Dear Reader ,
Instant Access to Over 500 Technical Papers and Presentations >> https://goo.gl/fafxwO
Find inspiration for new design ideas from this new collection of papers, posters, and presentations on multiphysics simulation.
Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for March 22, 2017:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Universe's ultraviolet background could provide clues about missing galaxiesAstronomers have developed a way to detect the ultraviolet (UV) background of the Universe, which could help explain why there are so few small galaxies in the cosmos. |
 | Sand flow theory could explain water-like streaks on Mars(Phys.org)—A team of researchers from France and the Slovak Republic has proposed a theory to explain the water-like streaks that appear seasonally on the surface of Mars, which do not involve water. In their paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, the team describes their theory as instances of sand avalanches caused by sunlight with resulting changes to shadowing. |
 | Tracing aromatic molecules in the early universeA molecule found in car engine exhaust fumes that is thought to have contributed to the origin of life on Earth has made astronomers heavily underestimate the amount of stars that were forming in the early Universe, a University of California, Riverside-led study has found. |
 | Study maps space dust in 3-D, raises new questions about its properties in local and distant reaches of Milky WayConsider that the Earth is just a giant cosmic dust bunny—a big bundle of debris amassed from exploded stars. We Earthlings are essentially just little clumps of stardust, too, albeit with very complex chemistry. |
 | Giant magnetic fields in the universeAstronomers from Bonn and Tautenburg in Thuringia (Germany) used the 100-m radio telescope at Effelsberg to observe several galaxy clusters. At the edges of these large accumulations of dark matter, stellar systems (galaxies), hot gas, and charged particles, they found magnetic fields that are exceptionally ordered over distances of many million light years. This makes them the most extended magnetic fields in the universe known so far. |
 | Breaks observed in Mars rover wheel treadsA routine check of the aluminum wheels on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has found two small breaks on the rover's left middle wheel—the latest sign of wear and tear as the rover continues its journey, now approaching the 10-mile (16 kilometer) mark. |
 | Novel analytical techniques to detect solar radiation imprints on meteoroidsWhen a meteoroid travels in space, solar radiation leaves distinctive imprints on its outer layer. Together with colleagues, ETH researcher Antoine Roth has developed novel analytical techniques to detect these imprints, allowing the team to reconstruct meteorites' space journeys. |
 | NASA taking first steps toward high-speed space 'internet'NASA is developing a trailblazing, long-term technology demonstration of what could become the high-speed internet of the sky. |
 | Fledgling stars try to prevent their neighbors from birthing planetsNewly formed stars are surrounded by a disc of dense gas and dust. This is called the protoplanetary disc, as material sticks together within it to form planets. |
 | With Astronomy Rewind, citizen scientists bring zombie astrophotos back to lifeA new citizen-science project will rescue tens of thousands of potentially valuable cosmic images that are mostly dead to science and bring them fully back to life. Called Astronomy Rewind, the effort, which launches today (22 March 2017), will take photographs, radio maps, and other telescopic images that have been scanned from the pages of dusty old journals and place them in context in digital sky atlases and catalogs. Anyone will then be able to find them online and compare them with modern electronic data from ground- and space-based telescopes, making possible new studies of short- and long-term changes in the heavens. |
 | Ice in Ceres' shadowed craters linked to tilt historyDwarf planet Ceres may be hundreds of millions of miles from Jupiter, and even farther from Saturn, but the tremendous influence of gravity from these gas giants has an appreciable effect on Ceres' orientation. In a new study, researchers from NASA's Dawn mission calculate that the axial tilt of Ceres—the angle at which it spins as it journeys around the sun—varies widely over the course of about 24,500 years. Astronomers consider this to be a surprisingly short period of time for such dramatic deviations. |
 | The scientific value of aurora photos by astronautsSome of the most wonderful pictures taken by astronauts from space are of aurora dancing over our planet. Now the photos are more than just pretty pictures thanks to an ESA project that makes them scientifically usable. |
 | Futuristic clock prepared for spaceNo one keeps time quite like NASA. |
Technology news
 | Hayo will enable magical moves to control your connected home(Tech Xplore)—What if you had some virtual remote control for your home, no screen, physical remote, no yelling across the room? |
 | Scientists look to AI for help in peer reviewPeer review is a cornerstone of the scientific publishing process but could artificial intelligence help with the process? Computer scientists from the University of Bristol have reviewed how state-of-the-art tools from machine learning and artificial intelligence are already helping to automate parts of the academic peer-review process. |
 | Researchers adapt a DIY robotics kit to automate biology experimentsElementary and secondary school students who later want to become scientists and engineers often get hands-on inspiration by using off-the-shelf kits to build and program robots. But so far it's been difficult to create robotic projects to foster interest in the "wet" sciences – biology, chemistry and medicine – so called because experiments in these field often involve fluids. |
 | 'Lab-on-a-glove' could bring nerve-agent detection to a wearer's fingertipsThere's a reason why farmers wear protective gear when applying organophosphate pesticides. The substances are very effective at getting rid of unwanted bugs, but they can also make people sick. Related compounds—organophosphate nerve agents—can be used as deadly weapons. Now researchers have developed a fast way to detect the presence of such compounds in the field using a disposable "lab-on-a-glove." The report on the glove appears in the journal ACS Sensors. |
 | Humans and smartphones may fail frequently to detect face morph photosResearchers at the University of York have demonstrated that both humans and smartphones show a degree of error in distinguishing face morph photos from their 'real' faces on fraudulent identity cards. |
 | New approach speeds up testing of traffic management solutions for data center networksThe transmission control protocol, or TCP, which manages traffic on the Internet, was first proposed in 1974. Some version of TCP still regulates data transfer in most major data centers, the huge warehouses of servers maintained by popular websites. |
 | Researchers create self-sustaining bacteria-fueled power cellInstead of oil, coal, or even solar energy, self-sustaining bacterial fuel cells may power the future. |
 | Google Maps already tracks you; now other people can, tooGoogle Maps users will soon be able to broadcast their movements to friends and family—the latest test of how much privacy people are willing to sacrifice in an era of rampant sharing. |
 | Machine learning lets scientists reverse-engineer cellular control networksThe flow of information between cells in our bodies is exceedingly complex: sensing, signaling, and influencing each other in a constant flow of microscopic engagements. These interactions are critical for life, and when they go awry can lead to the illness and injury. |
 | Researchers grow heart tissue on spinach leavesResearchers face a fundamental challenge as they seek to scale up human tissue regeneration from small lab samples to full-size tissues, bones, even whole organs to implant in people to treat disease or traumatic injuries: how to establish a vascular system that delivers blood deep into the developing tissue. |
 | Q&A: A look at the electronics ban on some flightsThe U.S. and Britain, citing concerns about terrorist attacks, are not allowing passengers on some flights from mostly Middle Eastern and North African countries to bring laptops, tablets and certain other devices on board with them in their carry-on bags. All electronics bigger than a smartphone must be checked in. |
 | Florida eco-friendly town opens for businessWith a farm-to-table restaurant, driverless shuttles, homes built with the latest green techniques and a massive solar farm to offset energy use, Florida's first sustainable town is now open for business. |
 | Not my laptop! Airline passengers hit the device doldrumsAs the indignities of modern air travel go, the latest ban on laptops and tablets on some international flights falls somewhere between having to take off your shoes at the security checkpoint and having your baby food and milk tested for bomb residue. |
Needy expat workers get new phones as Singapore moves to scrap 2GA Singapore migrant welfare group has started distributing 3G-enabled mobile phones to cash-strapped foreign workers days before the city-state shuts down its 2G network. | |
 | China's Alibaba to set up logistics hub in MalaysiaAlibaba and Malaysia announced Wednesday that they will set up a logistics and e-commerce hub in the Southeast Asian country to boost small and medium-sized companies, a first for the internet giant outside China. |
 | New machine learning technique provides translational resultsA team of scientists at Berkeley Lab has developed an unsupervised multi-scale machine learning technique that can automatically and specifically capture biomedical events or concepts directly from raw data. In many data-driven biomedical studies, the data limitations (e.g., limited data scale, limited data label, unbalanced data and un-controllable experimental factors) impose great challenges to scientific discovery, which can only be addressed with advanced machine learning techniques. This work, described recently in IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, provides an effective and efficient way of learning and targeting sharable information so data can be used across domains. It also potentially removes limitations, especially for biomedical studies. |
 | When deep learning mistakes a coffee maker for a cobraIs this your sister?" That's the kind of question asked by image-recognition systems, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in our everyday devices. They may soon be used for tumor detection and genomics, too. These systems rely on what is known as "deep-learning" architectures – an exciting new development in artificial learning. But EPFL researchers have revealed just how sensitive these systems actually are: a tiny universal perturbation applied across an image can throw off even the most sophisticated algorithms. |
 | Video games encourage Indigenous cultural expressionVideo games are robust forms of creative expression merging design, code, art and sound. Unfortunately, many games misrepresent or appropriate from Indigenous communities by falling back on stereotypes or including cultural content without involving Indigenous people in the development process. |
 | 'Mean blind spot' leaves organisations vulnerable to cyber attackNew research has identified a 'mean blind spot', which leaves organisations vulnerable to cyber attack – particularly in the months of April and October. |
 | Senior's published research could enhance water treatment processesJenna Bishop, a senior majoring in environmental systems engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS), has taken advantage of several opportunities as an undergraduate. From serving as president of the EMS Student Council, to playing the role of captain for Relay For Life, to dancing for THON, a student run philanthropy at Penn State, Bishop has no shortage of memorable moments. However, she says one of her proudest moments was publishing research as an undergraduate. |
 | China's Geely opens UK plant for electric London taxisChinese carmaker Geely, owner of the London Taxi Company, opened Wednesday a £300-million UK factory making only electrical versions of the iconic London black cab for use worldwide. |
People afraid of robots much more likely to fear losing their jobs, suffer anxiety"Technophobes"—people who fear robots, artificial intelligence and new technology that they don't understand—are much more likely to be afraid of losing their jobs to technology and to suffer anxiety-related mental health issues, a Baylor University study found. | |
 | Quadruped robot exhibits spontaneous changes in step with speedThe research group of Professor Akio Ishiguro and Assistant Professor Dai Owaki of Tohoku University have, for the first time, successfully demonstrated that by changing only its parameter related to speed, a quadruped robot can spontaneously change its steps between energy-efficient patterns (gait transition phenomena). |
 | AP Interview: Emirates defends security as laptop ban loomsThe president of Emirates, the Middle East's biggest airline, defended security measures at the carrier's Dubai hub on Wednesday and said the ban on personal electronics onboard U.S.-bound flights came without warning. |
 | Faster cellular signals could mean slower Wi-FiYou may soon see faster connections on your cellular service. But your Wi-Fi connection may pay the price. |
T-Mobile moves the needle in its research lab to compete with larger rivalsFor a couple of minutes in a small, nondescript T-Mobile US conference room, the future of wireless is here. | |
Secretive billionaire reveals how he toppled Apple in ChinaDuan Yongping is convinced Tim Cook didn't have a clue who he was when they first met a couple years ago. The Apple boss probably does now. | |
 | The 'time machine' that replicates three years of weather in three daysClimate change is wreaking havoc on the environment. While the main culprit is carbon emissions, urban heat islands—exacerbated by dark roofs and pavements—make the effect of global warming even worse on the urban dwellers. |
 | AT&T, Verizon join Google ad boycottAT&T and Verizon on Wednesday joined global firms pulling ads from Google, saying they did not want their brands associated with inappropriate content on the internet giant. |
 | Spreading rumors on Twitter and mistaking retweets for truthA new study of the believability of information received via Twitter and the intention to pass on a tweet—whether news or rumor—is influenced by the number of times the information has already been retweeted. Number of retweets can serve as a normative cue that leads a person to presume that an unverified rumor is true, increasing the likelihood that they will share it with others, according to the study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. |
CEO of Silicon Valley networking firm looks to futureAt least on the surface, networking products aren't the most exciting tech gadgets. But they're what make the internet - and all the devices, apps and services that communicate through it - work. | |
Medicine & Health news
 | How the nervous system controls tumor growth(Medical Xpress)—From the time it first comes online during development the nervous system begins to exact precise control over many biologic functions. In some cases, too much control. When it does, a little nerve-squelching botox can go a long way towards restoring that nubile glow to a previously pensive countenance. Similarly, an emerging neurobiology of cancer now suggests that many kinds tumors may be the fault of a hyperactive nervous system. If they are, then toning down the offending nerves could become an attractive therapy. |
 | Using a smartphone to screen for male infertilityMore than 45 million couples worldwide grapple with infertility, but current standard methods for diagnosing male infertility can be expensive, labor-intensive and require testing in a clinical setting. Cultural and social stigma, and lack of access in resource-limited countries, may prevent men from seeking an evaluation. Investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital set out to develop a home-based diagnostic test that could be used to measure semen quality using a smartphone-based device. New findings by the team indicating that the smartphone-based semen analyzer can identify abnormal semen samples based on sperm concentration and motility criteria with approximately 98 percent accuracy are published online on March 22 in Science Translational Medicine. |
 | Worried about getting old? Poll sees optimism grow with ageFeel down about getting older? Wish your life was better? Worried about all the problems that come with age? |
 | People's romantic choices share characteristics, but for different reasonsEver wondered what your exes have in common, and how they differ from people you never dated? |
 | The social costs of smell loss in older womenA new study of older U.S. adults conducted by researchers from the Monell Center and collaborating institutions reports that a woman's social life is associated with how well her sense of smell functions. The study found that older women who do less well on a smell identification task also tend to have fewer social connections. |
 | Bioengineers detect early signs of damage in connective tissues such as ligaments, tendons and cartilageBy the time someone realizes they damaged a ligament, tendon or cartilage from too much exercise or other types of physical activity, it's too late. The tissue is stretched and torn and the person is writhing in pain. |
 | Video-based learning game may help make cycling safer for kids(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers with the University of Helsinki has developed a video-based learning game that might make bike riding safer for everyone, but particularly so for children. In their paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the researchers describe the type of riding skill they are attempting to improve and why they believe their game may help. |
 | Study identifies brain cells involved in Pavlovian responseIn his famous experiment, Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov rang a bell each time he fed his dogs. Soon, the dogs began drooling in anticipation when they heard the bell, even before food appeared. |
 | Scientists identify brain circuit that drives pleasure-inducing behaviorScientists have long believed that the central amygdala, a structure located deep within the brain, is linked with fear and responses to unpleasant events. |
 | Diametric brain circuits switch feeding and drinking behaviors on and off in miceStress eating is something many people are familiar with, but how the brain links positive reinforcement like food to emotional states like fear or anxiety is not well-understood. The wiring in the mouse brain, however, is now somewhat clearer. Two opposing pathways within the amygdala, an important memory center, act to promote and suppress appetitive behaviors and also drive responses to fear-inducing stimuli. The new research, published on March 22 in Neuron, builds on evidence that the amygdala regulates behaviors tied to negative and positive stimuli in a push-pull manner. |
 | First mutations in human life discovered: Archaeological traces of embryonic development seen in adult cellsThe earliest mutations of human life have been observed by researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators. Analysing genomes from adult cells, the scientists could look back in time to reveal how each embryo developed. |
 | Surprising new role for lungs—making bloodUsing video microscopy in the living mouse lung, UC San Francisco scientists have revealed that the lungs play a previously unrecognized role in blood production. As reported online March 22, 2017 in Nature, the researchers found that the lungs produced more than half of the platelets—blood components required for the clotting that stanches bleeding—in the mouse circulation. In another surprise finding, the scientists also identified a previously unknown pool of blood stem cells capable of restoring blood production when the stem cells of the bone marrow, previously thought to be the principal site of blood production, are depleted. |
 | Brain 'rewires' itself to enhance other senses in blind peopleThe brains of those who are born blind make new connections in the absence of visual information, resulting in enhanced, compensatory abilities such as a heightened sense of hearing, smell and touch, as well as cognitive functions (such as memory and language) according to a new study led by Massachusetts Eye and Ear researchers. The report, published online today in PLOS One, describes for the first time the combined structural, functional and anatomical changes in the brain evident in those born with blindness that are not present in normally sighted people. |
 | Scientists study Pavlovian conditioning in neural networksIn the decades following the work by physiologist Ivan Pavlov and his famous salivating dogs, scientists have discovered how molecules and cells in the brain learn to associate two stimuli, like Pavlov's bell and the resulting food. What they haven't been able to study is how whole groups of neurons work together to form that association. Now, Stanford University researchers have observed how large groups of neurons in the brain both learn and unlearn a new association. |
 | Suppressing epileptic seizures via Anderson localizationMore than 50 million people of all ages suffer from epilepsy, otherwise known as seizure disorder, the fourth most common neurological disease in the world. Patients diagnosed with epilepsy often experience recurrent seizures triggered by the firing of a large collection of neurons in the brain. This ultimately generates a high-energy wave that spreads across the surface of the brain, resulting in numerous physical effects such as erratic body shaking, unconsciousness, exhaustion, and pain. |
 | Weekend surgery has no impact on death risk, study showsDay of the week did not affect the survival chances of people undergoing emergency surgery, research has found. |
 | Significant increase in number of women tested for BRCA gene, but many high-risk patients still missing outDiscovery of the BRCA genetic mutation in the mid-90s represented a breakthrough in breast and ovarian cancer prevention. About 5-10% of breast cancer cases and 10-18% of ovarian cancer cases can be attributed to two BRCA mutations. Testing for these genetic abnormalities has risen steadily over the past decade. Previously, mainly women with a history of cancer were referred for genetic testing, but as awareness has grown, more low-risk women are undergoing BRCA testing. A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that the proportion of women without a history of cancer who underwent BRCA testing rose sharply from 24.3% in 2004 to 61.5% in 2014. |
Nine US deaths linked to breast implant-associated cancerNine women are believed to have died in the United States from a rare cancer linked to breast implants, US health officials said Tuesday, with more than 350 cases of the disease recorded nationwide. | |
 | The global tobacco control treaty has reduced smoking rates in its first decade, but more work is neededDespite worldwide progress since the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) came into effect in 2005, not all key demand-reduction measures have been fully implemented at the same pace, but doing so could reduce tobacco use even further. |
 | Migrants at risk of drug-resistant TB in EuropeIn the late 19th century, an estimated one in seven Europeans was dying of tuberculosis, then known as "consumption" for its slow, remorseless wasting of the human body. |
Heat exposure associated with mental illness, study showsA mental hospital-based study in Hanoi, Vietnam looked at if there is a relationship between heat exposure and mental health problems. The results showed significant increase in hospital admissions for mental illnesses during periods of heatwaves, especially during longer periods of heat exposure. This is according to a doctoral thesis from Umeå University. | |
 | Higher rates of stress-related emotional factors in women linked to heart attacks, study suggestsA recent study by researchers at the Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) at Emory University suggests that among young survivors of heart attacks, women, more than men, have a higher vulnerability to emotional factors and are more likely to develop abnormal blood flow to the heart (ischemia) during stress. |
 | New heart rate based biomarker strongly linked to depressionEmory investigators have discovered a compelling link between a new heart rate variability biomarker (Dyx) and depression. Depression is a known predictor of adverse events, although the reasons for this relationship are still debated. |
 | Novel technology could provide a faster, inexpensive way to detect, monitor dengue fever, Zika virusPurdue researchers are developing an integrated biosensing platform aimed at detecting and monitoring mosquito-borne diseases faster and cheaper than current methods, to aid in preventing virus outbreaks and their devastating effects. |
 | Interdisciplinary research team studies whether using e-cigarettes while pregnant causes craniofacial birth defectsE-cigarettes are touted as a safer alternative to tobacco cigarettes, but they could pose alarming risks to children in utero, Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have found. |
 | Women who take the pill protected from some cancers for up to thirty yearsWomen who have taken the oral contraceptive pill are protected from some types of cancer for as long as thirty years according to new research from The University of Aberdeen. |
 | Training viruses to be cancer killersFor decades, scientists and doctors have looked for ways to stop the damage that viruses cause to humans. |
 | Research breakthrough in treating anxiety and depressionPioneered by researchers at Monash University, a promising new, 'whole person' approach to the treatment of anxiety and depression has been developed in an effort to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of current treatment, and further improve the lives of those who are living with these, and similar, mental health disorders. |
New culturing method mimics the natural forces acting on liver cellsScientists have greatly improved the usefulness of liver cell cultures by simulating the pressure that the liver undergoes in the body. The scientists, led by Hanry Yu of the A*STAR Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, designed a cell culturing system that directs a perpendicular, pressurized flow of culture nutrients on to a membrane containing liver cells, or 'hepatocytes', which compacts and encourages the cells to adopt a morphology akin to that in the body. | |
 | New study will enable improved BMI assessments of ethnic children for the first timeBMI is the most widely-used measure of obesity in children, but the existing 'one-size fits all' standards don't provide accurate readings for UK South Asian or Black African children. |
 | Gluten free rice-flour bread could revolutionize global bread productionHiroshima University researchers have resolved the science behind a new bread-baking recipe. The method for making gluten-free bread, developed by Japan's National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, NARO - uses rice-flour to produce bread with a similar consistency and volume to traditional wheat-flour loaves. |
 | Children understand far more about other minds than long believedUntil a few decades ago, scholars believed that young children know very little, if anything, about what others are thinking. Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, who is credited with founding the scientific study of children's thinking, was convinced that preschool children cannot consider what goes on in the minds of others. |
One in four road deaths in Ireland is work-related, study showsNearly a quarter of all road traffic fatalities in Ireland are work-related, according to a new report published by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). | |
 | Can online therapy reduce distress in dementia carers?A new study is inviting people who care for someone with dementia to help investigate whether an online therapy can help carers cope with feeling of stress, anxiety or depression. |
Scientific discovery may change treatment of Parkinson's diseaseWhen monitoring Parkinson's disease, SPECT imaging of the brain is used for acquiring information on the dopamine activity. A new study conducted in Turku, Finland, shows that the dopamine activity observed in SPECT imaging does not reflect the number of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra, as previously assumed. | |
 | New rare muscle disorder discoveredA new rare muscle disorder has been identified by researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB). This hereditary disease is caused by a defect in the BICD2 gene that manifests itself in altered cellular transport processes in skeletal muscle cells. Patients suffer from muscle weakness in the legs, an unsteady gait and permanent risk of stumbling. BICD2 had been known as a disease trigger, but only for disorders originating in the nervous system. A BICD2 syndrome that manifests itself in altered skeletal muscles had never before been described. |
 | Why deaf people can have accents, tooMost people have probably encountered someone who appears to use lip-reading to overcome a hearing difficulty. But it is not as simple as that. Speech is "bimodal", in that we use both sounds and facial movements and gestures to communicate, so deaf or seriously hearing-impaired people often use lip-reading or "speech-reading" – watching facial movement, body language and mannerisms – to understand what people are saying to them. |
 | Optical tool monitors brain's circulatory response to painFunctional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), an optical imaging tool for monitoring of regional blood flow and tissue oxygenation, is being explored as a way to track the brain's response to acute pain in adults and infants. |
 | Study suggests new way to prevent vision loss in diabetics and premature babiesResearchers at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, have identified a new molecule that induces the formation of abnormal blood vessels in the eyes of diabetic mice. The study, "Secretogranin III as a disease-associated ligand for antiangiogenic therapy of diabetic retinopathy," which will be published March 22 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that inhibiting this molecule may prevent similarly aberrant blood vessels from damaging the vision of not only diabetics, but also premature infants. |
 | Brief module effective in teaching hemorrhage control basics to staff in a large workplaceA medical team has developed a way to effectively provide a large group of people with basic knowledge and skills to locate and use bleeding control equipment to stop life-threatening bleeding in severely injured people. This effort comes amid the national push to train the U.S. civilian population in hemorrhage control techniques. The research team from UnityPoint Health, Des Moines, Iowa, reported their results in an "article in press" appearing on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website in advance of print publication. |
 | Loss of spouse or partner to suicide linked to physical, mental disordersPeople who lose a partner to suicide are at increased risk for a number of mental and physical disorders, including cancer, depression, herniated discs and mood disorders than those in the general population, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests. |
Researchers call for better laws covering patient incentives to improve careCurrent federal anti-kickback laws prohibit pharmaceutical companies and providers from bribing patients to seek their goods and services. Unfortunately, the laws also prevent hospitals from offering services that could potentially benefit patients, such as free rides to elderly or disabled patients to help them get to their appointments. In an essay published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania call for a recrafting of these laws to permit more sensible health-promoting initiatives. | |
 | New low-cost rotavirus vaccine could reduce disease burden in developing countriesA new vaccine for rotavirus was found to be 66.7% effective in preventing severe gastroenteritis caused by the virus, according to a new study from researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Epicentre, Paris. Rotavirus is responsible for about 37% of deaths from diarrhea among children younger than 5 years of age each year, or about 450,000 children, with a disproportionate effect in sub-Saharan Africa. |
No relief in sight for those suffering from sciaticaA drug increasingly being prescribed for treating sciatica has been revealed to be no better than placebo, in new research from The George Institute for Global Health. | |
 | Streamlined analysis could help people better manage their emotionsThe many strategies people use to manage their emotions fall into three core groupings, according to newly published research from the University at Buffalo. |
Diabetes researchers discover way to expand potent regulatory cellsFor parents, storing their newborn baby's umbilical cord blood is a way to preserve potentially lifesaving cells. Now, a group of University of Florida Health researchers has found a way to expand and preserve certain cord-blood cells as a potential treatment for Type 1 diabetes. | |
Income should be the dominant factor for reforming health care, says the American publicA new study on reforming U.S. healthcare showed that Americans believe a health insurance policy should be about 5% of household income to be affordable—whether or not household income was low or high. They also feel that younger people—particularly singles—could pay somewhat more for health insurance and that healthier people could afford to pay more than those in poor health. Debt also played a role in decision-making for many respondents. These findings stand in stark contrast to the current health reform proposal forwarded by speaker Paul Ryan, which offers a fixed tax credit rather than one based upon household income. | |
Hospital or home? Guidelines to assess older people who have fallenGuidelines to help paramedics make the right decision for older people who have fallen are safe, cost-effective and help reduce further 999 calls, according to new research led by a team at Swansea University Medical School. | |
 | Helping cancer caregivers help themselves(HealthDay)—When people are diagnosed with cancer, it's easy to overlook the toll the disease also takes on their caregivers, say social workers who specialize in cancer care. |
 | Multiple dosing mitigates ASA hyporesponsiveness after CABG(HealthDay)—Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) hyporesponsiveness after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery can be overcome by multiple dosing, according to a study published online March 7 in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. |
 | Low serum levels of DHEAS predict fractures in older men(HealthDay)—For older men, low serum levels of the adrenal-derived hormones dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate (DHEAS) are a risk marker for fractures, according to a study published online March 9 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. |
 | Adenotonsillotomy noninferior to adenotonsillectomy in peds OSA(HealthDay)—Adenotonsillotomy (ATT) is noninferior to adenotonsillectomy (ATE) for children aged 2 to 6 years with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a study published online March 20 in Pediatrics. |
Hospital takes on rare surgery to help baby born with four legsAdvocate Children's Hospital surgeons have successfully operated on a baby from Africa who was born with two spines and an extra set of legs protruding from her neck. | |
 | Silence is golden—Suppressing host response to Ebola virus may help to control infectionThe Ebola virus causes a severe, often fatal illness when it infects the human body. Initially targeting cells of the immune system called macrophages, white blood cells that absorb and clear away pathogens, a new study has found a way to potentially "silence" these Ebola virus-infected macrophages. |
 | Weight-bearing exercises promote bone formation in menOsteoporosis affects more than 200 million people worldwide and is a serious public health concern, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Now, Pamela Hinton, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, has published the first study in men to show that long-term, weight-bearing exercises decrease sclerostin, a protein made in the bone, and increase IGF-1, a hormone associated with bone growth. These changes promote bone formation, increasing bone density. |
Scientists discover urinary biomarker that may help track ALSA study in Neurology suggests that analyzing levels of the protein p75ECD in urine samples from people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may help monitor disease progression as well as determine the effectiveness of therapies. The study was supported by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), both part of the National Institutes of Health. | |
Words and experience matter to surrogates making end-of-life decisionsMany people do not prepare advanced directives for their end-of-life medical care, so family members must make treatment decisions on their behalf. A new study in the journal Health Communication reveals that both medical terminology and prior experience can influence how surrogates feel after determining whether to administer life-prolonging measures. | |
 | Researchers help map future of precision medicine in Parkinson's diseaseTwo landmark publications with one or more co-authors from the University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute outline a transformative approach to defining, studying and treating Parkinson's disease. Rather than approaching Parkinson's disease as a single entity, the international cadre of researchers advocates targeting therapies to distinct "nodes or clusters" of patients based on specific symptoms or molecular features of their disease. |
Largest survey to date of patient and family experience at US children's hospitalsA survey of more than 17,000 parents of hospitalized children, conducted by the Center of Excellence for Pediatric Quality Measurement at Boston Children's Hospital, gives mixed responses about the quality of the inpatient experience at 69 U.S. children's hospitals. The analysis, the largest to date in pediatrics, found much variability from hospital to hospital. The findings are reported online today in the journal Pediatrics. | |
 | 'Eraser challenge' latest harmful social media trend for kids(HealthDay)—It's spreading via social media: A "dare" where kids use erasers to rub away the skin on their arms, often while reciting the alphabet or other phrases. |
 | Keep colon cancer at bay(HealthDay)—Colon cancer can be treated and cured if it's diagnosed early, and a colonoscopy is one of the best ways to detect the disease, a gastroenterologist says. |
| Some blood thinners may increase heart attack riskA new study has examined whether different blood thinning medications prescribed to prevent strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation might increase the risk of heart attacks. |
 | Study reveals surprises concerning COPD and smokingA new study challenges the widely accepted but oversimplified description of airway inflammation in smokers and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). |
 | Does boosting 'good' cholesterol really improve your health?A new review addresses the mysteries behind "good" HDL cholesterol and why boosting its levels does not necessarily provide protection from cardiovascular risk for patients. It appears that augmenting the function of HDL cholesterol, rather than its concentration, is key. |
Biologic treatments for inflammatory bowel disease help heal the intestineAlthough anti-inflammatory treatments are quite effective at reducing symptoms in patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, the mucosal lining of the intestine often remains ulcerated, and many patients still ultimately require surgery. Because of this, the goal of treatment is shifting towards mucosal healing rather than just symptom relief. | |
 | Many adults have insufficient knowledge about heart failureIn the largest German survey on heart failure to date, investigators found that the overall awareness of heart failure has not increased over the past decade and is not at a satisfactory level. |
 | Loss of smell linked to increased risk of early deathIn a study of adults aged 40 to 90 years who were followed for 10 years, poor smell was linked with an increased risk of dying. |
How physical activity and sedentary time affect adolescents' bonesA large prospective study in 309 adolescent boys and girls underscores the importance of physical activity for developing bone strength during growth. Adolescents who participated in moderate to intense physical activity during growth spurt years exhibited greater bone mass in areas that contribute to superior bone strength. The study also found mixed effects of sedentary time. | |
How children's temperament and environment shape their problem-solving abilitiesA new study indicates that early experiences of environmental harshness, in combination with a child's temperament, can influence later problem-solving abilities. | |
Over 400 students fall ill of Egypt army's school meals (Update)At least 435 students fell ill of suspected food poisoning in public schools across Egypt on Tuesday and Wednesday after consuming government-issued school meals, health officials said. | |
 | Opinion: Aid workers get a bad rap – but too often they're thrown in at the deep endAcute famine in the Horn of Africa, an impending food crisis in Yemen and ongoing civil war in Syria are among the main causes of today's global refugee crisis. Currently there are more than 65.3m people displaced across the globe and over 5,000 refugees died or went missing in the Mediterranean in 2016 on their way to Europe, making it the deadliest year on record. |
 | New health care law would lead to more smoking, disease and tobacco industry profitsHouse Republicans introduced their American Health Care Act on March 7 to "repeal and replace Obamacare" (the Affordable Care Act). Neither the bill nor Speaker Ryan's website announcement mentions "tobacco." But as tobacco researchers, we believe it would have a substantial negative impact on control efforts. |
 | New program aims to quell fears and improve health for people with HIVResearchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine are hoping that the power of the Internet – and compelling personal experiences – will help reach people with HIV who are neglecting their health because of fear, stigma or substance abuse. |
 | PHD2 targeting overcomes breast cancer cell death upon glucose starvationB55α is one of the regulatory subunits of the PP2A phosphatase. This phosphatases has been associated to the control of many biological functions but the multiplicity of complexes that can be formed by the combination of different subunits renders this protein hard in its understanding. The Massimiliano Mazzone group (VIB-KU Leuven) has recently demonstrated that PP2A/B55α promotes the growth of colorectal cancer, by dephosphorylating PHD2 and modifying its enzymatic properties. PHD2 is a member of a family of enzymes crucial for the cellular response to hypoxia. |
 | Singapore court denies full compensation to woman in IVF mix-upA Singaporean woman inseminated with a stranger's sperm in a startling in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) mistake cannot be compensated in full for raising the child, the city-state's top court ruled Wednesday. |
Use of mobile app reduces number of in-person follow-up visits after surgeryPatients who underwent ambulatory breast reconstruction and used a mobile app for follow-up care had fewer in-person visits during the first 30 days after the operation without affecting complication rates or measures of patient-reported satisfaction, according to a study published online by JAMA Surgery. | |
 | After the epigenome: The epitranscriptomeOur genome is made up of 6,000 million pieces of DNA that combine four "flavors": A, C, G and T (Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine and Thymine). It is our Alphabet. But to this base we must add some regulation, just like the spelling and grammar of that alphabet: this is what we call Epigenetics. |
Internists reiterate 'strong opposition' to AHCA after last night's amendmentsThe American College of Physicians (ACP) today reiterated its strong opposition to the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and shared its specific concerns about several of the "manager's amendments" released last night. In a four-page letter to Congressional leadership, Nitin S. Damle, MD, MS, MACP, ACP's president, wrote that the bill with the proposed amendments is even less acceptable than it was before it was modified. | |
AMP issues best practice guidelines for next-generation sequencing-based oncology panel validationThe Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), the premier global, non-profit molecular diagnostics professional society, today published consensus recommendations to help clinical laboratory professionals achieve high-quality sequencing results and deliver better care for cancer patients. The report, "Guidelines for Validation of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)-based Oncology Panels: A Joint Consensus Recommendation of the Association for Molecular Pathology and College of American Pathologists," was released online ahead of publication in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. | |
High-risk medical devices: IQWiG sees no potential in 6 of 8 casesThe German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has completed 8 assessments of the benefit and potential of new treatment methods with high-risk class medical devices. Besides targeted lung denervation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a further method was investigated for 7 other indications: Ultrasound-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (USgHIFU) is to be used to treat uterine endometriosis and fibroids, as well as pancreatic tumours, primary and secondary liver tumours, and primary and secondary bone malignancies if patients are not eligible for surgery. | |
MRI-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy for uterine fibroids has potentialFor the first time since the corresponding law became effective in 2012, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has published an assessment of the potential of a new treatment method according to §137e of Social Code Book (SGB) V. The topic of the assessment of potential is the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy for the treatment of uterine fibroids (also called leiomyomas or myomas). | |
 | House to vote Thursday on amended Obamacare repeal bill(HealthDay)—As a critical vote to repeal "Obamacare" looms Thursday, House Republican leaders worked furiously on Wednesday to garner enough votes to begin dismantling the landmark health care reform law. |
Endocrine Society experts issue Clinical Practice Guideline on hypothalamic amenorrheaFemale athletes and women who have eating disorders are prone to developing a condition called hypothalamic amenorrhea that causes them to stop menstruating. The Endocrine Society today issued a Clinical Practice Guideline advising healthcare providers on ways to diagnose and treat this condition. | |
 | Why some ACL surgeries failAnterior cruciate ligament injuries are devastating for athletes of any age. |
Biology news
 | Mice threaten a rare native plant by eating its seeds, but their spoilation is human-enabledWhat bothers a plant? Why are some plants rare while others are common? Are the rare plants simply adapted to rare habitat or are they losing the competition for habitat? Are their populations small but stable, or are they dwindling? |
 | Genetic study of sea otters suggests very long history of tool use(Phys.org)—A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. has found via genetic analysis that tool use by sea otters appears to go back hundreds of thousands or even millions of years. In their paper published in the journal Biology Letters, the team describes how they looked for genetic differences between groups of otters and compared their findings with tool use in bottlenose dolphins to learn more about the history of tool use in marine animals. |
 | Ghosts of past diseases shape species evolutionParasites and diseases are major elements of the environment that affect animal populations. The new findings show evidence that infections in one generation can affect the survival and growth of a subsequent generation that is not directly exposed to the disease. |
 | Pollination mystery unlocked by bee researchersBees latch on to similarly-sized nectarless flowers to unpick pollen – like keys fitting into locks, University of Stirling scientists have discovered. |
 | Lack of staffing, funds prevent marine protected areas from realizing full potentialMarine protected areas (MPAs) are an increasingly popular strategy for protecting marine biodiversity, but a new global study demonstrates that widespread lack of personnel and funds are preventing MPAs from reaching their full potential. Only 9 percent of MPAs reported having adequate staff. The findings are published in the journal Nature on March 22. |
 | 'Spectacular-looking' endangered frog species discovered in Ecuador's cloud forestsIt's not every day someone gets to say, "I've discovered a new species." |
 | Yellow fever killing thousands of monkeys in BrazilIn a vulnerable forest in southeastern Brazil, where the air was once thick with the guttural chatter of brown howler monkeys, there now exists silence. |
 | Biologists say wolf spiders have a wider range of personality than once believedCharming might not be the best way to describe a spider, but researchers at the University of Cincinnati are finding a wide spectrum of personality in a creature whose behavior was thought to be inflexible and hardwired in its genes. |
 | A new species of hard coral from the World Heritage-listed Lord Howe Island, AustraliaThe discovery of a new species of hard coral, found on Lord Howe Island, suggests that the fauna of this isolated location in the Tasman Sea off south eastern Australia is even more distinct than previously recognised. |
 | How reliable are traditional wildlife surveys?To effectively manage a wildlife species, one of the most basic things you need to know is how many of them are out there. However, it's almost never feasible to count every single individual—so how do the results of wildlife surveys compare to true population size? A new study in The Condor: Ornithological Applications tests this using the results of more than thirty years of surveys of the Rocky Mountain population of Sandhill Cranes. |
 | Endangered ibises benefit from joining egret flocksBirds benefit from flocking together—even when they're not of a feather. According to a new study in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, China's endangered Crested Ibises benefit from joining forces with other, more visually-oriented bird species while searching for food. |
 | Research questions effectiveness of translocation conservation methodNew research by University of Arkansas biologists suggests that supplementing the numbers of a threatened species with individuals from other locations might not be as effective for some species as previously thought. |
 | Fatal snake bites in Australia—facts, stats and storiesThe first new report in a quarter of a century on death by snake bite in Australia has revealed most victims are male, bitten in the warmer months of the year, more than half of the bites occurring in or near home. |
 | Natural carbohydrate shows promise as weapon against food poisoningChitosan, a natural carbohydrate derived from crustacean shells, is showing promise as a weapon against a bacterium that annually sickens more than a million people in the United States. |
 | Translating the ribosome's grim roleA large number of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) have been found associating with the ribosome, the protein-making machinery in the cytoplasm. What the so-called 'noncoding' RNAs are doing on the ribosome, whose main job is to translate RNA into protein, has puzzled the A*STAR researchers who discovered them. |
Aquaculture is polluting Chile's rivers with a cocktail of dissolved organic substancesTasty, versatile, and rich in essential omega-3 fatty acids: salmon is one of the most popular edible fish of all. Shops sell fish caught in the wild, but their main produce is salmon from breeding farms which can pollute rivers, lakes and oceans. Just how big is the problem? German and Chilean scientists are working to answer this question under the leadership of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ). They examined the dissolved organic compounds which enter Chile's rivers from salmon farms, and have published a report in the journal Scientific Reports, warning that these substances are placing huge strain on ecosystems and are changing entire biological communities. | |
 | Discovery of a novel chromosome segregation mechanism during cell divisionWhen cells divide, chromosomes need to be evenly segregated between daughter cells. This equal distribution of chromosomes is very important to accurately pass on genetic information to the next generation. Abnormal chromosomal segregation, on the other hand, can cause cell death (apoptosis) or diseases like Down syndrome and cancer. In order for chromosomes to equally divide, it is necessary first to bind the filamentous spindle fiber to a specific region, the centromere, of the chromosome. For the spindle fiber to be correctly joined, it is essential that a part of the chromosome has a special structure called heterochromatin. However, the mechanism for forming this structure has not been sufficiently clarified. |
 | Nature conservation as a bridge to peace in the Middle EastLoss of biodiversity is a major challenge in today's world as is the quest for peace in regions engaged in conflict. But scientists writing in a Review published March 22 in Trends in Ecology & Evolution say that efforts to conserve natural resources present an opportunity to find common ground between communities at odds, building trust and renewed hope for peace. |
 | The Cerberus Groundsnake is a Critically Endangered new species from EcuadorWith as many as 140 species, Atractus is the most diverse snake genus in the world, even though it can be found exclusively in Central and South America. However, these colubrid ground snakes seem largely under-researched, since there have been thirty-three species discovered in the last ten years only. |
 | Biopesticide could defeat insecticide resistance in bedbugsA fungal biopesticide that shows promise for the control of bed bugs is highly effective even against bed-bug populations that are insecticide resistant, according to research conducted by scientists at Penn State and North Carolina State universities. |
 | Rare frog discovery has researchers hopping for joyA discovery involving a rare California frog has researchers hopping for joy. |
Expert: Bird flu outbreak nation's worst since 2015A bird flu outbreak that has led officials to euthanize more than 200,000 animals in three Southern states already is the nation's worst since 2015 and new cases are still popping up, an expert said Wednesday. | |
 | Innovative sensor monitors fruit cargoOn the long journey from the fruit plantation to the retailer's shelf, fruits can quickly perish. In particular, the refrigeration inside the cargo containers is not always guaranteed and existing methods for measuring the temperature are not sufficiently reliable. A sensor developed at Empa solves this problem. It looks like a piece of fruit and acts like a piece of fruit – but is actually a spy. |
Bird flu confirmed in 3 Southern states; poultry not at riskBird flu has now been confirmed in three Southern states, but officials say the nation's poultry supply isn't at risk. | |
This email is a free service of Science X Network
You received this email because you subscribed to our list.
If you no longer want to receive this email use the link below to unsubscribe.
https://sciencex.com/profile/nwletter/
You are subscribed as jmabs1@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment