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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for January 12, 2017:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | 'Hot Jupiter' detected around nearby variable star(Phys.org)—Astronomers have detected a new "hot Jupiter" exoplanet orbiting a nearby T Tauri star known as TAP 26. The newly detected alien world, designated TAP 26 b, is about 66 percent more massive than Jupiter and is orbiting its parent star approximately every 10 days. The findings were presented in a paper published Jan. 6 on arXiv.org. |
 | Simulations suggest Planet Nine may have been a rogue(Phys.org)—Space researchers James Vesper and Paul Mason with New Mexico State University have given a presentation at this year's American Astronomical Science meeting outlining the results of simulations they have been running to learn more about Planet Nine—a planet that many in the space science community believe exists far beyond Pluto. They presented evidence suggesting that if Planet Nine is out there, it is likely a rogue. |
 | What role do supermassive black holes play when galaxies merge?In roughly four billion years, the Milky Way will be no more. |
 | Finally, an explanation for the "alien megastructure?"Back in October of 2015, astronomers shook the world when they reported how the Kepler mission had noticed a strange and sudden drop in brightness coming from KIC 8462852 (aka. Tabby's Star). This was followed by additional studies that showed how the star appeared to be consistently dimming over time. All of this led to a flurry of speculation, with possibilities ranging from large asteroids and a debris disc to an alien megastructure. |
 | Keck Cosmic Web Imager ships from Caltech to Keck ObservatoryAn instrument designed to image the vast web of gas that connects galaxies in the universe has been shipped from Los Angeles to Hawaii, where it will be integrated into the W. M. Keck Observatory. |
 | Venus rules the dusk skies at greatest elongation"What's that bright light in the sky?" The planet Venus never fails to impress, and indeed makes even seasoned observers look twice at its unexpected brilliance. The third brightest natural object in the sky, Venus now rules the dusk, a fine sight for wintertime evening commuters. Venus reaches greatest elongation tomorrow, a excellent time to admire this dazzling but shrouded world of mystery. |
Technology news
 | Finnish developer shows how browser autofill profiles can be exploited to leak information(Tech Xplore)—Some phishing attack. Numerous sites this week have reported the dangers of a phishing attack made possible by the browser you use. The Guardian was one of the sites having a look at how private information can be leaked. |
 | Alternative solar cells ramp up efficiency and stabilityImperial researchers are designing cheaper and more flexible solar energy materials, set to rival traditional rigid silicon panels. |
 | Wearable sensors can tell when you are getting sick, study showsWearable sensors that monitor heart rate, activity, skin temperature and other variables can reveal a lot about what is going on inside a person, including the onset of infection, inflammation and even insulin resistance, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. |
 | Iowa State engineer helps journal highlight how pyrolysis can advance the bioeconomyA special issue of the journal Energy Technology details the latest advances in pyrolysis technologies for converting biomass into fuels, chemicals and fertilizers. |
 | US gov't accuses Fiat Chrysler of cheating on emissionsThe U.S. government accused Fiat Chrysler on Thursday of failing to disclose software in some of its pickups and SUVs with diesel engines that allows them to emit more pollution than allowed under the Clean Air Act. |
 | Smartphone, internet use at record high in US: surveyMore than three-fourths of American adults now use a smartphone, helping to boost internet adoption to a record level, a survey showed Thursday. |
 | Liquid metal 3-D printing could revolutionize how things are madeA father and son team in the START-UP NY program have invented a liquid metal printing machine that could represent a significant transformation in manufacturing. A breakthrough idea five years ago by former University at Buffalo student Zack Vader, then 19, has created a machine that prints three-dimensional objects using liquid metal. |
 | Alphabet drops dream of drones providing internetGoogle parent company Alphabet confirmed that it is opting for balloons instead of drones in its quest to deliver internet service from the sky. |
360-degree replays at Super Bowl a taste of what's nextHave you ever wanted to know what Tom Brady sees as he stares down a pass rush, scans the field for an open receiver ... or brushes his teeth in the morning? | |
 | China turns to robots as workers ageFlat, orange robots glide under stationary cars and ferry them to empty Chinese parking bays, using space more efficiently and, their creators say, reducing driver stress. |
Bitcoin plunges as China investigates exchangesBitcoin prices plummeted after China's central bank announced it was investigating exchange platforms trading in the virtual currency. | |
Taiwan microchip giant to boost US jobs: companyMicrochip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) says it will create more jobs in the United States as the firm posted record profits. | |
 | One radiator to heat a whole floorSaving energy from building highly insulated homes—often called passive homes or zero-emissions homes—makes sense for the climate and for the homeowner's pocketbook. But what happens if your efficient home is a little too efficient, and parts are too warm? |
Cyberterrorism could get personal, researchers suggestCyber terrorism is a controversial term. In considering terrorism, the popular image is of hijacked aeroplanes, buildings and lives destroyed by bombs, multiple shootings and other large-scale life-threatening incidents. It would be easy to marginalise cyberterrorism as nothing more important as a bit of hacking, a few leaked emails and passwords, a website blocked. Unfortunately, one must consider the scenario in which a cyberterrorist takes control of important infrastructure, transport systems, power grids, and defence installations. Where a network of terrorists might organise a large-scale terror attack involving conventional weapons, the cyberterrorist might take control of or even destroy infrastructure on which millions of lives depend. | |
 | Drones delivering packages in cities won't take off—here's whyYou may have gasped with disbelief the first time you saw a photograph of a drone home-delivering a box from Amazon or cakes from a bakery or carrying a bag of crisps. Until recently, this was the stuff of science fiction. Your initial reaction was probably: "Amazing … but will it ever take off?" |
 | Training computers to differentiate between people with the same nameAll individuals are unique but millions of people share names. How to distinguish—or as it is technically known, disambiguate—people with common names and determine which John Smith or Maria Garcia or Wei Zhang or Omar Ali is a specific John Smith, Maria Garcia, Wei Zhang or Omar Ali—or even someone previously unidentified? |
 | Robots need 'kill switches', warn Euro MPsThe unstoppable rise of robots in our everyday lives requires urgent EU rules such as "kill switches", European Parliament members warned Thursday as they passed a resolution urging Brussels into action on automaton ethics. |
 | Amazon to deliver 100,000 new US jobsAmazon on Thursday unveiled plans to create 100,000 US jobs over the next 18 months, as President-elect Donald Trump presses the business world to boost activities on American soil. |
 | Renewable energy investment fell 18% in 2016: studyGlobal investment in renewable energy dropped by 18 percent in 2016 due to sharp falls in equipment prices and a slowdown in China and Japan, a study found Thursday. |
 | China puts up Stop sign for Pokemon GoChina will not allow its mammoth mobile online population to play Pokemon Go or other augmented-reality games until it completes a review of potential security risks, a Chinese digital publishing group said. |
India's TCS beats expectations with $995 mn profitIndia's biggest IT sourcing firm Tata Consultancy services reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday, boosted by demand for its digital services. | |
Amazon's Bezos buys US capital home for $23 mn, in cashAmazon founder Jeff Bezos will have a place to hang his hat in the US capital, with the purchase of what may be the city's largest private residence, for $23 million. | |
 | Project focusing on heavy-duty trucks is part of national effort to reduce vehicle fuel consumptionPurdue University is leading part of a national effort to reduce vehicle fuel consumption by 20 percent through automated systems that interconnect cars and trucks and the transportation infrastructure using sensors and online cloud technology. |
 | BLAST: Greater speed, accuracy in recognizing brain injuryModern body armor better protects warfighters against shrapnel from explosive blasts. However, they still face a hidden threat—the resulting blast pressure and shock wave that could cause traumatic brain injury (TBI). |
Medicine & Health news
 | Study first to connect stress-associated brain activity with cardiovascular riskA study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISSMS) investigators has linked, for the first time in humans, activity in a stress-sensitive structure within the brain to the risk of subsequent cardiovascular disease. The team's findings, being published in the journal The Lancet, also reveals a pathway leading from activation of that structure—the amygdala—through elevated immune system activity to an increased incidence of cardiovascular events. |
 | Yoga may have health benefits for people with chronic non-specific lower back painA new systematic review, published in the Cochrane Library today, suggests that yoga may lead to a reduction in pain and functional ability in people with chronic non-specific lower back pain over the short term, compared with no exercise. However, researchers advise that more studies are needed to provide information on long-term effects. |
 | Scientists identify protein central to immune response against tuberculosis bacteriaUT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified a protein that is central to the immune system's ability to recognize and destroy the bacterium responsible for the global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic.The new finding, reported recently in Cell Host & Microbe, could someday lead to the development of immunity-based therapies to treat tuberculosis—which typically takes months to eradicate and has become increasingly resistant to antibiotics—by strengthening this immune pathway, said Dr. Michael Shiloh, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Microbiology. |
 | Relationship between incorrect chromosome number and cancer is reassessed after surprising experimentsOver a century ago, a German-born scientist experimenting with impregnated sea urchin eggs had an insight that led to one of the first modern theories of cancer. Theodor Boveri linked incorrect chromosome number in urchin embryos with abnormal development. In 1902 he reasoned that having the wrong number of chromosomes could cause cells to grow uncontrollably and become the seeds of cancerous tumors. |
 | Improving longevity of functionally integrated stem cells in regenerative vision therapyStem cell therapies hold great promise for restoring function in a variety of degenerative conditions, but one of the logistical hurdles is how to ensure the cells survive in the body long enough to work. Researchers from the Buck Institute report one of the first demonstrations of long-term vision restoration in blind mice by transplanting photoreceptors derived from human stem cells and blocking the immune response that causes transplanted cells to be rejected by the recipient. |
 | Scientists discover master regulator of cellular agingScientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered a protein that fine-tunes the cellular clock involved in aging. |
 | Researchers create mosquito resistant to dengue virusResearchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have genetically modified mosquitoes to resist infection from dengue virus, a virus that sickens an estimated 96 million people globally each year and kills more than 20,000, mostly children. |
 | Entorhinal cortex acts independently of the hippocampus in remembering movement, study findsUntil now, the hippocampus was considered the most important brain region for forming and recalling memory, with other regions only contributing as subordinates. But a study published today in Science finds that a brain region called entorhinal cortex plays a new and independent role in memory. A team of researchers led by Jozsef Csicsvari, Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), showed that, in rats, the entorhinal cortex replays memories of movement independent of input from the hippocampus. |
 | 'Mysterious' non-protein-coding RNAs play important roles in gene expressionIn cells, DNA is transcribed into RNAs that provide the molecular recipe for cells to make proteins. Most of the genome is transcribed into RNA, but only a small proportion of RNAs are actually from the protein-coding regions of the genome. |
 | New urine test can quickly detect whether a person has a healthy dietScientists have developed a urine test that measures the health of a person's diet. |
A year on, mothers of Brazil's Zika babies struggleBrazil's 2015-2016 zika scare has largely dropped out of the headlines, but one year on, thousands of parents are struggling as they learn to care for brain-damaged babies. | |
A novel zebrafish model enables genetic studies of Hirschsprung diseaseResearchers led by the Francis Crick Institute have developed a zebrafish model of a human disease - Hirschsprung disease - that enables them to study the disease's causes and consequences in living animals and will help develop new treatments. | |
 | Schizophrenia could directly increase risk of diabetesPeople with early schizophrenia are at an increased risk of developing diabetes, even when the effects of antipsychotic drugs, diet and exercise are taken out of the equation, according to an analysis by researchers from King's College London. |
 | IVF success rates 'misleading'Success rates advertised on the majority of IVF clinic websites are highly misleading, even if published in good faith, because they can cherry-pick their results, according to a new study. |
 | Patients with long term conditions overestimate life expectancyA review of studies examining perceived life expectancy among people with long term health conditions has found patients may overestimate their life expectancy. |
 | Preschoolers with autism show gains after play-based programTreatments for autism spectrum disorder that appear promising in a research lab often don't work as well in real-life settings. |
 | Arclight—a pocket-sized device that could save the sight of millions of peopleA revolutionary pocket-sized device which could help save the sight of millions of people around the world has been launched by a team led from the University of St Andrews. |
 | Study shows exercise, diet could offset effects of malariaThe right amount of diet and exercise can help lessen damage to the heart and skeletal muscles brought on by malaria, according to a new UTA study. |
Research focuses on helping former prisoners avoid opioidsIn recent years, much federal funding has been earmarked to help find solutions to the opioid use and overdose crisis in the nation's rural regions. The effort has included a focus on coal-impacted Appalachian states, including Kentucky. | |
 | Researcher says pharma industry's ability to deliver new drugs may be coming to an endFrom reading and hearing news accounts, the general public has a vague impression that some things are amiss with the pharmaceutical industry—one word: Epipens. But few might consider it an industry in a state of collapse. |
 | Rebuilding the salivary gland after radiationPatients who undergo radiation therapy for head and neck cancers often lose the ability to produce saliva because radiation destroys salivary glands that lie in the way of the tumor. |
 | Removable airway stent could revolutionize surgeryA knitted rag sock inspired this professor and MD to develop a stent that can easily be removed after it has done its job. |
 | The search for a universal influenza vaccineNo one wants to catch the flu, and the best line of defense is the seasonal influenza vaccine. But producing an effective annual flu shot relies on accurately predicting which flu strains are most likely to infect the population in any given season. It requires the coordination of multiple health centers around the globe as the virus travels from region to region. Once epidemiologists settle on target flu strains, vaccine production shifts into high gear; it takes approximately six months to generate the more than 150 million injectible doses necessary for the American population. |
Research explores social determinants of health disparities for obesity and related chronic diseasesThe Mid-South Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center for Health Disparities Research has adopted a novel conceptual framework that considers the social context in which people live in order to understand the pathways and mechanisms that generate different health outcomes in obesity and related chronic diseases for people in vulnerable populations. | |
Inhibition of EZH2 might be new therapy of multiple myelomaIn a study published in the scientific journal Oncotarget, researchers from Uppsala University show how the protein EZH2 affects the development of multiple myeloma, and that inhibition of EZH2 could be used as a new strategy to treat the disease. The tumour form multiple myeloma is today incurable and it has been challenging to improve therapy. | |
 | Target incoming students to halt spread of meningitis, say researchersA campaign targeted at students arriving at university for the first time could hold the key to reducing the spread of meningitis and septicaemia, say researchers at the universities of Nottingham and Leicester. |
 | New gene expression research could have implications for agingA surprising new finding about gene expression could increase our understanding of the aging process. Gene expression is the process by which the information contained within a gene becomes a useful product. |
Gastric acid suppressants linked to hospitalizationNew research has found a link between popular heartburn drugs and an increase in the risk of infectious gastroenteritis—an illness that results in 13.1 million lost days of work in Australia a year. | |
New drug shows improved progression-free survival for patients with advanced metastatic midgut neuroendocrine tumorsA new therapy in development for the treatment of midgut neuroendocrine tumors, a rare type of cancer that occurs in the small intestine and colon, shows improved progression-free survival and response rates for patients with advanced disease. Results of the international phase 3 clinical trial of lutetium-177 (177Lu)-Dotatate compared to high-dose octreotide LAR were published in the Jan. 12 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. | |
Instagram documents rising hookah useSocial media is giving researchers insight into the rising use of hookah, according to a study from USC. Hookah, smoked through a water pipe and also known as shisha, has harmful health effects similar to cigarettes. But as cigarette use declined between 2005 and 2015 in the U.S, hookah use increased. | |
A sugary drinks tax has wider economic as well as health benefitsThe wider economic benefits of a tax on sugary drinks need to be recognised by policymakers if retailers' pricing behaviour is to be changed, according to a study led by the University of East Anglia (UEA). | |
 | Researchers find link between concussions and Alzheimer's diseaseNew research has found concussions accelerate Alzheimer's disease-related brain atrophy and cognitive decline in people who are at genetic risk for the condition. |
 | In teens, strong friendships may mitigate depression associated with excessive video gamingTeenagers who play video games for more than four hours a day suffer from symptoms of depression, but frequent use of social media and instant messaging may mitigate symptoms of game addiction in these teens, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health-led research suggests. |
 | T cells join the fight against ZikaThe worst of the global Zika virus outbreak may be over but many key questions remain, such as why the virus persists in certain tissues after the systemic infection has cleared; how does the immune system counteract the virus and protect against reinfection; what determines the likelihood of long-term complications? |
 | Sleep health program reduces firefighter disability and injuryMany firefighters suffer acute and chronic sleep deficiency and misalignment of their circadian rhythm (body clock) due to extended shifts and long work weeks. Extended duration shifts have been shown to increase the risk of sleepiness, burnout, injuries and errors when compared to shorter shifts in resident physicians and first responders such as emergency medical technicians. Many firefighters also suffer from undiagnosed sleep disorders which further increase risk to short-term safety and long-term health. |
 | CVS generic competitor to EpiPen, sold at a 6th the priceCVS is now selling a rival, generic version of Mylan's EpiPen at about a sixth of its price, just months after the maker of the life-saving allergy treatment was eviscerated before Congress because of its soaring cost to consumers. |
 | Doctors publish study of first locally-acquired Zika transmissionFollowing the recent Zika outbreak in Miami-Dade County, a multidisciplinary team of physicians with the University of Miami Health System and Miller School of Medicine published a case study today in The New England Journal of Medicine, describing in detail the nation's first locally-transmitted case of Zika. |
 | Depression in pregnancy, low birth weight tied to biomarkerDepression is very common during pregnancy, with as many as one in seven women suffering from the illness and more than a half million women impacted by postpartum depression in the U.S. alone. The disorder not only affects the mother's mood, but has also been linked to influencing the newborn's development, according to recent research. |
Markers for prostate cancer death can identify men in need of more aggressive treatmentProstate cancer (PC) is the second leading cause of male cancer death in the United States with an estimated 26,000 deaths in 2016. Two-thirds of all PC deaths observed in the US are men with localized disease who developed metastasis. Several markers for dying from prostate cancer exist, but whether these are markers for telling who is likely to die early from any cause, and how their performance compares, is unknown. Identifying such a marker is important because we can then identify which men may benefit from new, more aggressive treatments for prostate cancer. | |
Seeing vape pen in use boosts desire to smoke among young adultsAlthough they look less like cigarettes than first-generation e-cigarettes, a new study found that the newer generation e-cigarette vape pens (also known as vaporizers) stimulate the urge to smoke as powerfully as watching someone smoke a "combustible" tobacco cigarette. | |
 | Melanoma mutation likes fat for fuelCancer cells love glucose, the simple sugar the body uses for energy, so a high-fat, low-carb diet should starve them, right? |
Two-thirds of packaged foods and drinks in Canada have added sugarsAn analysis of over 40,000 commonly available packaged foods and beverages in Canada has found that 66 per cent of these products - including some infant formulas and baby food products and many so-called 'healthier' foods such as yogurt, juice, breakfast cereals, and snack bars - have at least one added sugar in their ingredients list, according to new research from Public Health Ontario (PHO) and the University of Waterloo. | |
 | Research holds promise for personalized lung cancer treatmentsNew research from scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah uncovered distinct types of tumors within small cell lung cancer that look and act differently from one another. Scientists also identified a targeted drug combination that worked well with one specific tumor type. The study was published today in Cancer Cell. The findings suggest small cell lung cancer should not be treated as a uniform disease. |
 | Malaria infection depends on number of parasites, not number of mosquito bitesFor the first time, researchers have shown that the number of parasites each mosquito carries influences the chance of successful malaria infection. |
Mutations responsible for cleft palate and related birth defects identifiedResearchers located a novel gene mutation causing cleft lip and cleft palate defects, which slows the turnover of hyaluronan, an important component of the hard palate. Martina Muggenthaler working with Prof Andrew Crosby, Dr Emma Baple and colleagues at the University of Exeter (United Kingdom), and Biswajit Chowdhury working with Prof Barb Triggs-Raine of the University of Manitoba (Canada), report these findings January 12th, 2017 in PLOS Genetics. | |
Women with high-risk congenital heart disease can have successful pregnanciesNew recommendations from the American Heart Association provide guidance to women with complex congenital heart defects and their healthcare providers about managing successful pregnancies, childbirth and post-natal care. | |
Pragmatic approach to using animal tissueUsing animals to research potentially life-saving treatments for humans is a necessary part of the scientific process, though progress has been made in reducing the number of animals involved. In a new commentary publishing January 12 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, scientists in the UK led by Professor Valerie Speirs describe a framework designed to make remaining material derived from animal studies in biomedical research more visible and accessible to the scientific community. The framework, called SEARCH (Sharing Experimental Animal Resources, Coordinating Holdings), encourages scientists to share before considering developing new or additional models, with the ultimate aim to reduce the number of animals used in biomedical research. | |
 | Malaria elimination: Vaccines should be tested on larger groups of volunteersTo find an effective vaccine against malaria it is crucial to test candidate vaccines on larger groups of people than previously thought - according to a new study published in PLOS Computational Biology. The researchers from Erasmus MC Rotterdam and Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen developed a mathematical model to determine the minimum number of people required for a good vaccine trial. |
 | Classic video game system used to improve understanding of the brainThe complexity of neural networks makes them difficult to analyze, but manmade computing systems should be simpler to understand. In a study published in PLOS Computational Biology, researchers applied widely used neuroscience approaches to analyze the classic games console Atari 2600 - which runs the videogame "Donkey Kong" - and found that such approaches do not meaningfully describe how the console's microprocessor really works. |
 | Exercise... It does a body good: 20 minutes can act as anti-inflammatoryIt's well known that regular physical activity has health benefits, including weight control, strengthening the heart, bones and muscles and reducing the risk of certain diseases. Recently, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found how just one session of moderate exercise can also act as an anti-inflammatory. The findings have encouraging implications for chronic diseases like arthritis, fibromyalgia and for more pervasive conditions, such as obesity. |
Researchers reveal that not all violent acts are equalPeople from different nationalities make similar judgements and decisions about the severity of different violent acts—a finding that could help international organisations, such as the UN and World Health Organisation to better manage crime and violent behaviour—according to research led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). | |
 | Scientists reveal non-addictive pathway to pain reliefOHSU research suggests an avenue for developing treatments for chronic pain that harness the medicinal properties of cannabis while minimizing the threat of addiction. |
 | Sushi lovers, beware: tapeworm now found in U.S. salmon(HealthDay)—In bad news for sushi lovers, scientists have confirmed that a tapeworm known to infect salmon from the Asian Pacific is also present in fish from U.S. waters. |
 | How to spot a common, potentially dangerous, childhood illness(HealthDay)—Nearly all children get respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) by age 2. But just because the infection is common doesn't mean it should be taken lightly, one nursing specialist warns. |
 | Sitagliptin has neutral CV risk effect in elderly with T2DM, CVD(HealthDay)—Sitagliptin has a neutral effect on cardiovascular risk among older patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a study published online Jan. 5 in Diabetes Care. |
 | Tetracycline and colchicine effective in hidradenitis suppurativa(HealthDay)—Tetracycline combined with colchicine is effective for treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), according to a study published online Jan. 4 in the International Journal of Dermatology. |
Worsening QoL linked to early Tx discontinuation in breast cancer(HealthDay)—For women with breast cancer, experiencing a worsening in menopause-specific quality of life (QoL) is associated with early treatment discontinuation, according to a study published online Jan. 9 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. | |
 | Increase noted in mindfulness practices from 2002 to 2012(HealthDay)—The prevalence of specific mindfulness practices has increased in recent years, with variation in rates of engagement among worker groups, according to a report published in the Jan. 5 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Preventing Chronic Disease. |
 | TENS relieves pain during office hysterectomy without sedation(HealthDay)—Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) can reduce pain during office hysterectomy without sedation, according to a study published in the February issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. |
 | Beta-blockers linked to reduced mortality in HFrEF, A-fib(HealthDay)—β-blockers are associated with significantly reduced mortality, but not hospitalizations, in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and atrial fibrillation (AF), according to a study published online Jan. 11 in JACC: Heart Failure. |
 | No cognitive benefit for long-term lifestyle intervention(HealthDay)—For overweight and obese adults with diabetes mellitus, a long-term intensive lifestyle intervention does not offer cognitive benefits, according to a study published online Jan. 9 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. |
 | Study outlines framework for identifying disease risk in genome sequenceImagine a day when you visit the doctor's office for your annual physical. Your physician orders routine tests - cholesterol, glucose and blood count - but they also order a sequence of your genome, all 3 billion letters of it. Routine genomic testing is not far away, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). |
Research evaluates treatment options for pelvic organ prolapsePelvic organ prolapse occurs when the pelvic organs drop from their normal position in the pelvis. This can have a negative impact on a woman's overall functioning and quality of life. Two of the most common treatments are surgery or pessary, which is a removable device that helps provide support to the pelvic organs. While both surgery and pessary can improve prolapse symptoms, questions remain about patients' functional outcomes and goal attainment between the two forms of treatment. | |
 | The good, bad and unknown about marijuana's health effectsIt can almost certainly ease chronic pain and might help some people sleep, but it may also raise the risk of getting schizophrenia and trigger heart attacks. |
 | Crybaby: The vitamins in your tearsTesting for nutritional deficiencies in blood can be invasive and expensive. A team led by Michigan Technological University explored what it takes to switch to tears instead. |
Alternative payment model boosts quality of care for low-income patientsPeople receiving care by providers participating in a type of alternative payment model experienced improvements in quality of care, with the greatest gains observed among patients living in lower socioeconomic status areas, according to results of a newly published study led by researchers in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School. | |
Being rude to your child's doctor could lead to worse careEmotions tend to run high in hospitals, and patients or patients' loved ones can be rude to medical professionals when they perceive inadequate care. | |
Annual report examines state of college student mental heathDespite increased demand for counseling centers on college campuses, students aren't necessarily getting sicker. Instead, it's likely student mental health needs across the country have increased due to national prevention and awareness efforts over the past decade. "The results we are seeing are the outcomes we would expect to see from suicide prevention efforts over the last decade," said Ben Locke, executive director of the Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State. | |
Oral iron drug found safe and effective for treating anemia in kidney disease patientsAn oral iron formulation may be a safe and effective treatment for anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease, according to a new study. The findings, which appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN), point to a potential alternative to intravenous iron. | |
1 Japanese, 2 Americans win Crafoord science prizeA Japanese and two American scientists have been awarded the 2017 Crafoord Prize for fundamental discoveries in immune regulation. | |
US Senate takes first step toward unraveling ObamacareThe Republican-led US Senate held a procedural vote early Thursday which set in motion the eventual rollback of The Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's signature healthcare reform bill. | |
The role of a bacterial clearance pathway in the picornavirus life cycleEvotec AG today announced a promising research result in the field of picornaviruses, published in a scientific article by Dr Thijn Brummelkamp, the co-founder of Haplogen GmbH ("Haplogen"), a biotech company based in Vienna, Austria, that develops antiviral therapeutics in a co-owned partnership with Evotec. | |
 | Organ transplants, deceased donors set record in 2016Organ transplants performed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and across the United States in 2016 reached record highs, according to preliminary data from UAB and the United Network for Organ Sharing. |
Report identifies root causes of health inequity in the U.S., outlines solutions for communitiesThe burdens of poor health and the benefits of good health and well-being are inequitably distributed in the U.S. due to factors that range from poverty and inadequate housing to structural racism and discrimination, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Community-driven interventions targeting these factors hold the greatest promise for promoting health equity—the state in which everyone has the opportunity to attain full health potential and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or any other socially defined circumstance. | |
 | One puff spurs nursing researcher's lifelong career investigating tobacco and mental illnessUniversity of Kentucky College of Nursing Assistant Professor Chizimuzo Okoli picked up his first and last cigarette when he was 6 years old. |
Initiative encourages international sharing of data to combat infectious disease outbreaksTo protect people against potentially deadly infectious disease outbreaks, it is critical that scientists and governments rapidly share information about the pathogens that cause them. The first study of the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) shows how it is possible to encourage the greater international sharing of such data, despite numerous challenges that exist. | |
IDRI contributes to first point-of-care Chagas disease diagnostic for USWith Chagas disease becoming more prevalent in the United States, a diagnostic to quickly and easily detect infection is needed. Today, IDRI (Infectious Disease Research Institute) announces that a fusion antigen it developed and patented is being used as part of a Chagas disease diagnostic test created by InBios and recently approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the United States. This marks the first point-of-care diagnostic test for Chagas disease available in the United States. | |
Philippines' Duterte launches birth control pushWomen's rights groups on Thursday applauded Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's vow to deliver free contraceptives to six million women in a bid to salvage the government's floundering family planning programme. | |
New study finds overlapping surgery is safe and efficientThis study was prompted due to a public safety concern after a patient became paralyzed after undergoing overlapping surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (2012). The patient had not been informed that his surgeon would be running two rooms, a practice that is now disclosed to every patient before surgery at the hospital. This study, printed in Neurosurgery, represents the largest analysis of safety of overlapping operations in neurosurgical literature. | |
 | Awareness of biases is key to better health care decisions, says GSAThe Gerontological Society of America—the nation's largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging—has expanded its Communicating with Older Adults publication series with the release of "Recognizing Hidden Traps in Health Care Decision Making." |
Decreasing cocaine use leads to regression of coronary artery diseasePeople who use cocaine regularly are at high risk of coronary artery disease. A study in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), reports that stopping or reducing cocaine use can potentially reverse the process of coronary atherosclerosis. | |
Sanford neurosurgeon removed clot in 9-day-old baby using unique methodA 9-day-old baby who suffered a normally fatal stroke was saved after a Sanford Health cerebrovascular neurosurgeon removed the clot by combining mechanical and medicinal therapies. The unique case, completed by Alexander Drofa, M.D., is published in Pediatric Neurosurgery. | |
Health effects of marijuana and cannabis-derived products presented in new reportA new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine offers a rigorous review of scientific research published since 1999 about what is known about the health impacts of cannabis and cannabis-derived products - such as marijuana and active chemical compounds known as cannabinoids - ranging from their therapeutic effects to their risks for causing certain cancers, diseases, mental health disorders, and injuries. The committee that carried out the study and wrote the report considered more than 10,000 scientific abstracts to reach its nearly 100 conclusions. The committee also proposed ways to expand and improve the quality of cannabis research efforts, enhance data collection efforts to support the advancement of research, and address the current barriers to cannabis research. | |
Sex, race and financial factors affect rates of jaw surgery for sleep apneaJaw advancement surgery is one of the most effective surgical treatments for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—but it's less likely to be performed in men, racial/ethnic minorities, lower-income groups, and patients with Medicare coverage, reports a study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery—Global Open, the official open-access medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). | |
Biology news
 | Slo-mo unwrapping of nucleosomal DNA probes protein's roleNucleosomes are tightly packed bunches of DNA and protein which, when linked together as chromatin, form each of the 46 chromosomes found in human cells. |
 | Stripping away an infection's armourA Massey professor of microbiology has identified a protein that could help fight serious infections in elderly, cancer, HIV and cystic fibrosis patients. |
 | New research explores the effect of winter dormancy on cold-blooded cognitionUnlike mammals, amphibians who rest up during the winter do not forget the memories they made beforehand – this is the surprising discovery of new scientific research. |
 | Some cells need a 'haircut' before duplicatingMany of our cells are equipped with a hairlike "antenna" that relays information about the external environment to the cell, and scientists have already discovered that the appearance and disappearance of these so-called primary cilia are synchronized with the process of cellular duplication, called mitosis. Now, cell biologists at Johns Hopkins report the discovery of new information about how this "hair loss" and cell duplication are linked through the dramatic clipping of the tips of the cilia—what the scientists dub decapitation—that begins their disassembly. |
 | Scientists switch on predatory kill instinct in miceResearchers at Yale University have isolated the brain circuitry that coordinates predatory hunting, according to a study in the January 12 issue of Cell. One set of neurons in the amygdala, the brain's center of emotion and motivation, cues the animal to pursue prey. Another set signals the animal to use its jaw and neck muscles to bite and kill. |
 | Bacteria recruit other species with long-range electrical signalsBiologists at UC San Diego who recently found that bacteria resolve social conflicts within their communities and communicate with one another like neurons in the brain have discovered another human-like trait in these apparently not-so-simple, single-celled creatures. |
 | Cholera bacteria infect more effectively with a simple twist of shapeThe bacteria that cause the life-threatening disease cholera may initiate infection by coordinating a wave of mass shapeshifting that allows them to more effectively penetrate the intestines of their unwitting victims, according to a study led by Princeton University. |
Mapping movements of alien bird speciesThe global map of alien bird species has been produced for the first time by a UCL-led team of researchers. It shows that human activities are the main determinants of how many alien bird species live in an area but that alien species are most successful in areas already rich with native bird species. | |
Biologists discover how viruses hijack cell's machineryBiologists at UC San Diego have documented for the first time how very large viruses reprogram the cellular machinery of bacteria during infection to more closely resemble an animal or human cell—a process that allows these alien invaders to trick cells into producing hundreds of new viruses, which eventually explode from and kill the cells they infect. | |
 | Russia's Vavilov institute, guardian of world's lost plantsStacked high beneath vaulted ceilings in a tsarist-era building, cabinets store the seeds of thousands of plant varieties, many long gone from their original areas of habitat or cultivation. |
 | Bee placed on endangered list after US habitat lossUS officials for the first time have placed a bee found in the continental United States on the endangered species list. |
 | B cells use mechanical forces to pull antigens from other cell surfacesFrancis Crick Institute scientists have discovered that immune cells called B cells use mechanical forces to physically pull antigens such as viruses or toxins from the surfaces of other cells. |
 | Inflammatory responses in flies give insights into human diseasesFrancis Crick Institute scientists have discovered that fruit flies and humans have much in common when it comes to inflammatory responses to stress or injury. Their research gives insights into human diseases and possible new treatments. |
 | Scientists uncover novel properties of key signalling molecule in cell divisionA signalling factor called ECT2 is essential for cytokinesis - the physical process of cell division - to happen correctly. |
 | Research to make crops more resilient to changing weatherScientists at the University of Bath are part of a new five-year project to save brassica vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli and kale. |
Viruses in the genome important for our brainOver millions of years, retroviruses have been incorporated into human DNA, where they today make up almost 10 per cent of the total genome. A research group at Lund University in Sweden has now discovered a mechanism through which these retroviruses may have an impact on gene expression. This means that they may have played a significant role in the development of the human brain as well as in various neurological diseases. | |
 | Producing a better wheat crop to feed the world—single to multiple wheat genomicsEntering a 'wheat pan-genomics' era from single to multiple wheat DNA references, the Earlham Institute (EI) aims to diversify one of the world's most complex genomes to improve yield quality and increase wider production of this critical food crop. |
 | Dengue and Zika virus family uses an unexpected approach to hijack human cell machineryA group of researchers in Germany have discovered that flaviviruses—a family that includes Dengue, Zika and West Nile viruses—use an unexpected mechanism to hijack the cell's machinery to replicate themselves compared to many other RNA viruses. The findings, published this week in mBio, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, highlight new ways by which viruses manipulate human cells and may reveal new targets for designing antiviral therapies. |
 | Twenty-five frogs added to the amphibian fauna of Mount Oku, CameroonWhile amphibians all over the world are undergoing a continuous decline, their status in certain regions, such as Central Africa, remains unknown due to incomplete information. New paper, published by two scientists in the open access journal ZooKeys, addresses the knowledge gap by providing an updated list of already 50 amphibian species living on Mount Oku, Cameroon. |
 | Europe urged to expand pesticide ban for bees' sakeEurope should expand a ban on bee-harming pesticides, environmental lobby group Greenpeace said Thursday, as it released a report warning of widespread risks to agriculture and the environment. |
 | Fish lightly to keep snapper on the reefFishing is fundamentally altering the food chain in coral reefs and putting extra pressure on top-level predator fish, according to new research. |
 | 'Shrew'-d study: Arctic shrews, parasites indicate climate change effect on ecosystemsThe shrew and its parasites—even 40-year-old preserved ones—are the new indicators of environmental change, according to a Kansas State University researcher. |
Conservation practices may leave African indigenous populations behindConservation and logging groups in Central and West Africa are failing to fully incorporate local concerns into management, marginalizing the livelihoods of the local population, according to Nathan Clay, Ph.D. candidate in geography, Penn State. | |
3 lions decapitated in South Africa, likely for medicineSouth African police say poachers have decapitated and chopped the paws off three male lions, apparently for use in traditional medicine. | |
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