to treat allergies The hair-of-the-dog-that-bit-you is a time-honored allergy remedy for a good reason: It works.
Crowdsourcing for scientific discovery: Researchers find novel ways to analyze data for drug and target discovery In a unique project, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have crowdsourced the annotation and analysis of a large number of gene expression profiles from the National Center for Biotechnology Information's (NCBI) Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). More than 70 volunteers from 25 countries helped Mount Sinai researchers analyze the data, enabling the identification of new associations between genes, diseases, and drugs – something that a smaller number of unaided researchers, or an automated computer program, would not be able to achieve. An article published today in the journal Nature Communications describes the crowdsourcing project.
	New theory on how insulin resistance, metabolic disease begin Does eating too much sugar cause type 2 diabetes? The answer may not be simple, but a study published Sept. 26 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation adds to growing research linking excessive sugar consumption—specifically the sugar fructose—to a rise in metabolic disease worldwide.
Teen girls with a family history of breast cancer do not experience increased depression or anxiety More and more girls are expected to have to confront breast cancer fears as modern genomics technology makes it easier to detect strong risk factors such as inherited BRCA1/2 mutations. But a new study shows that adolescent girls in families with a history of breast cancer or a high-risk BRCA1/2 mutation do not experience negative psychological effects, on average, and even seem to have higher self-esteem than their peers. The study, from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Basser Center for BRCA in Penn's Abramson Cancer Center, is published this month in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
	The 'worm' holds the key to treating epilepsy—new possibilities for rapid drug discovery Current methods to control epilepsy, which affects 1 in 26 Americans, are not only inefficient but haven't improved in more than 150 years when the first anticonvulsant drug was developed. Treatment options include invasive surgeries and a combination of antiepileptic drugs that surprisingly don't work in more than 30 percent of patients. Noninvasive treatments are limited for easing symptoms partially due to the complexity of the disorder and lack of knowledge of specific molecular malfunctions. In recent years, fewer and fewer drugs have been introduced into the market most likely due to exhausted screening techniques and less efficient methods for predicting drug effectiveness.
Shortened radiation therapy offers similar quality of life for low-risk prostate cancer patients Low-risk prostate cancer patients may be able to undergo a shortened course of radiation therapy that cuts treatment by weeks and offers comparable outcomes and quality of life results as those who undergo longer treatment courses, according to new study.
Intermediate risk prostate cancer may be well controlled with brachytherapy alone For men with intermediate risk prostate cancer, radiation treatment with brachytherapy alone can result in similar cancer control with fewer long-term side effects, when compared to more aggressive treatment that combines brachytherapy with external beam therapy (EBT), according to research presented today at the 58th Annual Meeting the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
	'Spare tire' may be tougher on your heart than 'love handles' (HealthDay)—Belly fat—especially hidden fat deep in the gut—may indicate increased risk for heart disease, a new study suggests.
	Cancer treatment more likely to leave blacks in debt (HealthDay)—Black cancer survivors are more likely than whites to wind up in debt or forego treatment due to cost, a new study finds.
	Study: Colonoscopy after 75 may not be worth it (HealthDay)—A colonoscopy can find and remove cancerous growths in the colon, but it may not provide much cancer prevention benefit after the age of 75, a new study suggests.
	Eliminate sweetened drinks, cut kids' sugar intake (HealthDay)—Looking for the quickest way to cut added sugar from your kid's diet?
	Early TIPS beneficial in acute esophageal variceal bleeding (HealthDay)—For patients presenting with acute esophageal variceal bleeding (EVB), early transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is associated with reductions in in-hospital rebleeding and mortality, with no increase in hepatic encephalopathy, according to a study published online Sept. 14 in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
	PCN, PRF both relieve pain in cervical disc herniation (HealthDay)—For patients with contained cervical disc herniation, both percutaneous nucleoplasty (PCN) and pulsed radio frequency (PRF) are associated with pain relief, according to a study published online Sept. 9 in Pain Practice.
	ICU physicians use variety of techniques to cope with fatigue (HealthDay)—A variety of cognitive and lifestyle strategies are employed by intensive care unit (ICU) physicians to prevent and cope with fatigue, according to a study published in the September issue of the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
	Hyperbaric O2 therapy effective in maxillary osteoradionecrosis (HealthDay)—Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) seems efficacious for patients with maxillary bone osteoradionecrosis (ORN), according to research published online Sept. 19 in Head & Neck.
	European, American guidelines lead to different recs for statins (HealthDay)—European and American guidelines lead to different recommendations for statin therapy, according to a study published online Sept. 21 in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.
	9-cis retinoic acid promising for lymphedema prevention (HealthDay)—Treatment with 9-cis retinoic acid (RA) has potential as a preventative agent for postsurgical lymphedema, according to an experimental study published in the August issue of the Annals of Surgery.
Measurement helps craniofacial surgeons better evaluate children with skull deformity A baby's skull is made of several plates of bone that fuse together over time to form a single structure. Previous research has shown that approximately one in 2,000 babies have plates that fuse too early—a condition called craniosynostosis—causing cranial deformities that can lead to learning impairments and other neurodevelopmental problems. Craniofacial surgeons across the country differ on when surgical intervention is needed for some abnormalities. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine are recommending a new method to help determine when surgery is needed.
Experts recommend continuous glucose monitors for adults with type 1 diabetes The Endocrine Society today issued a Clinical Practice Guideline recommending continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) as the gold standard of care for adults with Type 1 diabetes.
	Lights, camera, action: New catheter lets doctors see inside arteries for first time Removing plaque from clogged arteries is a common procedure that can save and improve lives. This treatment approach was recently made even safer and more effective with a new, high-tech catheter that allows cardiologists to see inside the arteries for the first time, cutting out only the diseased tissue. Interventional cardiologists at Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center at UC San Diego Health are the first in the region to use this technology.
Boko Haram leaves Nigeria a lifetime of mental trauma The soldier clutched his book with both hands. He shouted his name, rank and Nigerian Army number to no-one in particular. He stood up straight and ended every reply with a bark of "sah" (sir).
Nebraska town considers banning smoking in apartments Some leaders in a blue-collar Nebraska suburb that's home to Offutt Air Force Base are borrowing an idea from a vastly more liberal state: Ban apartment renters from smoking cigarettes and e-cigarettes inside.
Seven overdose deaths in one day reported in Cleveland-area Authorities in the Cleveland-area are issuing warnings after seven people died from overdoses on Saturday.
	Indoor air pollution puts women of rural Bangladesh at risk of pulmonary diseases Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death in the world. While many cases of COPD are the result of an individual's habitual factors, many people in developing countries suffer from it due to indoor air pollution caused by poor housing and inappropriate cooking fuels.
	Drugmaker Pfizer decides not to break up business Drug giant Pfizer says it won't split into two publicly traded companies, despite pressure from investors frustrated by its lagging stock price, ending years of Wall Street speculation over its strategy and future.
Young cancer survivors in economic struggle If you survive cancer at young age, then you have a higher risk of becoming unemployed and economically dependent than others, a Norwegian study shows.
Radiation therapy and radical prostatectomy further explored for initial diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer A database study examining surgical removal of the prostate gland (radical prostatectomy) or a form of radiation therapy known as IMRT to treat prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic) shows an association between each of these treatments and improved overall survival. The work is being presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in Boston this week.
	Official: One-third of calls to VA suicide hotline roll over More than one-third of calls to a suicide hotline for troubled veterans are not being answered by front-line staffers because of poor work habits and other problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to the hotline's former director.
Hypofractionated RT can reduce treatment time by one-third with comparable QOL for prostate cancer patients For men with early stage, low-risk prostate cancer, treatment with hypofractionated radiation therapy (RT) offers comparable health-related quality of life outcomes in one-third less treatment time than conventional RT, according to research presented today at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Biology news

	How natural selection acted on one penguin species over the past quarter century Biologists of all stripes attest to evolution, but have debated its details since Darwin's day. Since changes arise and take hold slowly over many generations, it is daunting to track this process in real time for long-lived creatures.
	Horses found able to use symbols to convey their desire for a blanket A team of researchers at Norwegian University of Life Sciences has found that horses are capable of reading symbols on a sign and using them to convey a desire—whether they want a blanket put on them or not. The researchers have written a paper describing their efforts with the horses and have had it published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science.
	How the anthrax toxin forms a deadly 'conveyer belt' Researchers have built a three-dimensional map of the anthrax toxin that may explain how it efficiently transfers its lethal components into the cytoplasm of infected cells. The study, "Structure of anthrax lethal toxin prepore complex suggests a pathway for efficient cell entry," which will be published online September 26 ahead of print in The Journal of General Physiology, suggests that the bacterial protein acts as a "conveyer belt" that allows toxic enzymes to continuously stream across cell membranes.
	Yeast knockouts peel back secrets of cell protein function Proteins are the hammers and tongs of life, with fundamental roles in most of what happens in biology. But biologists still don't know what thousands of proteins do, and how their presence or absence affects the cell.
	Discovery may benefit farmers worldwide University of Guelph plant scientists have shown for the first time how an ancient crop teams up with a beneficial microbe to protect against a devastating fungal infection, a discovery that may benefit millions of subsistence farmers and livestock in developing countries.
	Tapping evolution to improve biotech products Scientists can improve protein-based drugs by reaching into the evolutionary past, a paper published in Nature Biotechnology proposes.
Hold your nose: Stinky corpse flower opens in New Hampshire A flower that got its nickname from its putrid smell is started to bloom Friday at Dartmouth College for the first time since 2011.
	Wildlife meeting weighs how to save endangered species Thousands of conservationists and government officials open talks in Johannesburg on Saturday to thrash out regulating international trade in elephant ivory, rhino horn and hundreds of endangered wild animals and plants.
	Shy pangolins need world spotlight to survive Reclusive, gentle and quick to roll up into a ball, pangolins keep a low profile.
	African elephants 'suffer worst decline in 25 years' Africa's elephant population has suffered its worst drop in 25 years, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said Sunday, blaming the plummeting numbers on poaching.
The guardians of the genome protect DNA to increase seed lifespan New research has identified crucial biological sensors that determine seed longevity and control germination. ATM and ATR proteins sense DNA damage in seeds and are essential factors that help plants retain correct genetic information stored in the seeds.
	Transmission of new virus believed to occur between farmed and wild fish In 2010, researchers found a new fish virus that was named piscine reovirus (PRV).
	How to get a lemur to notice you Duke professor Brian Hare remembers his first flopped experiment. While an undergraduate at Emory in the late 1990s, he spent a week at the Duke Lemur Center waving bananas at lemurs. He was trying to see if they, like other primates, possess an important social skill. If a lemur spots a piece of food, or a predator, can other lemurs follow his gaze to spot it too?
Potentially life-threatening fungus found in water distribution systems of five French hospitals A specific strain of the fungus, Fusarium oxysporum, circulates in the water distribution systems of five French hospitals, in two widely separated cities. This microbe is potentially a life-threatening risk to immunocompromised patients. The research is published September 23, 2016 in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
	Poachers target rare bird's 'ivory' beak in Southeast Asia Some call it "ivory on wings," part of the bill of a critically endangered bird in Southeast Asia that is sought by poachers and carved into ornaments for illegal sale to Chinese buyers.
	New winter wheat variety offers high yields, disease resistance High yields and an excellent disease resistance package—these are qualities producers can expect from Oahe, the new winter wheat cultivar released by the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, according to South Dakota State University assistant professor Sunish Sehgal.Bill Gibbons, SDAES interim associate director, said, "Oahe represents the latest in a long line of wheat releases that our researchers have developed to support the wheat industry in South Dakota and the region."From 2013 to 2015, Oahe ranked No. 1 in mean grain yield among hard red winter wheat trials in the North Regional Performance Nurseries, which has test plots from northern Kansas through Montana and into Canada.Sehgal, who is the SDAES winter wheat breeder, estimated that Oahe yields are 1 to 2 bushels more per acre than the average performance of other SDSU varieties. The new variety also has good resistance to stripe rust, leaf rust and wheat streak mosaic virus, along with resistance to fusarium head blight that is comparable to other popular varieties. The new variety is available to certified seed growers.
California governor backs protecting whales from crab traps California Gov. Jerry Brown announced Friday that he signed legislation meant to bring down the record numbers of whales getting caught in fishing gear meant for Dungeness crabs, causing unknown numbers of the entangled mammals to drown or starve.

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