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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for September 27, 2016:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Elon Musk unveils plan for Mars 'city' (Update 2)SpaceX chief Elon Musk unveiled on Tuesday ambitious plans to establish a "city" on Mars by sending humans on massive spacecraft with cabins, at a cost as low as $100,000 per person. |
 | Image: Mawrth Vallis Martian mosaicSculpted by ancient water flowing on the surface, Mawrth Vallis is one of the most remarkable outflow channels on Mars. The valley, once a potentially habitable place, is one of the main features of a region at the boundary between the southern highlands and the northern lowlands. |
 | Moon and Mars on a planeWho wouldn't want to run an experiment in lunar or martian gravity? ESA is offering European researchers the chance to test their theories on aircraft flights that offer 20 seconds of reduced gravity. |
 | NASA's asteroid-bound spacecraft aces instrument checkIts science instruments have been powered on, and NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft continues on its journey to an asteroid. The spacecraft has passed its initial instrument check with flying colors as it speeds toward a 2018 rendezvous with the asteroid Bennu. |
 | Crashing space station shows why China must start to collaborate in orbitChina launched the second vehicle in its "Tiangong" (meaning "Heavenly palace") programme to construct a space station in early September. Despite the success of the launch, the announcement was overshadowed by the acknowledgement that the prototype module Tiangong-1 – which was always due to be replaced – is out of control and will, almost certainly, crash back down to Earth in late 2017. |
 | Yorkshire salt mine could help shed light on Martian lifeA PhD student from the University of Leicester is helping to shed light on life on Mars by exploring similar environments on Earth - including an underground salt mine in North Yorkshire. |
Technology news
 | Human Level Artificial Intelligence 2016: Artificial General Intelligence and then some (Part 2)(Tech Xplore)—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. |
 | Research proposes background noise to prevent side channel attacks on computer keyboardsBetween email, social media accounts, utilities, and banking and credit card accounts, the average person has 27 discrete online logins used to log into personal and professional computers, and security experts spend countless hours researching and recreating every potential strategy attackers could use to gain access to personal information. |
 | 'Missing link' found in the development of bioelectronic medicinesNew research, led by the University of Southampton, has demonstrated that a nanoscale device, called a memristor, could be the 'missing link' in the development of implants that use electrical signals from the brain to help treat medical conditions. |
 | Secure passwords can be sent through your body, instead of airSending a password or secret code over airborne radio waves like WiFi or Bluetooth means anyone can eavesdrop, making those transmissions vulnerable to hackers who can attempt to break the encrypted code. |
 | Microsoft teams with Bank of America on 'blockchain'Microsoft and Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Tuesday announced they are working together to make financial transactions more efficient with blockchain technology—the foundation of bitcoin digital currency. |
 | How Twitter explains the 2016 electionDuring an intense U.S. presidential campaign, millions of people are chatting about the election every day on Twitter. MIT is studying them. More precisely, the Laboratory for Social Machines, part of the MIT Media Lab, has launched a project called the Electome that charts Twitter in unique detail. Now the project has joined forces with the Commission on Presidential Debates—the first debate is tonight—to provide journalists with a "dashboard" summarizing Twitter use during the debates. MIT News talked to three key Electome researchers about their work: Deb Roy, director of the Laboratory for Social Machines and chief media scientist for Twitter; William Powers, long-time journalist, author, and now research scientist for the Electome project; and Russell Stevens, deployment lead for the Electome project. This interview has been edited for length. |
 | Can Facebook influence an election result?Facebook was in hot water this May over allegations of a liberal bias in its "Trending" topics feature. |
 | Video refereeing could be a major own goal for football—here's whyAjax's 5-0 cup victory against fellow Dutch premier division side Willem II on September 21 saw a first in football: the official world debut for a video assistant referee in a competitive game. |
 | A supercomputer just made the world's first AI-created film trailer – here's how well it didMore people have been talking about the trailer for the sci-fi/horror film Morgan than the movie itself. It's partly because the commercial and critical response to the film has been less than lukewarm, and partly because the clip was the first to be created entirely by artificial intelligence. |
 | Will driving your own car become the socially unacceptable public health risk smoking is today?In 2014, over 32,000 people were killed in car crashes in the U.S. In 2012, more than two million Americans visited the emergency room as a result of car crashes. And an estimated 94 percent of the crashes that cause these injuries and fatalities are attributable to human choice or error. |
 | US gasoline consumption is higher than everAugust was the biggest month ever for U.S. gasoline consumption. Americans used a staggering 9.7 million barrels per day. That's more than a gallon per day for every U.S. man, woman and child. |
 | The flexible grid involves its usersThe GreenCom project, funded in part by the European Commission and led on the technical side by Fraunhofer FIT, ended after 42 months, judged a resounding success. The project's main result is a Smart Energy Monitoring and Control system for load management of regional power grids. A test environment comprising 29 homes on the Danish island Fur integrates heat pumps, photovoltaic systems, batteries and smart-home installations. |
 | No diesels need apply: Electric cars rule at Paris showCarmakers are finding the Paris auto show , held in a city whose mayor wants to ban diesels to reduce pollution, to be a fine place to show off new zero-emission electric vehicles. |
 | Hate standing in line? Japan now has self-driving chairsHate standing in line at your favourite restaurant? Japanese carmaker Nissan claims to have just the thing for those sore legs. |
 | Germany blocks WhatsApp data transfers to FacebookGerman data protection authorities on Tuesday said they had blocked Facebook from collecting subscriber data from its subsidiary WhatsApp, citing privacy concerns. |
 | Password breach could have ripple effects well beyond YahooAs investors and investigators weigh the damage of Yahoo's massive breach to the internet icon, information security experts worry that the record-breaking haul of password data could be used to open locks up and down the web. |
 | Pilots, air traffic controllers shifting to text messagingAirline pilots and air traffic controllers are on schedule to switch to text communications at most of the nation's busiest airports by the end of the year, a milestone that holds the potential to reduce delays, prevent errors and save billions of dollars in fuel cost, says the Federal Aviation Administration. |
 | Snapchat's playful shot at sunglassesA paparazzi photograph of Snapchat Chief Executive Evan Spiegel prematurely revealed the Los Angeles company's first piece of consumer electronics: a pair of video camera sunglasses. |
A hot market for IPOs shows itself — at least for a weekAmple free food and other perks are nice, but it's stock options and lofty missions that often seduce people into joining tech startups. | |
Firm hopes to be 1st with skill-based slotsA New York firm hopes to be the first in the world to install skill-based slot machines on casino floors in which the main determining factor in how much a player can win is his or her ability to play the game. | |
 | Stacked perovskite/CIGS solar module achieves unprecedented efficiency at 17.8 percentScientists from imec (partner in Solliance and EnergyVille), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg (Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research, ZSW), today announced that they have fabricated a thin-film solar module stack made up of perovskite and Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) with a conversion efficiency of 17.8 percent. For the first time, this tandem module surpasses the highest efficiencies of separate perovskite and CIGS modules. |
 | Professor discusses future of smart lightingSmart lighting for building services engineering is a field with large untapped potential. This is the opinion of Professor of Practice Jaakko Ketomäki, who took up his position in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation on 15 August. |
 | A revolution in wave energyA Spanish and Norwegian duo weren't deterred by the cancelling of renewables projects – they turned to EUROGIA to help them develop a prototype to capture wave energy. |
 | New methods for achieving efficient paper recyclingIn many ways paper is the perfect example of the circular economy; it is both an end product and the main raw material when recycled into the next generation of products. In order for the paper sector to remain profitable – especially important given the recent surge in raw material prices – recycling must be made as operationally efficient as possible and able to create innovative new products of higher value than before. |
 | Novel solutions for a competitive and sustainable European biogas sectorThe EU ATBEST project has recently hosted its final international conference from 7 to 8 September 2016 in Linköping, Sweden, where it outlined its toolbox of innovative solutions to support and promote the future growth and sustainability of the European biogas sector. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Newborn's deadly heart arrhythmia caused by mosaic of mutant cellsResearchers have solved the mystery of an infant with severe long QT syndrome, found to be caused by a lethal genetic defect in only 8 percent of her cells. |
 | New research clarifies how cells take in cholesterol and offers insight on EbolaCholesterol—that waxy substance incriminated in heart attack and stroke—is a precious commodity for cells. In fact, errors in a cell's ability to import these rod-like molecules can be fatal. |
 | Study suggests path to prolonging treatment effectiveness for phobias or post-traumatic stress disorderPeople who are too frightened of flying to board an airplane, or too scared of spiders to venture into the basement, can seek a kind of treatment called exposure therapy. In a safe environment, they repeatedly face cues such as photos of planes or black widows, as a way to stamp out their fearful response—a process known as extinction. |
 | Study shows a baby makes copies of maternal immune cells it acquires through mother's milkScientists have long understood that mother's milk provides immune protection against some infectious agents through the transfer of antibodies, a process referred to as "passive immunity." A research team at the University of California, Riverside now shows that mother's milk also contributes to the development of the baby's own immune system by a process the team calls "maternal educational immunity." |
 | Oligodendrocytes induce motor neuron death in ALSA first-of-its-kind oligodendrocyte in vitro model shows that human cells normally supportive of motor neuron function play an active role in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis pathogenesis – and this discovery may point the way toward therapeutic timing and targets. |
 | Testosterone found to increase both social and antisocial behavior in men(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers with members from Europe and the U.S. has found increased levels of testosterone can cause a man to engage in both social and antisocial behaviors. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes a game they had volunteers play while injected with testosterone, what they witnessed and what they believe it means for male behavior in general. |
 | Quick test to detect inflammation in diabetic patientsScientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a new kit that will allow doctors to find out within minutes if diabetic patients are suffering from inflammation. |
 | Scientists discover how insect-borne viruses 'suppress' the immune system to cause diseaseArboviruses – viruses transmitted by insects such as mosquitoes – pose a considerable threat to both human and animal health. Despite that, not enough is known about the complex interactions between the virus and the host, particularly in the early stages of infection. |
 | Engineered blood vessels grow in lambsIn a hopeful development for children born with congenital heart defects, scientists said Tuesday they had built artificial blood vessels which grew unaided when implanted into lambs, right into adulthood. |
 | Non-coding portions of genome are found to play role in cancerThe human body produces 100,000 or more different proteins. Yet, amazingly, only two percent of the human genome actually encodes proteins. Nearly 80 percent of the rest of the genome is transcribed into RNA that does not code for proteins. Two big questions facing scientists are: How much of this "non-coding" RNA is actually functional? And does it play a role in disease? |
 | World's first baby born from 3-parent technique: reportThe world's first baby has been born thanks to a controversial new technique employed by US scientists to include DNA from three parents in the embryo, said a report Tuesday. |
Rural employers failing to meet needs of working breastfeeding mothersResearch has shown that for working mothers, the ability to breastfeed their babies is critical to their physical, mental and economic health as well as to their babies' cognitive and physical development. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires employers of more than 50 employees to provide sufficient space and time for mothers to breastfeed during the first year of their babies' lives. Researchers from the University of Missouri conducted an analysis of ACA's requirement to determine if any barriers exist for women living in rural areas; they found a lack of compliance with the law, inadequate breastfeeding information for mothers and lack of support from co-workers and supervisors. The researchers suggest a need for collaboration between businesses and rural health agencies to create ACA friendly environments that remove barriers to breastfeeding in the workplace. | |
Study compares CV risk reduction of statin vs nonstatin therapies used for lowering LDL-CIn a study appearing in the September 27 issue of JAMA, Marc S. Sabatine, M.D., M.P.H., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues evaluated the association between lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and relative cardiovascular risk reduction across different statin and nonstatin therapies. | |
Earlier treatment with surgery to remove blood clot linked with less disability following strokeIn an analysis that included nearly 1,300 patients with large-vessel ischemic stroke, earlier treatment with endovascular thrombectomy (intra-arterial use of a micro-catheter or other device to remove a blood clot) plus medical therapy (use of a clot dissolving agent) compared with medical therapy alone was associated with less disability at 3 months, according to a study appearing in the September 27 issue of JAMA. | |
Single-blind vs double-blind peer review and effect of author prestigeIn a study appearing in the September 27 issue of JAMA, Kanu Okike, M.D., M.P.H., of the Kaiser Moanalua Medical Center, Honolulu, and colleagues examined if bias with single-blind peer review might be greatest in the setting of author or institutional prestige. | |
Researchers develop guidelines for large-scale sequence-based complex trait association studiesPrecision medicine, which utilizes genetic and molecular techniques to individually tailor treatments and preventative measures for chronic diseases, has become a major national project, with President Obama launching the Precision Medicine Initiative in 2015. In a study published today in the American Journal of Human Genetics, a team of researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and partner institutions, which include the University of Washington and the Broad Institute, detail their findings from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Exome Sequencing Project (ESP) and explain how these results can contribute to the advancement of precision medicine and the implications for the future of whole exome data analysis. | |
Study shows clear gains from weight-loss treatment aimed at setting goals based on personal life valuesA new approach to weight loss called Acceptance-Based Behavioral Treatment (ABT) helped people lose more weight and keep it off longer than those who received only Standard Behavioral Treatment (SBT) – a typical treatment plan encouraging reduced caloric intake and increased physical activity – according to a new randomized controlled clinical trial. Researchers studied the impact of the new ABT method, which ties the effort to a larger personal value beyond weight loss for its own sake, to help people adhere to diet and physical activity goals. The October issue of Obesity, the scientific journal of The Obesity Society (TOS), published both the original article and an accompanying commentary. | |
Strong associations between young people's sustained exposure to economic hardship and worse cognitive functionPoverty and perceived hardship over decades among relatively young people in the U.S. are strongly associated with worse cognitive function and may be important contributors to premature aging among disadvantaged populations, report investigators in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. | |
Drug combination could improve immunotherapy for skin therapyThe results of studies involving researchers from the MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) show that the effect of immunotherapy on malignant melanoma (black skin cancer) can be improved by combining it with other cancer treatments. However, the results also show that this combination can lead to an increase in side-effects. The CCC is therefore now looking for ways to improve the side-effect profile and is testing these approaches in two upcoming studies. | |
 | BAME patients may be underrepresented in trials for diabetes treatment, study findsFailure to directly and appropriately assess language proficiency when recruiting patients to randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for diabetes treatments may be leading to black and ethnic minority (BAME) patients being underrepresented or excluded. |
 | Mindfulness helps children as young as 3 manage their emotions during schoolMindfulness, a practice that's growing in popularity, is widely praised as an antidote for the stresses of everyday life and a resource that can help many—from anxious dieters and harried employees to recovering addicts and hospital patients—decompress. Now mindfulness has found its way into a classroom in Watts, where children as young as 3 are using it to manage their emotions and stay calm. |
How to prevent heart failure in type 2 diabetesHeart failure in people with coronary artery disease and simultaneous type 2 diabetes can be prevented with effective treatment. In a large registry study published in The Journal of American College of Cardiology, researchers from Karolinska Institutet show that patients with type2 diabetes who had undergone coronary artery surgery prior to their heart failure diagnosis have better chances of survival in the long term. | |
Ratio of certain immune cells to tumor burden correlated with outcome for pembrolizumab-treated patients with melanomaAmong patients with stage IV melanoma who were being treated with the immunotherapeutic pembrolizumab (Keytruda), the ratio of a particular subset of immune cells in the blood to tumor burden correlated with clinical response, according to data presented at the Second CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival, held Sept. 25–28. | |
Combining cytokine-based immunotherapy AM0010 with PembrolizumabA combination of the immunotherapies AM0010 and the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab was well tolerated and resulted in durable objective tumor responses in some patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to data from a phase Ib clinical trial presented at the Second CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival, held Sept. 25–28. | |
 | Kids on farms have lower allergy risks, stronger lungs as adultsLiving on a farm in early childhood is linked to a lower risk of allergies in adulthood and stronger lung function in women, according to researchers at the University of Melbourne. |
 | Researchers close in on new ways to prevent child tooth decayAround 2,700 Victorian children aged 0-6 years are hospitalised each year for preventable dental conditions—most of them requiring treatment of dental decay under general anaesthetic. |
Research reveals how much sugar is in prepackaged foods in CanadaResearchers at the University of Toronto have investigated the amount of free sugar in Canadian prepackaged foods and beverages. The results suggest that new guidelines and better food labeling is needed to help consumers make better choices. | |
 | Study finds troubling new evidence of teens' lack of physical activityA Colorado State University researcher has uncovered definitive evidence about adolescents' lack of physical activity, and the results are not good. |
 | Dogs ignore bad advice that humans followDogs are less likely to follow bad advice than children, according to a new study conducted at the Canine Cognition Center at Yale. In contrast to children, dogs only copy a human's actions if they are absolutely necessary for solving the task at hand, according to a recently published study appearing in the journal Developmental Science. |
 | Two new studies explore the science of cardiovascular diseasesProfessor of cardiology Martin A. Schwartz led two recently published studies that advance knowledge of the underlying biology of cardiovascular diseases, which are among the most common causes of chronic illness and death worldwide. The studies highlight how basic science research insights are key to future breakthroughs in treatment. |
 | Group psychoeducation offers 'early intervention' for bipolar patientsStructured group psychoeducation sessions could be more successful in treating patients in the early stages of bipolar disorder than standard peer-support offered by the NHS and the voluntary sector, research has found. |
 | Relationship factors affect young adult use of condomsThe characteristics of a person's relationship, including commitment and partner-specific risk factors, affect the choice of whether or not to use condoms, according to new research from Oregon State University. |
Do financial incentives encourage patients with psychotic disorders to take their medication?A new study has found that offering patients financial incentives to take their antipsychotic medication is effective. When the incentives stop, there is no continued benefit but no long term negative effect either. | |
 | Children overeagerly seek social rulesThree-year-olds quickly absorb social norms. They even understand behaviors as rule-governed that are not subject to any norms, and insist that others adhere to these self-inferred "norms," a study by LMU psychologist Marco F. H. Schmidt reveals. |
 | The problem with antibioticsWe've all woken up with a sore throat that progresses to a runny nose by the next day. By the third day, we have a hacking cough, a pounding headache from the sinus congestion, and even fevers with chills. We drag ourselves out of bed and go to the doctor, hoping that a pill or antibiotic can get us feeling better. |
 | Manuka honey may help prevent life-threatening urinary infectionsManuka honey could prevent serious urinary tract infections caused by catheters – tubes used to drain patients' bladders, new laboratory research has found. |
 | Volcano emissions linked to increases in asthma attacksA new study from the active volcano Kīlauea, which is on the big island of Hawaii, reports that people—especially children—with asthma are at greater risk of having serious asthma attacks if they live in a community with high levels of the volcanic gas sulfur dioxide (SO2) than if they live upwind of the volcano. |
 | How we handle objects depends on who owns themFrom scissors and staplers to car keys and cell phones, we pass objects to other people every day. We often try to pass the objects so that the handle or other useful feature is facing the appropriate direction for the person receiving the item, but new research shows that we're less accommodating when it comes to handing over our own belongings. |
 | Blood pressure drug may boost effectiveness of lung cancer treatmentA blood pressure drug may make a type of lung cancer treatment more effective, suggests a new study. |
Help needed to identify post-stroke visual impairmentsA University of Liverpool led review of the methods available to screen for post-stroke visual impairments has found there is an urgent demand for the development of a tool. | |
Health experts report US$246 billion cost of workplace depression across eight countriesNew data released today shows that workplace depression is a major issue across different cultures and economies, with "wide and devastating" consequences for thousands of organisations worldwide. | |
Improving protein intake in older adultsResearchers from Bournemouth University have been exploring the reasons why many older people aren't eating as much protein as they should be. Findings from the study could go on to inform strategies to improve protein consumption. | |
 | Vigilin, the lock keeperETH researchers have discovered a molecule in liver cells that controls the release of fat into the bloodstream. This "lock keeper" is present in large quantities in overweight people and leads indirectly to vascular narrowing. |
 | Nuclear protein causes neuroblastoma to become more aggressiveAggressive forms of neuroblastoma contain a specific protein in their cells' nuclei that is not found in the nuclei of more benign forms of the cancer, and the discovery, made through research from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), could lead to new forms of targeted therapy. |
 | Elderly will take medical risks given large enough benefits, study showsOlder people are more likely to take medical risks than younger adults if they perceive the benefits to be high enough, according to new research led by Plymouth University. |
 | Americas region is world's first to be free of measlesMeasles has been eradicated from the Americas after decades of vaccination efforts, the world's first region to rid itself of the highly contagious disease, global health authorities said Tuesday. |
 | Suffering from headaches? You may be at increased risk for a thyroid conditionSufferers of migraines, cluster headaches, tension headaches or other headache disorders are at greater risk of developing a thyroid condition called hypothyroidism, according to a study by University of Cincinnati College of Medicine researchers. |
Experimental imaging agent reveals concussion-linked brain disease in living brainAn experimental positron emission tomography (PET) tracer can effectively diagnose concussion-related brain degeneration while a person is still alive, according to a proof-of-concept study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published September 27 in the journal Translational Psychiatry. | |
 | Surprising findings on deadly diarrhea suggest ways to save children's livesNew research offers unprecedented insights into the causes of childhood diarrhea, the second-leading cause of death of children worldwide, and suggests that the role of pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and parasites has been vastly underestimated. |
 | Researchers find fertility genes required for sperm stem cellsThe underlying cause of male infertility is unknown for 30 percent of cases. In a pair of new studies, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine determined that the reproductive homeobox (RHOX) family of transcription factors—regulatory proteins that activate some genes and inactivate others—drive the development of stem cells in the testes in mice. The investigators also linked RHOX gene mutations to male infertility in humans. The mouse study is published September 27 by Cell Reports and the human study was published September 15 by Human Molecular Genetics. |
Interval exercise training improves blood vessel function in older adultsResistance-based interval exercise helps improve endothelial function—including blood flow and blood vessel dilation—both in older adults with type 2 diabetes and in age-matched non-exercisers and regular exercisers, according to new research published in the American Journal of Physiology—Heart and Circulatory Physiology. The results suggest that increasingly popular interval exercise plans could be used to treat endothelial dysfunction in older adults. | |
 | Link between facility volume and radiation outcomes for head and neck cancersThe association between provider case volume and outcomes has long been suggested in cancer care. A Yale Cancer Center team has completed a review of outcomes for patients with locally advanced squamous cell head and neck cancers treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and found a distinct association between higher-volume treatment centers and improved overall survival. The findings were presented September 26 at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) meeting in Boston. |
Tackling tumors: Researcher using nanotechnology to target inoperable tumors from the inside outMany solid tumors are considered inoperable because they adhere to vital structures or the surgery would cause irreversible damages to the patients. In order to prevent the tumor growth or provide complete tumor resolution without surgery, chemotherapy and radiation are currently in clinical practice. | |
 | Have more than eight dental fillings? It could increase the mercury levels in your bloodDental surface restorations composed of dental amalgam, a mixture of mercury, silver, tin and other metals, significantly contribute to prolonged mercury levels in the body, according to new research from the University of Georgia's department of environmental health science in the College of Public Health. |
Freezing technique is an effective alternative to lumpectomy for early stage breast cancerA deep-freezing technique known as cryoablation is a viable alternative to traditional surgery in many early-stage breast cancers, NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine researchers find in a new clinical study. The results are published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology. | |
 | How much video gaming is too much for kids?(HealthDay)—Playing video games might improve a child's motor skills, reaction time and even academic performance, but new research shows that too much gaming can be linked to social and behavioral problems. |
 | Babies with cleft lip likely to have normal adulthood: study(HealthDay)—Cleft lip is a relatively common birth defect that can be surgically repaired, and new research suggests that parents don't have to worry about long-term health problems for these children. |
 | Kidney stone? Try a roller coaster ride(HealthDay)—Anyone who's suffered a kidney stone just wants the urinary obstruction gone. Now, preliminary research suggests relief might even be fun: a roller coaster ride. |
 | To help prevent colon cancer, 'listen to your gut'(HealthDay)—Sometimes following up on a gut feeling can make the difference between life and death, especially for people with colon cancer, researchers report. |
 | High utility bills strain more than the budget(HealthDay)—High utility bills can be more than a budget-buster. They also can cause anxiety and depression in low-income families, a new study finds. |
 | Achieving optimal medical tx before PCI beneficial in CAD(HealthDay)—In patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), achievement of optimal medical therapy (OMT) before implantation of a drug-eluting stent significantly reduces subsequent cardiac events, according to a study published in the Sept. 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology. |
 | Gliptin treatment tied to higher risk of acute pancreatitis(HealthDay)—Gliptin treatment is associated with increased acute pancreatitis risk, according to research published online Sept. 22 in Diabetes Care. |
 | Many spinal manipulation trials don't report adverse events(HealthDay)—Many randomized clinical trials (RCTs) involving spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) do not report adverse events, although there has been an increase in such reporting since publication of the 2010 Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement, according to a review published in the September issue of The Spine Journal. |
 | Groundbreaking study sheds light on treating cancerThe work by Prof. Tae-Hyuk Kwon (School of Natural Science) at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), South Korea has presented a new cancer treatment that uses red lights to target and kill cancer cells alternatively without surgery. |
What health risks does Ghanaian bushmeat carry, and could it spread disease further afield?The antelope looked exactly like a cartoon deer. It had rust-coloured fur, white spots on its hindquarters and an oddly regal bearing. Its throat had been slit, and it had just been dumped, rather unceremoniously, on the hard-packed black earth of the burning area at Atwemonom, the open-air abattoir at the centre of Ghana's commercial bushmeat trade. | |
Bioethicists challenge doctors' right to refuse careIn a recent article, the Editors-in-Chief of two leading ethics journals stress that there should be better protections for patients from doctors' personal values as well as more severe restrictions on the right of clinicians to conscientious objection, particularly in relation to assisted dying. | |
Searching for Ebola's hideoutThere was a certain kind of quiet hopefulness when, in late April this year, the last Ebola patient of the West African epidemic – a two-year-old boy – walked out of a treatment facility in Monrovia, Liberia. With the smouldering embers of the outbreak fading, there was cause for celebration. But there remains the impotent fear of the unseen: Ebola is still out there, lurking. We just don't know where it's hiding or when it will be back. | |
 | Unhappy Target customers send strong message on pill bottlesLongtime customers of Target's pharmacies are finding a change in pill bottle design hard to swallow. |
Two new online medical education courses address opioid crisisThe DC Center for Rational Prescribing (DCRx) today announced the availability of two new online education courses aimed at teaching doctors and other healthcare professionals some of the myths and facts surrounding the use of prescription opioid painkillers. The information in the online videos could help curb the epidemic of opioid-related deaths by reducing unnecessary prescriptions—and offers valuable advice on how to wean patients from these addictive drugs. | |
Feds charge seller of mislabeled Chinese 'Viagra substitute'Federal prosecutors say an Alabama man who imported a Chinese drug sold as a Viagra substitute has been charged with intentionally defrauding and misleading consumers. They say the drug sold as Zhen Gong Fu fails to list a potentially dangerous ingredient on its label. | |
CDC awards Puerto Rico $13M to fight Zika, other virusesThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is awarding Puerto Rico $13 million to help fight a Zika epidemic and other mosquito-borne viruses. | |
East Harlem health impact assessment shows importance of affordable housing to the health of community residentsToday, the New York Academy of Medicine released the second Health Impact Assessment (HIA) conducted in New York City's history and the first for the community of East Harlem. The East Harlem HIA shows the many ways that the rapid disappearance of affordable housing, and the widespread prevalence of substandard housing, may affect the health and wellbeing of city residents, especially in low-income, urban areas. | |
 | Accomplishing socioeconomic goals may build confidence, improve health of Native Americans familiesSetting and achieving goals related to income and education may improve the overall health of Native Americans. That's the premise behind a new South Dakota State University research project, We RISE—raising income, supporting education—targeting young mothers on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in north central South Dakota. |
Radiation boost reduces local tumor recurrence for DCIS patients following WBRTA supplemental "boost" of radiation improves local control and provides an incremental benefit in decreasing breast cancer recurrence for patients with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) who receive whole breast radiation therapy radiation (WBRT) following lumpectomy, according to research presented today at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Researchers concluded that use of a radiation boost should be considered in DCIS patients who have life expectancies of 10 or more years following breast-conserving surgery and WBRT. | |
Study reveals tremendous clinical and economic burden of common chronic liver diseaseNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common liver disease worldwide, is increasing in prevalence and is currently estimated to affect approximately one-quarter of the general population. A new study published in the journal Hepatology reveals the clinical and economic burden of NAFLD in the United States and Europe. The findings will help clinicians and policy makers develop strategies to deal with this serious chronic disease. | |
Biology news
 | Climate change likely to produce sexier male herbivorous amphipodsA common marine crustacean has shown researchers that it's all set to beat climate change – the males will get more attractive to the females, with a resulting population explosion. |
 | CRISPR toolbox expanded by protein that cuts RNA in two distinct waysUC Berkeley biochemist Jennifer Doudna, molecular biologist Robert Tijan and a team of researchers have expanded the role of the newly discovered CRISPR protein C2c2 that targets RNA instead of DNA. |
 | Analysis of eradicated European strain of malaria parasite offers insight into the history of the disease(Phys.org)—An international team of researchers has conducted a DNA analysis of malaria parasites found in blood samples taken from infected people in a part of Europe and put onto slides during World War II—in so doing, they have added more information to the historical profile of the parasite that causes malaria. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team describes their analysis of the parasite samples and what they learned. |
 | Consistency builds cohesion in the animal kingdomOscar Wilde may have considered consistency "the last refuge of the unimaginative" in human behaviour, but when it comes to fish, the element of predictability is critical. Such are the findings of new research led by the University of Bristol, which reveals that fish with consistent personalities are more successful in social groups and better at helping to build tighter shoals. |
 | Optimization technique identifies cost-effective biodiversity corridorsA new optimization technique could help conservation biologists choose the most cost-effective ways of connecting isolated populations of rare, threatened and endangered species living in protected areas. As the human population grows and expands its footprint, maintaining the connectivity of animal habitats is a challenge. Habitat corridors are critical for keep wildlife species connected across the landscape. |
 | Researchers team up to develop pilot plant, advance biofuel technologyIowa State University's Lysle Whitmer walked the length of the bio-oil production line – from the 55-gallon solvent tank to the twin-screw extruder with its mixing, chopping, heating and pressurizing functions to the reactor in the middle and then to the product separators and the solvent recycling system. |
 | 3-D live imaging reveals how plants grow new lateral rootsResearchers have used 3-D live imaging to observe the formation process of lateral roots in plants, and clarified part of the mechanism that creates new meristematic tissue. If the root formation mechanism in plants is revealed further, this could potentially be used to control plant growth by artificially altering root system architecture. These findings were published on August 10 in the online version of Development. |
 | Traffic noise reduces wild owls' foraging efficiencyA team of researchers has found that traffic noise reduces the foraging efficiency of wild owls by up to 89 percent. The team's world-first study examined how different levels of such noise affect the hunting efficiency of these nocturnal predators, which employ a keen auditory sense to locate prey in the darkness. |
 | Eat, escape, love: the price of looking sexyIn the animal kingdom colourful traits can be both a blessing and a curse. A new study from a group of researchers at Uppsala University has studied the conspicuous wing coloration of two species of damselflies. Their results imply that males, but not females, pay a high cost when using colour to communicate with other damselflies, both in terms of predation risk and visibility to prey. |
 | Getting a snapshot of urban wildlifeVictor Anton's PhD research investigates the impacts of predators on native biodiversity in urban areas. |
 | New switch decides between genome repair and death of cellsThe genetic information of every cell is encoded in the sequence of the DNA double helix. Double strand breaks in the DNA, which can be induced by radiation, are a dangerous threat to the cells, and if not properly repaired can lead to cancer. Damaged cells need to decide whether the breaks can be fixed or whether they should be removed by a cellular suicide program called "apoptosis" before initiating cancer. |
Crosstalk analysis of biological networks for improved pathway annotationResearchers at Stockholm University and Science for Life Laboratory have developed a new computer algorithm for analysing gene function called BinoX, which was e-published in Nucleic Acids Research on September 22 (Ogris et al., 2016a). The method, developed by Professor Erik Sonnhammer's research group, associates experimentally derived gene lists and known pathways. It does this in a new way, by employing a large gene network and determining if a gene list and a pathway has more network links than expected, using the binomial distribution. This is a significant advance over previous methods, and as a result BinoX yields substantially better accuracy. In particular, the improvement compared the the commonly used gene overlap enrichment method is massive; the sensitivity was benchmarked to increase by more than 60 times at the same time as the false positive rate was reduced to zero. | |
 | Sandbar sharks catch a break in TurkeyThe Turkish government has announced plans to extend two no-fishing zones in Gökova Bay Marine Protected Area by 700 hectares to protect critical sandbar shark habitat. This is great news for the species, which is listed as Endangered in the Mediterranean. |
 | New evidence shows migrating birds are staying in UK longerA collaboration involving scientists from the University of Aberdeen and the Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust has found that while some early migrating birds are arriving and departing earlier each year, late migrating individuals are actually departing much later. |
California's almond boom has ramped up water use, consumed wetlands and stressed pollinatorsA new study using aerial imagery across the state of California has found that converting land to grow almonds between 2007 and 2014 has led to a 27% annual increase in irrigation demands—despite the state's historic drought. The expansion of almonds has also consumed 16,000 acres of wetlands and will likely put additional pressure on already stressed honeybee populations. | |
 | Missing fish catch data? Not necessarily a problem, new study saysEach day in fishing communities around the world, not every fish is counted. This happens in part because of illegal fishing, poor or incomplete surveys and discarded fish from commercial operations. |
 | Vietnam fishermen sue Taiwan firm over mass fish deathsHundreds of fishermen in central Vietnam have filed lawsuits demanding more compensation from a Taiwanese firm accused of dumping toxic waste in the ocean that killed tonnes of fish, activists said Tuesday. |
 | Ghost fishing net removed in the Medes Islands marine reserve in CataloniaA team of researchers of the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute of the University of Barcelona (IRBio), together with the staff of the Natural Park of Montgrí, Medes Islands and Baix Ter, and the Catalan firefighter service removed a fishing net abandoned in the Marine Reserve of the Medes Islands (Girona, Spain) this September. |
 | A blue stoplight to prevent runaway photosynthesisThrough photosynthesis, solar energy is converted into biological energy. It is often thought that photosynthesis becomes stronger as light becomes stronger, but actually photosynthesis may run out of control if subjected to an overabundance of light, causing reactive oxygen species which break the photosynthetic apparatus. To avoid this, when exposed to intense light plants have a mechanism called "qE quenching" to prevent runaway photosynthesis by converting the excess energy to heat and discarding it. |
Spate of whale entanglements could inform regulationsA recent spate of entanglements of rare whales off of New England could help shape future regulations to preserve the endangered animals, federal authorities said Tuesday. | |
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