Science X Newsletter Wednesday, Sep 21

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for September 21, 2016:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

Color-changing water reflects a rainbow of colors and beyond

A non-probabilistic quantum theory produces unpredictable results

Chemically peculiar star HR8844 could be a hybrid object

Towards quantum Internet: Researchers teleport particle of light six kilometres

More precise measurements of phosphorene suggest it has advantages over other 2-D materials

Surface-patterned colloidal particles

New version of breakthrough memory management scheme better accommodates commercial chips

Human DNA tied mostly to single exodus from Africa long ago (Update)

'Schroedinger's cat' molecules give rise to exquisitely detailed movies

Digitally unwrapped scroll reveals earliest Old Testament scripture

Science reveals male widow spider's dastardly deeds

FTO gene not an obesity life sentence: study

Two-armed drones developed to help with hands-on tasks

Detailed molecular structure of silver nanocrystals determined

Despite multicolor camouflage, cuttlefish, squid and octopus are colorblind

Astronomy & Space news

	Chemically peculiar star HR8844 could be a hybrid object (Phys.org)—Astronomers from the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France and the Notre Dame University – Louaize in Zouk Mosbeh, Lebanon, report that an A-type main-sequence star HR8844, could be a hybrid object between two classes of chemically peculiar stars. The discovery was detailed in a paper published Sept. 16 on arXiv.org.
	Nasa scientists find 'impossible' cloud on Titan—again The puzzling appearance of an ice cloud seemingly out of thin air has prompted NASA scientists to suggest that a different process than previously thought—possibly similar to one seen over Earth's poles—could be forming clouds on Saturn's moon Titan.
	Galactic fireworks illuminate monster hydrogen blob An international team of researchers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and other telescopes has discovered the power source illuminating a so-called Lyman-alpha Blob – a rare, brightly glowing, and enormous concentration of gas in the distant universe.
	Acceleration relation found among spiral and irregular galaxies challenges current understanding of dark matter In the late 1970s, astronomers Vera Rubin and Albert Bosma independently found that spiral galaxies rotate at a nearly constant speed: the velocity of stars and gas inside a galaxy does not decrease with radius, as one would expect from Newton's laws and the distribution of visible matter, but remains approximately constant. Such 'flat rotation curves' are generally attributed to invisible, dark matter surrounding galaxies and providing additional gravitational attraction.
Company sets October launch date to resupply space station A space station supply mission by a Virginia company has been pushed back to October.
	Image: Simulating Martian dust storms Mars is a dusty place and you might not think it is surprising that we regularly see dust storms on its surface. But the phenomenon has puzzled scientists since the 1980s when experiments showed that typical wind speeds recorded on Mars are not strong enough to lift the dust.
	We need clear rules to avoid a real Star Wars in outer space When the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, was launched on October 4, 1957, it heralded the need for legal regulation of the exploration and use of outer space.
	JPL seeks robotic spacecraft development for Asteroid Redirect Mission NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, has issued a request for proposal (RFP) seeking design, development and build of the robotic spacecraft that will capture a multi-ton asteroid boulder from deep space during the first segment of the agency's Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). The RFP is open to the four industry partners that previously completed conceptual designs of the spacecraft.
	Musk looks confidently past Mars with interplanetary transport system For Elon Musk, it's always been about Mars. Musk, and his company SpaceX, haven't always been explicit about how exactly they'll get to Mars. But SpaceX's fourteen years of effort in rocketry have been aimed at getting people into space cheaper, and getting people to Mars.
	Stellar ghosts reveal galactic origins Our sky is blanketed in a sea of stellar ghosts; all potential phantoms that have been dead for millions of years and yet we don't know it yet. That is what we will be discussing today. What happens to the largest of our stars, and how that influences the very makeup of the universe we reside in.
	New Soyuz mission a go after technical delays On Saturday, September 17th, the Russian space agency (Roscosmos) stated that it would be delaying the launch of the crewed spacecraft Soyuz MS-02. The rocket was scheduled to launch on Friday, September 23rd, and would be carrying a crew of three astronauts – two Russia and one American – to the ISS.
	X-ray telescope X-Calibur flies high above New Mexico On Sept. 19, Henric Krawczynski, the principal investigator on the X-Calibur telescope mission, announced on the mission blog that the telescope had landed safely near the border between Arizona and New Mexico. The team retrieved the temperature-sensitive X-ray mirror, but is waiting for a bulldozer to make a path for the recovery truck so the researchers can recover the gondola and the telescope it carries.
	Image: NASA's MMS achieves closest-ever flying formation On Sept. 15, 2016, NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission achieved a new record: Its four spacecraft are flying only four-and-a-half miles apart, the closest separation ever of any multi-spacecraft formation. The previous record was first set by MMS in October 2015, when the spacecraft achieved a flying separation of just over six miles apart.
	NASA's black female mathematicians hit the big screen During the era of US racial segregation, a handful of black female mathematicians managed to break social barriers and propel the US space agency to new heights - and soon their story will be a major motion picture.
	Image: Space station flight over the southern tip of Italy The southern tip of Italy is visible in this image taken by the Expedition 49 crew aboard the International Space Station on Sept. 17, 2016.
	Philippines' microsatellite captures best-in-class high-resolution images The High Precision Telescope (HPT) installed in the Philippine's DIWATA-1 microsatellite jointly developed by Hokkaido University and other institutions has successfully captured images with a ground resolution of about 3 meters—a world-best for a 50 kg-class microsatellite.

Technology news

	New version of breakthrough memory management scheme better accommodates commercial chips A year ago, researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory unveiled a fundamentally new way of managing memory on computer chips, one that would use circuit space much more efficiently as chips continue to comprise more and more cores, or processing units. In chips with hundreds of cores, the researchers' scheme could free up somewhere between 15 and 25 percent of on-chip memory, enabling much more efficient computation.
	Two-armed drones developed to help with hands-on tasks (Tech Xplore)—Drones are good for things other than delivering pizzas and sneakers for sure. We are reading more and more about applications intended for public services, for farming, engineering and security operations too.
	Several thousand suns in a laboratory Eighteen light sources arranged in a half-sphere can mimic the equivalent of several thousand times the sun's radiation received on earth, with unparalleled power and precision. This system, developed by an EPFL laboratory, can be used to test various materials in extreme conditions.
	Measuring your heartbeat and breath wirelessly, this device can tell if you're excited, happy, angry, or sad As many a relationship book can tell you, understanding someone else's emotions can be a difficult task. Facial expressions aren't always reliable: A smile can conceal frustration, while a poker face might mask a winning hand.
	Security team demonstrates ability to hack and control some functions of Tesla vehicles (Tech Xplore)—A team of Japanese researchers with Keen Security Lab (part of Tencent Security) has demonstrated an ability to hack into the computer that controls some functions of a Tesla Model S and then to take over control of some of those functions. They have published a report of their findings on their company website and have posted a video on YouTube showing their efforts in action.
	Fluorescent ruby red roofs stay as cool as white Elementary school science teaches us that in the sun, dark colors get hot while white stays cool. Now new research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has found an exception: scientists have determined that certain dark pigments can stay just as cool as white by using fluorescence, the re-emission of absorbed light.
	Samsung suffers backlash in China over smartphone response Liu Jingtang was a Samsung loyalist. The Shanghai technology consultant traded up steadily through its smartphones to the new Note 7. But Liu's devotion was shaken by the Korean tech giant's confusing response to its latest product safety scare.
	Google's Allo chat app is clever—just not all that smart Google wants to add a middleman to your mobile chats—a personal virtual assistant who's not shy about interjecting itself into the conversation.
	Electro-thermal actuator and lever system keeps hard drive recording heads on track As the density of data stored on a hard drive gets close to multiple terabytes per square centimeter, the precision of the internal components is becoming increasingly significant. A*STAR researchers have designed a system that achieves a new milestone in micro-positioning, and it could become the next industry standard.
	'Space cloth' to revolutionise textiles industry A designer and researcher has pioneered a new form of fabric which promises to revolutionise the textiles industry.
	Samsung says three reports of China phone battery fire Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it has received three reports of Galaxy Note 7 battery fires in China and investigated two of them.
	Tesla fixes security in Model S after Chinese hack Tesla said Wednesday that it had fixed a software vulnerability in its luxury electric Model S sedan after a Chinese security team hacked a car's systems and remotely controlled it.
	Building smart infrastructure sensors Our nation's infrastructure includes massive networks of highways, roadways, bridges, ports, railways, energy delivery systems and aviation. Every American is reliant on these networks, yet they need an enormous amount of upkeep. Failure to maintain infrastructure has a wide range of ramifications, from economics to safety concerns.
EU unveils new plan to scrap mobile roaming charges The European Union's executive arm unveiled new plans Wednesday aimed at ending costly mobile phone roaming charges next year after coming under fire from providers and consumer groups over its previous scheme.
	Waze sets out to eliminate 'tunnel blindness' on mobile maps The popular navigation app Waze is putting a new twist on the phrase "tunnel vision." It's trying to ensure drivers relying on digital maps don't lose their way when their GPS signal disappears in tunnels.
	Untangle the Internet The Internet is a teeming tangle of billions of pages, where brilliant information is buried in dubious content. All the information is there, somewhere; you just can't find the best and most relevant quickly. The new Dutch startup DOT.world, a spinoff company from the University of Twente, has a modest goal: To change all that.
Washington Post takes heat for Snowden prosecution call A Washington Post editorial arguing for the prosecution of intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has sparked an outcry in the media community—including from some of the newspaper's own journalists.
	Tesla updates software to improve radar Tesla Motors customers will get enhanced radar and other features in an over-the-air software update that starts Wednesday night.
	Review: Apple's new iPhone 7 models offer modest updates Apple's new iPhone 7 devices are no breakthroughs.
Why self-driving Uber cars look so geeky Qawiyah Muhammad can see her own future. Literally. An Uber driver in Pittsburgh, she knows that one day her job will be replaced by a robot car. She knows the robot cars are coming because she sometimes spots experimental models driving themselves around town.
Donaldson Co. jumps into beverage filtration with heavyweight customers It took the Donaldson Co. two years, 40 scientists and millions to build a better mouse trap - or a microbe trap, to be exact - for beverage and yogurt manufacturers.
Lawn device inspired by stream of water consciousness The classic suburban challenge of keeping the lawn green sparked the idea behind Sprinkl, a startup led by Noel Geren. Two years ago, the serial entrepreneur from the Dallas area launched the company. It makes a smart irrigation device called Conserve that saves water and can sync to a city's water restrictions and local weather. Geren, Sprinkl's CEO, co-founded the startup with a friend and former co-worker, Daniel Pruessner, who is the company's chief technology officer.
Airbus wing plant is a model of robotic technology Like a cartoon space alien with a dome-like skull, an Airbus Beluga transport plane arriving from Madrid drops from the sky above this village 200 miles northwest of London and taxis to a stop with its front end tucked inside a large building off the runway.
	Zuckerberg, Chan pledge $3B to end disease Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a goal that's even more ambitious than connecting the entire world to the internet: He and his wife want to help eradicate all disease by the end of this century.
	Your TV may use more energy than you think, group charges An environmental group accused three major television manufacturers Wednesday of misleading consumers and regulators about how much energy their high-definition screens devour by designing them to draw less power during government testing than in ordinary use.
	Brain to robot: "move, please" Using the power of thought to control a robot that helps to move a paralysed hand: a project from the ETH Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory could fundamentally change the therapy and daily lives of stroke patients.
	The microdoctors in our bodies ETH researchers are developing tiny, sophisticated technological and biological machines enabling non-invasive, selective therapies. Their creations include genetically modified cells that can be activated via brain waves, and swarms of microrobots that facilitate highly precise application of drugs.
China court hears case over Tesla fatal crash The father of a Chinese man killed while driving a Tesla sedan has sued the US electric car maker over an alleged fault with its Autopilot system, the family's attorney said Wednesday.
Microsoft sets $40 billion stock buyback, raises dividend Microsoft Corp. says its board has approved a dividend increase and a new $40 billion stock buyback plan.
	Software to transform ship maintenance Researchers from the University of Southampton are to develop software that can monitor the equipment, fuel and energy performance of a ship at sea.
	MEPhI scientists find way to raise energy efficiency of lighting facilities Energy efficiency and energy savings are the first among five new priority directions of Russia's innovative development. One of methods, which can raise the efficiency of electric power use, is incandescent lamp replacement for more energy-conserving lighting facilities—for example, solid-state light sources.
	Fujitsu doubles deep learning neural network scale with technology to improve GPU memory efficiency Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. today announced development of technology to streamline the internal memory of GPUs to support the growing neural network scale that works to heighten machine learning accuracy. This development has enabled neural network machine learning of a scale up to twice what was capable with previous technology.
	A look at Volkswagen's one-year-old emissions scandal Here is a timeline of the emissions scandal that has dogged automaker Volkswagen for the past year.
Dutch brothers in court for bitcoin mining with stolen power Prosecutors in the Netherlands are seeking prison sentences for two brothers who they say used stolen electricity to power computers they used to mine bitcoins worth an estimated 200,000 euros ($223,500).

Medicine & Health news

	FTO gene not an obesity life sentence: study People who carry a variant in the so-called obesity gene, FTO, react just as well to diet and exercise as those without it, a research paper said Wednesday.
	Research looks at the physical facts behind fiction's fascination If you've ever been lost in a radio drama, caught up in a film or transfixed by a play, you've probably not stopped to ask why. Yet, humanity's fascination with fiction is an evolutionary enigma. Now, Oxford arts and sciences researchers have found that stories that arouse our emotions trigger the same mechanisms as other forms of bonding.
	Study reveals a biological link between stress and obesity Metabolic and anxiety-related disorders both pose a significant healthcare burden, and are in the spotlight of contemporary research and therapeutic efforts. Although intuitively we assume that these two phenomena overlap, the link has not been proven scientifically.
	Biological 'dark matter' molecule plays surprise role in heart failure Scientists at UCLA have identified a molecule that appears to play a key role in the development of heart failure. The scientists found that blocking the molecule, known as chaer, in animal studies prevented the animals from developing heart failure.
	Ancient brain area controls eye movements An ancient area of the midbrain of all vertebrates called the corpora quadrigemina can independently contol and reorientate the eyes, researchers from Karolinska Institutet report in a study published in the journal eLIFE.
	Stimulating neurons could protect against brain damage, research shows A breakthrough in understanding how brain damage spreads – and how it could potentially be limited – has been made through a collaboration between neuroscientists and engineers at the Universities of Dundee and Strathclyde.
	Oxytocin enhances spirituality, new study says Oxytocin has been dubbed the "love hormone" for its role promoting social bonding, altruism and more. Now new research from Duke University suggests the hormone may also support spirituality.
	Researchers describe key protein structure and a drug prototype that could assist therapeutic development Researchers from the University of Chicago have described the three-dimensional, atomic structure of an important cell receptor molecule linked to the development of several diseases, including melanoma, acute myeloid leukemia and bilateral frontoparietal polymicrogyria, a debilitating developmental brain disorder. The study, published Sept. 21, in Neuron, also describes an engineered protein molecule that turns off the receptor. The report lays the groundwork for future development of pharmaceutical treatments that target the diseases mediated by these proteins, called adhesion G protein-coupled receptors, or aGPCRs.
	Innovative tools will shed clarifying light on inhibitory neurons Imagine if every time you got in your car, you fired it up, put it in drive, slammed on the gas, and didn't let up until you reached your destination. Now imagine every driver on the road did the same thing. It would be pile up after pile up.
	Was it better or worse than you expected? Your basal ganglia know—so you can act accordingly You make reservations at a restaurant, expecting the food to be good. If the meal turns out to be superb—even better than expected—that's information you will want to remember, so you can go back again. The reverse applies if the meal is a disaster; you definitely want to steer clear next time.
	Spatial navigation is easier at that time of the month: Menstrual cycle affects memory It's been suggested that women are better at giving directions than men. New Concordia research published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology shows that may be thanks to the hormones that trigger the menstrual cycle.
	Tecfidera: Study illuminates how mystery multiple sclerosis drug works A study by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has helped to de-mystify the molecular workings of the multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Tecfidera. The drug is the most widely prescribed pill-based therapy for MS, but its biological mechanism remains mysterious.
	New immunotherapy for leukemia shows promise in small clinical trial A new type of immunotherapy shows promise against cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that recur after treatment or that never respond to therapy in the first place. A small clinical trial at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis provides evidence that the immune system's "natural killer" cells can be dialed up in the laboratory, trained to recall that activation and then effectively unleashed to destroy cancer cells in some patients.
Bile acid uptake inhibitor prevents NASH / fatty liver in mice Drugs that interfere with bile acid recycling can prevent several aspects of NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) in mice fed a high-fat diet, scientists from Emory University School of Medicine and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta have shown.
How statins aid the immune system Statins protect against cardiovascular disease in more ways than previously thought. In a study, researchers from Karolinska Institutet are able to show the immunological effects of statins, and present a new hypothesis on why satins are effective at preventing heart attacks. The study is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Diagnosing disease before it reveals its presence A vast class of incurable neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by the aggregation and deposition of aberrant proteins like the amyloid b peptide or a-synuclein, considered to be factors behind the development of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, respectively. A preclinical test may open new perspectives in the diagnosis of such neurological disorders, as reported by a group of researchers from the University of Milan, who just published a study in Physical Review Applied.
	Training during first half of menstrual cycle most efficient Research at Umeå University provides new insights into when during the menstrual cycle it is advantageous to periodise your strength training. The results show that training that is concentrated to the first two week of the cycle have more of an effect on muscular strength, power and muscle mass. The study is a part of a dissertation that also shows that periodic training could be implemented without any female specific exercise-related complications and was perceived positively by participants.
	Dementia—catching the memory thief Today (September 21) is World Alzheimer's Day, and over a hundred years since the first case of Alzheimer's disease was diagnosed. Since then we've learned a great deal about the protein 'tangles' and 'plaques' that cause the disease. How close are we to having effective treatments – and could we even prevent dementia from occurring in the first place?
How can we get pharma companies to do more for global health? Try ranking them The World Health Organization reports that a third of the world's population cannot access important medicines for some of the world's most devastating diseases, like malaria and tuberculosis.
	Swine flu jab harmless to unborn babies The swine flu vaccine, when administered to pregnant women, caused neither fetal injury nor infant death, writes Karolinska Institutet professor Johan F Ludvigsson an opinion piece in Tuesday's Dagens Nyheter in conjunction with the publication of his research findings in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
	Staying social wards off depression when older women stop driving Stopping driving is linked to depression in older women, but the negative mental effects can be buffered by maintaining social contact and participating in social activities.
	Researchers investigate new strategy to block growth of colon cancer cells Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered a possible strategy to treat colon cancers that are caused by the mutant KRAS gene, which is responsible for approximately half of all colon cancer cases.
New research indicates key protein may directly impact development of colon cancer Researchers have discovered a new role of a protein that, if manipulated, may help suppress Colorectal Cancer (CRC) growth. The discovery, published online by Oncotarget journal, may lead to new therapies in managing patients with CRC.
	Researchers develop way to ID diabetes patient-specific drugs An innovative method that uses human embryonic stem cells to model type 2 diabetes caused by genetic mutations may enable researchers to identify drugs that could treat the disease. The research by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators was published Aug. 11 in Cell Stem Cell and may extend the use of precision medicine to metabolic diseases.
	Flinders wearable device aims to put insomnia to bed for good A revolutionary wearable tracking device which re-trains insomniacs to get a better night's sleep at home has been developed by a Flinders University scientist.
Helping adolescent athletes cope with stress If your adolescent athlete has a difficult soccer game, do you tell them not to worry about it? Or do you suggest they speak to their coach for tips on how to improve? How do you know if your words of wisdom are helping or harming?
	Two mood drugs combat virus implicated in birth defects Two mood-stabilizing drugs provide protection against a potentially dangerous virus implicated in birth defects as well as disease in people with compromised immune systems, Yale School of Medicine researchers have found.
	Few chronic kidney disease patients at risk from end-stage disease The results of research led by academics at The University of Nottingham will be a cause for optimism among patients suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD).
	Mothers of children with autism may face chronic stress, higher risks for heart disease Mothers who were raising children with autism and reported chronic stress were more likely to have high levels of "bad" cholesterol and lower levels of protective progenitor cells than lower-stressed mothers of "neurotypical" children – two factors that may boost their chances of heart disease.
	Six little molecules could help stop both Ebola and cancer University of Virginia School of Medicine researcher Christopher Stroupe has his eye on six little molecules that could be the key to new treatments for both Ebola and cancer.
How white blood cells jump into action in response to foreign microbes Pro-inflammatory molecules in the blood are essential for fighting off microbial invaders. But too much of these immune-signaling factors, and the body can go into septic shock. A team from the A*STAR Singapore Immunology Network has now elucidated the mechanism by which bacterial pathogens can rapidly trigger the processing of a key pro-inflammatory protein into its active form.
Care home dementia study finds failure to reduce antipsychotic prescribing There has been no sustained reduction in the prescription of antipsychotics to UK dementia patients, despite government guidance, according to a report published in the medical journal BMJ Open.
	New findings give insight into the cell membrane repair process of torn muscle fibers Everybody knows the burning sensation in the legs when climbing down a steep slope for a long time. It is caused by microruptures in the cell membrane of our muscle fibers. These holes in the cell envelopes must be closed as soon as possible as otherwise muscle cells will die off. Researchers at KIT were able to observe this repair process using high-resolution real-time microscopy. It only takes a few seconds until proteins from the inside of the injured cell form a repair patch that finally closes the hole in the membrane. The researchers at KIT now demonstrated that scavenger cells moving around within the muscle virtually perform nano-surgery to remove this repair patch later and restore the normal cell membrane structure.
	Simple urine test for motor neurone disease A researcher at Flinders University has developed a simple urine test that gives a quantitative measure of the severity of motor neurone disease.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug approved by FDA The powerful US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the green light to a drug developed by WA researchers Sue Fletcher and Steve Wilton for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
	Sleep is key to curing chronic pain Research from the University of Warwick reveals that the way chronic pain patients think about pain and sleep leads to insomnia and poor management of pain.
Study finds podcasts can help global discussion of palliative care A new study conducted by the Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute Liverpool (MCPCIL) shows the positive impact and reach podcasts can have on palliative care globally.
	Superbug MRSA may be spreading through contaminated poultry A new study offers compelling evidence that a novel form of the dangerous superbug Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can spread to humans through consumption or handling of contaminated poultry. The research, published online today in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, shows that poultry may be a source of human exposure to MRSA, a superbug which can cause serious infections and even death.
	Treating multiple health conditions in a single patient supported by a unique online self-management resource New guidelines issued by the National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE) for managing patients with more than one long-term condition recommend a tailored approach to patient care focused on individual preferences, needs and priorities.
Polish police smash 'world's largest' fake Viagra plant Polish police said Wednesday they had smashed what could be the world's largest illegal laboratory producing counterfeit Viagra-type pills and steroids during a raid near the northern city of Bydgoszcz.
	Post-Ebola, West Africans flock back to bush meat, with risk As the deadly outbreak of Ebola has subsided, people in several West African countries are flocking to eat bush meat again after restrictions were lifted on the consumption of wild animals like hedgehogs and cane rats. But some health experts call it a risky move.
A common genetic variant regulates the mental health benefits of exercise A new study revealed that a common genetic variant in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene reduces the neurobiological benefits induced by physical exercise in mice.
	Siblings of schizophrenia patients at greater risk for same diagnosis: study (HealthDay)—People who have a brother or sister with schizophrenia are 10 times more likely to develop the mental illness, a new study out of Israel suggests.
	Some cancer center staff uncertain of services offered (HealthDay)—Staff members at nearly one in 10 major U.S. cancer centers—all of which provide palliative care services—weren't certain such symptom-management and supportive care was actually available there, according to a study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium, held from Sept. 9 to 10 in San Francisco.
Post-operative outcomes in the VA improved in the last 15 years A study of the post-operative outcomes in the Veterans Health Administration shows that rates of complications and mortality following complications, known as failure to rescue, improved significantly within the VA during the last 15 years. The study was carried out by researchers at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine and the VA Pittsburgh Health System, and published today in JAMA Surgery.
	Team identifies blood biomarkers in drug-resistant cancer tumor cells While searching for a non-invasive way to detect prostate cancer cells circulating in blood, Duke Cancer Institute researchers have identified some blood markers associated with tumor resistance to two common hormone therapies.
African-American organ transplant recipients at risk for skin cancer A new study from Drexel University College of Medicine suggests all organ transplant recipients, regardless of race, should receive routine, total-body screenings for skin cancer.
Immune and targeted therapies with radiation therapy improves outcomes for melanoma brain metastases patients Brain metastases are one of the most common complications of advanced melanoma, requiring multidisciplinary management. Patients who are diagnosed with these metastases have an expected median survival of only 4 to 5 months. Moffitt Cancer Center researchers hope to improve these survival rates following a new study in Annals of Oncology that shows novel immune and targeted therapies with radiation therapy improves the outcomes of patients with melanoma brain metastases over conventional chemotherapy.
	More breast cancer patients should get radiation, new guidelines say (HealthDay)—New guidelines issued by three leading cancer organizations suggest that more breast cancer patients should get radiation therapy after a mastectomy.
	Cat scratch can sometimes lead to serious illness: CDC (HealthDay)—If Fluffy the cat gets out of sorts and scratches you, it's possible you could get a bacterial infection called cat-scratch disease that might even land you in the hospital.
	Research reveals two genetic loci linked to acute kidney injury (HealthDay)—Four single-nucleotide polymorphisms at two loci that are associated with acute kidney injury have been identified, according to a study published online Aug. 30 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
	Fatty acid binding protein 4 tied to preeclampsia risk in T1DM (HealthDay)—For women with type 1 diabetes, elevated fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) in early pregnancy and in the second trimester is associated with subsequent preeclampsia, according to a study published online Sept. 14 in Diabetes Care.
	Quality of diet linked to risk of T2DM regardless of BMI change (HealthDay)—Changes in diet quality correlate with subsequent risk of type 2 diabetes, and the association between diet quality changes and diabetes risk is only partly explained by body weight changes, according to a study published online Sept. 15 in Diabetes Care.
	Physicians treating few patients with buprenorphine (HealthDay)—For buprenorphine prescribers, the monthly patient census is 13 patients, according to a research letter published in the Sept. 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
	Non-TNF biologic beats second anti-TNF in rheumatoid arthritis (HealthDay)—A non-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-targeted biologic is more effective than a second anti-TNF drug for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in patients with insufficient response to a first anti-TNF drug, according to a study published in the Sept. 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
	Multigrowth factor cream speeds recovery after laser therapy (HealthDay)—Treatment with a multigrowth factor (MGF)-containing cream is associated with more rapid recovery after laser ablation, according to a study published online Sept. 16 in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.
	In battle against Zika, researchers seek foolproof test for infection The Zika virus has struck fear throughout the Americas, but determining whether people have been infected can be difficult.
Review: Volt over-the-counter hearing aid may help address a silent problem Everyone knows someone who seems to need help with their hearing.
	Women's wellness: Early diagnosis for ovarian cancer According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 20,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year. September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month and physicians want to raise awareness in the hopes of helping spur earlier diagnoses.
UN mobilizes to stop super-bugs The United Nations on Wednesday launched a global effort to fight so-called super-bugs that resist antibiotics, warning of a mounting death toll without more research.
Trial helps doctors tell Lewy body dementia from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Knowing that many clinicians find it difficult to correctly diagnose patients with Lewy body dementia, researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center set out to develop a clinical profile for these patients. Their findings are published online in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
	50-country comparison of child and youth fitness levels An international research team co-led from the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) and the University of North Dakota studied the aerobic fitness levels of children and youth across 50 countries. The results are available now in the esteemed British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Mixed report for global health progress The world has made progress in curbing infant mortality, stunted growth and other poverty-driven problems, while obesity, alcohol abuse and partner violence has risen, a major review of UN health goals said Wednesday.
	Stepping up efforts to home in on teen depression The teen years can be a time of stress, confusion and uncertainty. There is pressure to fit in, to stand out and to succeed. So you can hardly blame adolescents for sometimes being moody, down, or wanting to be left alone.
Stem cell 'heart patch' moves closer to clinic The promise of stem cells to treat cardiovascular disease may soon be a step closer to clinical application as scientists from three institutions seek to perfect and test three-dimensional "heart patches" in a large animal model—the last big hurdle before trials in human patients.
	Study questions benefits of testosterone replacement for 'low T' The prescription of testosterone supplementation for cardiovascular health, sexual function, physical function, mood, or cognitive function in men with "low T" is not supported by clinical trials data, conclude researchers who describe a review of more than 200 clinical trials published Sept. 21 in PLOS One.
Drug may prevent, reduce progression of multiple sclerosis in mice The experimental drug laquinimod may prevent the development or reduce the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, according to research published in the September 21, 2016, online issue of Neurology Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, a medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Approval of test to diagnose adrenal cancer A new analytical test has been launched in the UK that provides sensitive, specific and efficient predictive analysis of a rare form of cancer from a simple urine sample. The ACC steroid analysis service will be marketed by Birmingham-based AltaBioscience, which has an exclusive licence on this patented technology from the University of Birmingham.
	Chipotle makes new push to convince people its food is safe Chipotle is making another push to convince people that its food won't make them sick, with plans to run more newspaper and digital ads outlining the safety steps it has taken since last year's E. coli outbreak.
Surgery can save more lives than some diseases take A Zambian surgeon has driven the adoption of a World Health Organization resolution to make surgery accessible as a component of universal health coverage.
Getting the best help for overweight young people Researchers at SINTEF are looking into how best to help overweight children and teenagers.
Sitting for long periods of time is the cause of 4 percent of deaths worldwide The next time you wrap up your work day and realise you've been sitting in front of the computer for almost eight straight hours, maybe you won't feel so proud of yourself. A new study, conducted in 54 countries around the world, declares that 3.8% of all deaths are due to the fact that society spends more than three hours a day sitting down.
Congo fever nurse discharged from Spanish hospital A Spanish nurse who contracted Congo fever while caring for a man who died from the virus, in the first non-imported case reported in Western Europe, was discharged from hospital on Wednesday, officials said.
Advances in stem cell therapy to treat neurogenetic diseases Transplantation of therapeutic stem cells directly into the central nervous system (CNS) is a promising new approach to treating the neurological effects of lysosomal storage diseases (LSD), a group of at least 50 different monogenic inherited diseases. Translating the stem cell therapies developed in animal models of LSD to effective human therapies still faces significant challenges, which are described in an article in Human Gene Therapy.
Tufts University gets $15 million to expand anatomy lab Tufts University in Boston is receiving a $15 million donation to expand its anatomy lab where medical students dissect cadavers.
UN adopts declaration on anti-microbial resistance World leaders approved a wide-ranging declaration Wednesday aimed at addressing the rising number of drug-resistant infections—something the World Health Organization says has the potential to kill millions and undermine the global economy, likening it to "a slow-motion tsunami."
Colorado medical pot law poised to add PTSD as qualifier Marijuana pioneer Colorado is poised to add post-traumatic stress disorder to its medical marijuana program, joining 18 other states that consider PTSD a condition treatable by pot.

Biology news

	Science reveals male widow spider's dastardly deeds Whenever the "widow" spider is mentioned, people tend to sympathise with the hapless male—best known for its tendency to end up as a post-coital snack.
	Despite multicolor camouflage, cuttlefish, squid and octopus are colorblind Researchers at The University of Queensland have established that colourful coastal cephalopods are actually colourblind – but can still manage to blend beautifully with their surroundings.
	The basic units of the olfactory system in the fly brain provide references to their function and ecological relevance Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, have now quantified and mapped the functional units of the olfactory center in the brains of vinegar flies responsible for the perception of odors. They found out that the so-called olfactory glomeruli in the antennal lobe, the insect analogue of the olfactory bulb of mammals, differ from each other in their architecture. The morphology and the structure of these spherical brain units provide information about the ecological relevance of the odors they process, especially with regard to the flies' odor-guided behavior.
	Scientists have bright idea for detecting harmful bacteria in food products Scientists looking for traces of E. coli O157:H7 contamination in foods soon could have a new detection method on their hands - turning off the lights to see if the bacteria glow in the dark.
	Reef fish see colours that humans can't Researchers at The University of Queensland have established that reef fish see colours that humans cannot.
	Fish against monster worms Eunice aphroditois, also known as the Bobbit worm, buries its long body deep in the sand, leaving only its powerful jaws protruding above the surface. It uses these to grab hold of unsuspecting prey and drag it down into its burrow within a fraction of a second. Biologists from Basel University have taken a closer look at the gruesome hunter and its prey and noticed a fascinating behavioral pattern: prey fish defend themselves against the monstrous worm by attacking it with water jets and forcing it to retreat. The study has been published in Scientific Reports.
	Female lyrebirds step into the spotlight with their extraordinary mimicry The female Superb Lyrebird of Australia is finally getting her day in the sun. The male is justly famous for his amazing ability to mimic sounds. But for the first time, scientists have conducted a systematic study (opens in new window) of the sounds that female Superb Lyrebirds make. They find that she, too, is a skilled vocalist that can imitate the voices of at least 19 other bird species.
	Computers learn to spot deadly bacteria Machine learning can predict strains of bacteria likely to cause food poisoning outbreaks, research has found.
	Algorithm for predicting protein pairings could help show how living systems work An algorithm which models how proteins inside cells interact with each other will enhance the study of biology, and sheds light on how proteins work together to complete tasks such as turning food into energy.
	Study unveils hidden molecular machinery in RNA processes A special stretch of ribonucleic acid (RNA) called COOLAIR is revealing its inner structure and function to scientists, displaying a striking resemblance to an RNA molecular machine, territory previously understood to be limited to the cells' protein factory (the 'ribosome') and not a skill set given to mere strings of RNA.
Protein production in differentiating stem cells is more complex than previously thought Tweaks in the sequence of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) can influence their rate of protein production, A*STAR researchers have shown. This process is important for how embryonic stems cells (ESC) differentiate into other tissue types.
Environmental DNA provides early detection of invasive crayfish Every plant and animal has a unique genetic composition, which makes a lake like a bowl of DNA soup—every spoonful contains the combined DNA of the lake's inhabitants. Scientists have only recently begun using this environmental DNA, or eDNA, to identify the presence of organisms like amphibians and fish. A U of I researcher and his colleagues analyzed eDNA to successfully detect the presence of the highly invasive rusty crayfish in a dozen Wisconsin lakes. Using eDNA to monitor hard to detect species can provide early warnings of newly arrived invasive species.
	Ocean fronts attract ocean wanderers—foraging gannets on the front line Foraging seabirds use oceanic fronts as an efficient means to forage for food, according to an international study that could help safeguard the future of protected species.
	Smallest-reported artificial virus could help advance gene therapy Gene therapy is a kind of experimental treatment that is designed to fix faulty genetic material and help a patient fight off or recover from a disease. Now scientists have engineered the smallest-reported virus-like shell that can self-assemble. It could someday carry potentially therapeutic DNA or RNA and transfer it to human cells. The report appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
	Gut bacteria explain insect tolerance to a toxic diet Scientists at the Universitat de València's Cavanilles Institute have studied the microbial communities of toxic plant feeders in the Albufera lake in Valencia, Spain. Aside from explaining the insects' tolerance to a toxic diet, their findings may have applications in bioremediation: a waste management technique that involves the use of organisms to remove or neutralise pollutants from a contaminated materials.
	Fishing erodes natural size variation Fishing typically removes the large individuals from the population. Over time, this not only leads to evolutionary shrinking of fish but it also erodes natural trait variability in fish stocks. This was demonstrated in a study partly funded by the Academy of Finland where researchers experimentally harvested zebrafish. The loss of natural trait variability is an alarming observation, as variability facilitates population viability in changing environments.
Scientists discover half of Asia's protected areas too small for snow leopard survival A new scientific report has confirmed that the snow leopard is running out of room to survive, with nearly 40% of all protected areas across the species' range too small to support even a pair of breeding snow leopards.
	Feeding a Mars mission: The challenges of growing plants in space Plants will play a critical role in the survival of human beings on long-duration space missions, such as a mission to Mars. However, as a paper published in Botany Letters shows, many challenges need to be addressed if astronauts are to successfully grow enough food on board spacecraft and on other planets.
	Possible hybrid threatens native iguanas in Cayman Islands Researchers are studying a possible hybrid species of iguana found in the Cayman Islands that could pose a new risk to a native variety that officials have declared critically endangered.
	Prenatal stress accelerates growth and inhibits the motoric development of unborn monkeys For the first time, behavioral ecologists studied the impact of maternal stress on primate infants in the wild.
	Mexico police raid sawmills near monarch butterfly refuge A special Mexican police unit has raided seven sawmills near the monarch butterfly's mountain sanctuary in a bid to prevent illegal logging threatening the insect's winter migration, officials said Tuesday.
	Tracking lions and protecting cattle from attack It can take days on safari to track the lions inside protected areas, but when Dr Neil Jordan's team finds an adult wandering by itself they act fast.
No exceptions to cosmetics animal testing ban: top EU court The EU's top court on Wednesday ruled that there can be no exceptions to a ban on animal testing by cosmetics manufacturers in the bloc.
	Bringing bugs to the classroom makes everyone smarter Through a curriculum appropriately titled, "Bed Bugs and Book Bags," students worldwide are learning how to identify bed bugs, where they hide out and much more. The program teaches how to prevent the insects, and a new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences study shows the hands-on learning experience works.
	US, Canada broker agreement to share dwindling cod fishing The United States and Canada have brokered a deal to share what's left of the dwindling North American cod fishing business in the Atlantic next year.

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