Science X Newsletter Tuesday, Jun 27

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for June 27, 2017:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

Galaxy NGC 1132 has a disturbed hot halo, study finds

Study finds babies younger than six months old able to acquire phonological knowledge

A possible explanation for why no intermediate sized black holes have been found

Cotton candy capillaries lead to circuit boards that dissolve when cooled

Groundbreaking discovery confirms existence of orbiting supermassive black holes

Skin cell model advances study of genetic mutation linked to heart disease, stroke risk

Patent talk: Microsoft looks at how to thwart laptop thieves

Collapse of the European ice sheet caused chaos

The revolutionary technologies that power and cool the Parker Solar Probe

Physicists make quantum leap in understanding life's nanoscale machinery

Mice provide insight into genetics of autism spectrum disorders

Machine learning approach could aid the design of industrial processes for drug manufacturing

Self-affirmation plays role in minority students' college success

New gene-editing technique could drive out mosquito-borne disease

Study sheds light on how ovarian cancer spreads

Astronomy & Space news

	Galaxy NGC 1132 has a disturbed hot halo, study finds (Phys.org)—A new study recently published on arXiv.org reveals that the fossil group galaxy NGC 1132 (also known as UGC 2359) has a disturbed and asymmetrical hot halo. The findings provide new insights into the formation and evolution of this galaxy and could improve our understanding of fossil groups in the universe.
	A possible explanation for why no intermediate sized black holes have been found (Phys.org)—A pair of researchers, one with the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel the other with Princeton University in the U.S. has come up with a possible explanation for the inability of space scientists to find any intermediate-sized black holes. In their paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, Tal Alexander and Ben Bar-Or offer an outline of current theories regarding how black holes in general are believed to develop, theories about the early universe, and finally, their ideas on how current theories may lead to an explanation for the dearth of intermediate sized black holes.
	Groundbreaking discovery confirms existence of orbiting supermassive black holes For the first time ever, astronomers at The University of New Mexico say they've been able to observe and measure the orbital motion between two supermassive black holes hundreds of millions of light years from Earth - a discovery more than a decade in the making.
	The revolutionary technologies that power and cool the Parker Solar Probe As NASA's Parker Solar Probe spacecraft begins its first historic encounter with the sun's corona in late 2018—flying closer to our star than any other mission in history—a revolutionary cooling system will keep its solar arrays at peak performance, even in extremely hostile conditions.
	New way to form close double black holes A team of three Dutch astronomers from the University of Amsterdam and Leiden University found a new way to form two black holes that orbit each other for quite a while and then merge. Their publication with computer simulations has been accepted by the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Iridium says newly launched satellites are functioning well Iridium Communications says its 10 new satellites launched from California during the weekend are functioning normally.
	Image: Jupiter's bands of clouds This enhanced-color image of Jupiter's bands of light and dark clouds was created by citizen scientists Gerald Eichstädt and Seán Doran using data from the JunoCam imager on NASA's Juno spacecraft.
	Image: Saturnian dawn NASA's Cassini spacecraft peers toward a sliver of Saturn's sunlit atmosphere while the icy rings stretch across the foreground as a dark band.
	NASA completes milestone toward quieter supersonic X-plane NASA has achieved a significant milestone in its effort to make supersonic passenger jet travel over land a real possibility by completing the preliminary design review (PDR) of its Quiet Supersonic Transport or QueSST aircraft design. QueSST is the initial design stage of NASA's planned Low Boom Flight Demonstration (LBFD) experimental airplane, otherwise known as an X-plane.
	Major milestone for Large Synoptic Survey Telescope project Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have completed the first "science raft" for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), a massive telescope designed to capture images of the universe like never before. The raft is part of the sensor array that will make up the crucial camera segment of the telescope, and its completion is the first major milestone for Brookhaven's role in the project.
	Strict rules around contamination hamper exploration for life beyond Earth NASA's orbiter Cassini will make a series of decreasing orbits that will end in a fiery death dive into Saturn's atmosphere in September. This deliberate termination of a still serviceable spacecraft is to comply with "planetary protection" protocols, designed to minimise the risk of depositing stowaway Earth microbes into an environment where they might be able to reproduce.

Technology news

	Patent talk: Microsoft looks at how to thwart laptop thieves (Tech Xplore)—Oh no you don't. Laptop thieves cannot get far if a Microsoft patent proposal has any say in the matter.
	EU fines Google a record 2.4 billion euros in antitrust case (Update) After a seven-year legal battle, European authorities came down hard on Google on Tuesday for taking advantage of its dominance in online searches to direct customers to its own businesses, fining the tech giant a record 2.42 billion euros ($2.72 billion) and raising the prospect of more.
	New cyberattack wallops Europe; spreads more slowly in US (Update 2) A new and highly virulent outbreak of data-scrambling software caused disruption across the world Tuesday. Following a similar attack in May , the fresh assault paralyzed some hospitals, government offices and major multinational corporations in a dramatic demonstration of how easily malicious programs can bring daily life to a halt.
	Brain signals deliver first targeted treatment for world's most common movement disorder Essential tremor is the world's most common movement disorder, affecting an estimated 7 million people in the U.S. alone. The hallmark of this disease is an involuntary, rhythmic shaking during intentional movement, complicating everyday tasks like writing, eating and drinking. When resting or sleeping, however, most patients have few or no symptoms.
	Is Amazon getting too big? When Amazon made a bid for Whole Foods earlier this month, a company that's been a huge but largely online presence for consumers suddenly seemed to be everywhere, raising the question, "Is it getting too big?"
Can Amazon get shoppers to buy groceries online? A giant in the technology industry had a bold idea: reinvent the way people shop, rendering grocery stores a quaint reminder of the past.
	US tech giants join forces against terror content Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube announced Monday the launch of an anti-terror partnership aimed at thwarting the spread of extremist content online.
	Printed solar cells thinner than your hair could power your phone Extremely thin printable solar panels could power your phone and are amongst a range of new ways nanotechnology is opening the door to a clean energy and waste-free future.
	A robotic doctor is gearing up for action A robotic doctor that can be controlled hundreds of kilometres away by a human counterpart is gearing up for action.
	Inference of Bayesian networks made fast and easy using an extended depth-first search algorithm A Bayesian network is a directed acyclic graph (DAG) or a probabilistic graphical model used by statisticians. Vertices of this model represent different variables. Any connections between variables indicate a conditional dependency and a lack of connections implies a lack of it.
	Prosthetic limbs made user-friendly with polymer based elastic sensors Prostheses are used to replace body parts damaged through trauma or congenital deficiencies. A wide range of prosthetic limbs exist including myoelectric prostheses that operate by so-called surface electromyography (sEMG), where pulses of electrical voltage from muscles are relayed to sensors when users want to initiate a movement. However, a major problem limit the application of such prosthetic devices is the instability of the electrical signals measured.
	Method assesses instructor performance in 'freeform classroom' Engineering education researchers have developed a method to assess the effectiveness of instructors who are using an innovative teaching approach that could play a role in boosting the number and quality of engineering graduates.
	Data visualisation isn't just for communication, it's also a research tool At the heart of the scientific method lies the ability to make sense from data.
	New research finds potential for greater retrofit energy savings in homes New research reveals the actual heat loss from suspended timber ground floors might be nearly twice that of previous estimates and the potential for thermally upgrading such floors is much greater than formerly expected.
	Record-setting seismic simulations run on the Cori supercomputer Record-setting seismic simulations run earlier this year on the Cori supercomputer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) were the subject of two presentations at the ISC High Performance conference in Frankfurt, Germany this week.
	Why a 'cashless' society would hurt the poor—a lesson from India India recently tried to reduce the use of cash in its economy by eliminating, overnight, two of its most widely used bills in what was called demonetization.
Energy program on chopping block, but new data suggest it works Do energy efficiency "audits" really benefit companies over time? An interdisciplinary team of Duke researchers (economist Gale Boyd, statistician Jerome "Jerry" Reiter, and doctoral student Nicole Dalzell) have been tackling this question as it applies to a long-running Department of Energy (DOE) effort that is slated for elimination under President Trump's proposed budget.
	Why don't my document photos rotate correctly? John, an insurance planner, took several photos of a competitors' new brochures. At a meeting, he opened a photo gallery to discuss the documents with his colleagues. He found, however, that the photos of the document had the wrong orientation; they had been rotated in 90 degrees clockwise. He then rotated his phone 90 degrees counterclockwise, but the document photos also rotated at the same time. After trying this several times, he realized that it was impossible to display the document photos correctly on his phone. Instead, he had to set his phone down on a table and move his chair to show the photos in the correct orientation. It was very frustrating for John and his colleagues, because the document photos had different patterns of orientation errors.
	Uber makes it easier to arrange trips for other riders Uber's ride-hailing app is making it easier for its users to set up trips for seniors and others who may not know their way around a smartphone but still need help getting around town.
	Computer scientists design flat sheets that transform themselves into smooth-surfaced, free-form objects 3D printers have been around since the 1980s, but we are still far from maximizing their potential. One active area of research and development is "self-actuating" objects: flat materials that transform themselves through material forces into the desired 3D object. Previously, however, the range of objects was limited to those with sharp edges and little, if any, curvature, and the transformation methods were based primarily on folding or processes that could not be controlled very precisely (e.g. chemical reactions or inflation). Now, for the first time, a group of current and former IST Austria computer scientists have made it possible to create self-actuating, smooth, free-form objects. In so doing, they developed both an ingenious material design and a new method of self-transformation—they call the fruits of their innovation "CurveUps". Moreover, the team, which consists of Ruslan Guseinov, Eder Miguel, and Bernd Bickel, developed the computational tools to take a user-provided 3D model and automatically create a 2D flattened template that, upon release, transforms into the original 3D version.
	Facebook now deleting 66K posts a week in anti-hate campaign Facebook said Tuesday that it deleted about 66,000 posts a week in the last two months as the social media giant cracks down on what it deems to be hate speech.
	Multinationals hit by vast wave of cyberattacks Several multinational companies said Tuesday they were targeted in a massive wave of cyberattacks which started in Russia and Ukraine before spreading to western Europe.
	Chernobyl's radiation monitoring hit by cyberattack: spokeswoman The radiation monitoring system at Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear site has been taken offline after a massive cyberattack, forcing employees to use hand-held counters to measure levels, officials said Tuesday.
	Multibillion-dollar contract for Los Alamos lab up for bid (Update) The competition for a multibillion-dollar contract to manage the U.S. laboratory that created the atomic bomb is beginning as criticism intensifies over the troubled safety record of Los Alamos National Laboratory.
	Ransomware, the weapon wielded in cyber attacks Ransomware demands which hit a clutch of multinationals Tuesday are the latest in a wave of international cyberattacks in recent months.
	Facebook hits two billion user mark Facebook said Tuesday its ranks of monthly active users had hit the two billion mark—meaning more than a quarter of the world's population is on the giant social network.
	China agrees to fight corporate hacking in Canada China has pledged not to carry out state-sponsored cyberattacks against the intellectual property of Canadian firms, the two sides said Monday.
	Saving the planet with flexible electronics "My research on organic photovoltaic (OPVs) devices reflects my fascination with electronic gadgets and concerns about the environment," says Varun Vohra, tenure-track assistant professor at the Department of Engineering Science, UEC, Tokyo. "So I want to save the planet with flexible electronics."
	Pandora CEO out in shake-up at internet radio pioneer (Update) Pandora co-founder Tim Westergren on Tuesday stepped down as chief executive and from the board of directors, as the internet radio pioneer strives to win more listeners in the face of competition from Apple and Spotify.
Israel security chief: Agency strikes back at online hackers Israel's security chief says his agency, the Shin Bet, has gone on the offensive against hackers trying to carry out cyberattacks against Israel on the internet.
	Adaptive cyber security decision support to prevent cyber attacks Recognising the complexity of cyber attacks and the multi-stakeholder nature of tackling cyber security are the key components of a new data-driven cyber security system being developed by experts led by the University of Nottingham. The aim is to support organisations of all sizes in maintaining adequate levels of cyber security through a semi-automatic, regularly updated, organisation-tailored security assessment of their digital infrastructures.
	Discrimination, lack of diversity, and societal risks of data mining highlighted in big data A special issue of Big Data presents a series of insightful articles that focus on Big Data and Social and Technical Trade-Offs. Despite the dramatic growth in big data affecting many areas of research, industry, and society, there are risks associated with the design and use of data-driven systems. Among these are issues of discrimination, diversity, and bias, which are discussed in the papers in the special issue organized by Guest Editors Solon Barocas, Princeton University, danah boyd, Microsoft Research and Data & Society Research Institute, Sorelle Friedler, Haverford College, and Hanna Wallach, Microsoft Research and University of Massachusetts Amherst.
	Israeli spy agency creates fund to invest in tech firms Israel's Mossad spy agency is starting a fund to invest in technology firms creating products that could assist its work, including those involving robotics and encryption, the prime minister's office said Tuesday.

Medicine & Health news

	Study finds babies younger than six months old able to acquire phonological knowledge (Medical Xpress)—A trio of researchers with the Max Planck Institute of Psycholinguistics has found that babies are able to acquire phonological knowledge in the first months after birth. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Jiyoun Choi, Mirjam Broersma and Anne Cutler describe their study involving testing adult Koreans who had been adopted as babies into the Netherlands and what they found as a result.
	Skin cell model advances study of genetic mutation linked to heart disease, stroke risk Using a new skin cell model, researchers have overcome a barrier that previously prevented the study of living tissue from people at risk for early heart disease and stroke. This research could lead to a new understanding of disease progression in aortic aneurysm—ballooning of the large artery in the chest that carries blood from the heart to the body.
	Mice provide insight into genetics of autism spectrum disorders While the definitive causes remain unclear, several genetic and environmental factors increase the likelihood of autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, a group of conditions covering a "spectrum" of symptoms, skills and levels of disability.
	Study sheds light on how ovarian cancer spreads With 20,000 diagnoses each year, ovarian cancer is the ninth most common cancer and fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States. So many women die from ovarian cancer because it often goes undetected until it has spread within the pelvis and abdomen, by which point it is difficult to treat and usually fatal.
	Enzyme key to triggering anti-cancer immune response An enzyme implicated in autoimmune diseases and viral infections also regulates radiation therapy's ability to trigger an immune response against cancer, Weill Cornell Medicine scientists found in a new study. Their discovery can help to better tailor treatment for patients.
	Genetic analysis finds rare, damaging variants contribute to the risk of schizophrenia (Medical Xpress)—Via genetic analysis, a large international team of researchers has found rare, damaging gene variants that they believe contribute to the risk of a person developing schizophrenia. In their paper published in the journal Nature Genetics, the researchers describe their study, which involved analyzing data from a wide variety of sources, comparing what they found and describing their findings.
	Researchers chart pathway to 'rejuvenating' immune cells to fight cancers and infections St. Jude Children's Research Hospital immunologists have discovered how immune cells called T cells become "exhausted"—unable to do their jobs of attacking invaders such as cancer cells or viruses. The finding is important because patients treated with immunotherapies against cancers are often non-responsive or experience a relapse of their disease, and it has been suggested that these challenges may be due to T cell exhaustion. In preclinical model systems studying viral infections or tumors, the researchers found that a chemotherapy drug already in use can reverse that exhaustion.
	Study identifies key player in heart enlargement The heart is a dynamic muscle that grows and shrinks in response to stressors such as exercise and disease. The secret to its malleability lies in individual cells, which get bigger or smaller depending on the heart's needs. A new study of mouse hearts reveals a previously unknown mechanism by which heart cells control their size by ramping up or stopping the production of a key factor called PABPC1.
	Training changes the way the brain pays attention Behavioral training changes the way attention facilitates information processing in the human brain, a study publishing on June 27 in the open access journal PLOS Biology led by Sirawaj Itthipuripat, at University of California San Diego, has found.
	Genetic tests help identify relative risk of 25 cancer-associated mutations No one wants to hear that they have a mutation in their DNA associated with the development of cancer. But it may be even more difficult to accept that, in many cases, clinicians can't say whether or by how much that mutation might increase a person's actual risk of developing the disease. This uncertainty causes anxiety and clouds treatment decisions.
	Giving birth multiple times has impact on stroke recovery, study shows Stroke is an age-related disease that disproportionately affects women. Although experimental studies have identified several hormonal and genetic factors underlying these differences, little is known about how pregnancy influences risk as this has not been previously studied in the laboratory setting. However, new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that while perimenopausal female mice that gave birth multiple times (multiparous) were at higher risk of stroke, they recovered better than mice that had not ever reproduced.
	Harnessing cancer's methylation footprint for more precise diagnosis and prognosis In a new study, published online in the July 26 issue of PNAS, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Xijing Hospital and Sun Yat-sen Cancer Center in China, report that DNA methylation can provide effective markers for at least four major cancers, not only correctly differentiating malignant tissues from normal, but also providing information on prognosis and survival.
	Researchers ID network of neurons crucial for vocal learning Researchers have identified a network of neurons that plays a vital role in learning vocalizations by aiding communication between motor and auditory regions of the brain.
	Persistent mental distress linked to higher risk of death in heart patients Persistent moderate to severe mental distress is linked to a significantly heightened risk of death among patients with stable coronary heart disease, finds research published online in the journal Heart.
	Study reveals lung changes in mice exposed to second-hand smoke in utero Mice exposed to second-hand smoke only during gestation undergo abnormal changes to lung structure and function that persist into adulthood, according to research published in the open access journal Respiratory Research. The study provides new insight into the role second-hand smoke exposure may play in predisposing unborn offspring to adult lung diseases.
	Community-wide effort to fight childhood obesity shows promise A large-scale effort to reduce childhood obesity in two low-income Massachusetts communities resulted in some modest improvements among schoolchildren over a relatively short period of time, suggesting that such a comprehensive approach holds promise for the future, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Study: Intracranial pathology not necessary for gadolinium deposition in brain tissues Minute traces of gadolinium, the contrast agent used to enhance MR images, are often retained in the brain tissue of patients years after undergoing MRI. Some studies have suggested this deposition was limited to patients with underlying brain pathology, such as a tumor or infection. However, new research suggests gadolinium retention may be more widespread and may be present in many more, or possibly all, patients exposed to gadolinium-based contrast agents, according to new research published online in the journal Radiology.
Comprehensive program improves measures of childhood obesity at community health center A comprehensive program to reduce or prevent childhood obesity in low-income communities led to significant improvements in obesity-related measures among children cared for at a Massachusetts community health center. The report of a study led by a MassGeneral Hospital for Children physician is one of three in the July issue of Obesity describing implementation of the Mass. Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (MA-CORD) )at community health centers, in public schools and in WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Program) offices in two Massachusetts cities.
Gene mutation linked to retinitis pigmentosa in Southwestern US Hispanic families Thirty-six percent of Hispanic families in the U.S. with a common form of retinitis pigmentosa got the disease because they carry a mutation of the arrestin-1 gene, according to a new study from researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health.
	Adults with autism make more consistent choices People with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) often show a reduced sensitivity to contextual information in perceptual tasks, but new research suggests that this reduced sensitivity may actually lead to more consistent choices in high-level decision-making tasks.
Deaths among patients with opioid disorders may be cut by one-third by better care Following three possible recommendations in providing medical care to people with an opioid addiction may cut deaths among such patients by as much as one-third, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
	Republican health plan takes hit as forecast says 22 mn could lose coverage Senate Republicans struggling to boost support for their "Obamacare" repeal bill were dealt a damaging blow Monday with the release of a non-partisan report forecasting that the plan would leave 22 million more Americans uninsured by 2026.
	Study shows biomarkers can predict which ER-positive breast cancer patients respond best to first-line therapy Two challenges in treating patients with estrogen-positive breast cancer (ER+) have been an inability to predict who will respond to standard therapies and adverse events leading to therapy discontinuation. A study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center revealed new information about how the biomarkers retinoblastoma protein (Rb) and cytoplasmic cyclin E could indicate which patients will respond best to current first-line therapies.
Amber warning for the UK's access to new medicines post Brexit In an editorial to be published on Tuesday 27th June 2017 in the journal ecancermedicalscience, Anthony Hatswell of BresMed (an independent health economics consultancy) and University College London, explores the consequences of a British exit from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as a result of Brexit, and what this will mean for pharmaceutical regulation and future access to medicines for UK citizens.
	Researcher developing miniature models to explore cardiovascular, sickle cell disease A Mississippi State University researcher is developing new miniature models to better understand the factors that lead to heart disease and sickle cell anemia.
	Vapers who continue to smoke are in denial about their addiction and could struggle to kick the habit People who vape as well as smoke traditional cigarettes may find it harder to quit as they don't see themselves as smokers, according to research undertaken by Kingston University.
	What you need to know about flea and tick bites this summer While flea and tick bites usually are a problem that you hear about with dogs and cats, they are becoming a growing concern in humans as well. Baylor College of Medicine infectious diseases expert Dr. Laila Woc-Colburn tells you what you need to know this flea and tick season.
	How to pick a winner in clinical drug trials When a drug fails late on in clinical trials it's a major setback for launching new medicines. It can cost millions, even billions, of research and development funds. Now, an 'adaptive' approach to clinical trials and a genetic tool for predicting success are increasing the odds of picking a winner.
	Infectious disease preparedness, response tool draws on lessons learned from U.S. Ebola cases Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have developed a checklist that outlines action steps for medical and public health officials to assess and strengthen the resilience of their community's health sector to high-consequence infectious disease, or HCID, events.
	Research on advanced Alzheimer's disease investigates novel ways to restore cognitive function While most research on Alzheimer's disease (AD) has focused on early diagnosis and treatment, University at Buffalo scientists are studying genetic and epigenetic factors with the ultimate goal of restoring function to patients in the later stages of the disease.
	Flu season adds stress to hospital emergency departments The annual flu season adds up to 17,000 more patients a year to NSW emergency departments, an increased demand for services that is pushing hospitals close to the edge, a new study reveals.
	New psychology study finds adverse childhood experiences transfer from one generation to the next Women who suffer four or more adverse childhood experiences before the age of 18 are more likely to face pregnancy and postpartum problems, which they may in turn pass on to their children in a "cascade of risk," according to a new study in the Journal of Pediatrics.
	New bladder cancer therapy to start clinical trials An experimental treatment for bladder cancer will move into an early phase clinical trial under an agreement signed today (Monday) between Cancer Research UK and Cancer Research Technology (CRT), the charity's commercial arm, and Canadian biotechnology company Sitka Biopharma Inc ., a spin-off of The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) and the University of British Columbia (UBC), financed by Quark Venture .
Post-Obamacare young adult health insurance coverage varies widely by race Health insurance coverage increased significantly for young adults after the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act, but there were large differences among racial and ethnic groups, particularly among blacks, an analysis by Oregon State researchers found.
Study: AHA guidelines to treating patients with coronary artery disease The most recent dual antiplatelet guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology encourage healthcare providers to take a customized approach to treating patients with coronary artery disease. Healthcare providers can find out more about the latest best practices for using dual antiplatelet therapy by going to www.heart.org/amitoolkit.
	Simulation training reduces birth-related risks for pregnant women Team training in obstetrics teams in hospitals helps reduce harm to new-born babies in the event of acute complications during birth. This is the finding of the PhD study undertaken by gynaecologist Joost van de Ven in collaboration with the Máxima Medical Center (MMC). Van de Ven also showed that this training method was cost-effective. On Tuesday he defends his thesis.
	Fears for pets can put abused women at further risk, according to research As researchers looking into the intersection of abuse against people and animals, we asked survivors of intimate partner violence in shelters across Canada about a normally pleasant topic: their pets.
	Body mass and evolution—why the body mass index is a limited measure of public health Charles Darwin died in 1882 at the age of 73, likely of a heart attack. At the time, the average life span in England was about 44 years. Darwin, by any stretch of the imagination, was a long-lived man, despite suffering some significant health issues throughout his life. Mapped to New Zealand in 2017, he would have made it to around 110. He would have got a postcard from the Queen.
	What is tularemia and can I catch it from a possum? Tularemia is a disease that affects humans and other animals. It is caused by infection with the bacterium Francisella tularensis and is commonly spread by biting insects or by direct contact with an infected animal.
AHCA would make rural America's already distressed health care worse Much has been made of the distress and discontent in rural areas during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Few realize, however, this is also felt through unequal health.
	Mid-teen years may be a tipping point for cardiovascular health If young people can get on top of weight issues before their mid-teen years, they will be less likely to face cardiovascular health issues later in life, a new study at MCRI has found.
Middle-aged found to be as sedentary as pensioners Most middle-aged office workers now spend as much time sitting down as older pensioners, according to a report.
	Is it bad for your health to eat food fried in olive oil? It recently has been suggested that using vegetable oils to fry food may be bad for your health due to the production of toxic chemicals called aldehydes during the heating process. Aldehydes are simple organic structures – compounds which contain a carbon-oxygen double bond – and are abundant in nature. They are formed in the human body in small amounts as by-products of normal fructose and alcohol metabolism. Consumption of dietary aldehydes is thought to contribute to human diseases including diabetes and heart disease. But what about olive oil? Is it classed as a vegetable oil, and is it safe to fry food with it?
	New research into antibiotic treatment for killer sepsis University of Warwick expertise is contributing to a world-first £1.5million study aiming to tackle one of the biggest public health threats we face – antibiotic resistance.
	Ancient retrovirus embedded in the human genome helps fight HIV-1 infection Throughout our evolution, viruses have continually infected humans just as they do today. Some early viruses became integrated into our genome and are now known as human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs). Over millions of years, they became inert due to mutations or major deletions in their genetic code. Today, one of the most studied HERV families is the HERV-K family, which has been active since the evolutionary split of humans and chimpanzees with some members perhaps actively infecting humans within the past couple hundred thousand years.
Obesity risk factors dropped in preschoolers in prevention program Preschoolers from low-income families living in cities that took part in a two-year community-wide intervention to foster healthy eating and lifestyle habits consumed fewer sugary drinks, got more sleep, and showed improvement in weight, according to a study led by a researcher at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC).
Integrated medical records can reduce disparities between blacks and whites in HIV care A streamlined and integrated method of tracking medical records called a laboratory health information exchange narrowed the gap in anti-retroviral therapy and viral suppression between HIV-positive blacks and whites, according to UCLA researchers. Also, the use of these exchanges led to Latinos who are HIV-positive being more likely than whites of using anti-retroviral therapy and improving viral suppression.
	Yoga more risky for causing musculoskeletal pain than you might think Yoga causes musculoskeletal pain in 10 per cent of people and exacerbates 21 per cent of existing injuries, University of Sydney research shows.
	Digital dating abuse especially bad for girls Teens expect to experience some digital forms of abuse in dating, but girls may be suffering more severe emotional consequences than boys, according to a new study.
	More than half of all opioid prescriptions go to people with mental illness Fifty-one percent of all opioid medications distributed in the U.S. each year are prescribed to adults with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, according to new research from the University of Michigan and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
	Shock report tells of system that turns people with learning disabilities into commodities 'A trade in people' with learning disabilities and/or autism has been uncovered by a partnership of activists, families and Lancaster University academics.
	Researchers find brain region that affects drug use habits The human brain is nimble. It can reorganize itself to learn new things, catalog memories, and even break old habits. So, what if our brains could be taught to suppress cravings, especially the destructive impulse to use drugs?
	Study finds legal cannabis laws impact teen use A new study by researchers at Dartmouth has found that adolescents living in medical marijuana states with a plethora of dispensaries are more likely to have tried new methods of cannabis use, such as edibles and vaping, at a younger age than those living in states with fewer dispensaries. The study will appear in the August issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
Transcranial stimulation and/or physical therapy improves walking speed in Parkinson's disease Noninvasive brain stimulation and physical therapy—alone or in combination—improve some measures of walking ability in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), concludes a clinical trial in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, the official journal of the Association of Academic Physiatrists.
	Researchers discover novel colistin resistance gene mcr-3 in Escherichia coli Researchers have now discovered a new mobile colistin resistance gene, mcr-3, in E. coli of pig origin. The novel mcr-3 gene was discovered when a colistin-resistant Escherichia coli isolate tested negative for both mcr-1 and mcr-2. This novel mobile colistin resistance gene may already be widely disseminated. Screening for the mcr-3 gene should be urgently included in the surveillance of colistin-resistant Gram-negative pathogens from animals, humans, and the environment.
	High prevalence of diabetes, prediabetes in China A large, nationally representative survey in 2013 of adults in China finds that the estimated overall prevalence of diabetes was about 11 percent and that of prediabetes was nearly 36 percent, according to a study published by JAMA.
	Concussion assessment recommendations not followed during last World Cup, research finds International recommendations for assessing whether athletes had suffered a concussion were not followed during the 2014 World Cup, according to research published today.
	Acupuncture may not be effective in treating infertility Acupuncture, alone or with the medication clomiphene, does not appear to be effective in treating infertility in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), according to an international team of researchers. The finding casts doubts on previous smaller trials that have suggested that acupuncture may improve reproductive function in women affected by infertility.
	Mixed results on effectiveness of acupuncture to treat stress urinary incontinence, infertility Electroacupuncture improved stress urinary incontinence—that's when a woman can experience an involuntary loss of urine such as when sneezing or coughing—but acupuncture did not increase the likelihood of childbirth among women with infertility, according to two studies published by JAMA.
	Older obese adults can benefit from moderate exercise Moderate-intensity exercise can help even extremely obese older adults improve their ability to perform common daily activities and remain independent, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
	Older adults who take 5+ medications walk slower than those who take fewer medications "Polypharmacy" is the term used when someone takes many (usually five or more) different medications. Experts suggest that, for most older adults, taking that many medications may not be medically necessary. Taking multiple medications also can be linked to problems such as falls, frailty, disability, and even death. Polypharmacy also is a problem for older adults due to side effects or interactions resulting from the use of different medications. Older adults may have difficulties taking the medications properly, and the medications may interfere with a person's ability to function well.
	Merck says new type of cholesterol drug worked in big study Merck & Co. said Tuesday that a new type of cholesterol drug reduced heart attacks, deaths and other complications of heart disease in a huge, late-stage study.
	Seizures follow similar path regardless of speed, says study Of the 50 million people who suffer from epilepsy worldwide, a third fail to respond to medication. As the search for better drugs continues, researchers are still trying to make sense of how seizures start and spread.
	What is 'moderate' exercise anyway? (HealthDay)—You've probably heard the U.S. National Institutes of Health's recommendation for most adults to get 30 minutes of moderate exercise on most days to stay fit.
	Novel score can assess severity of hidradenitis suppurativa (HealthDay)—A novel score can assess the severity of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), according to a study published online June 21 in the British Journal of Dermatology.
	Two-step irradiance better for condyloma acuminatum (HealthDay)—For patients with condyloma acuminatum (CA), a two-step irradiance schedule is associated with a significantly greater reduction in pain during treatment than single-dose cold compress, according to a study published online June 22 in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.
	Better outcomes for cardiology care in newly diagnosed A-fib (HealthDay)—For patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF), cardiology care is associated with improved outcomes versus primary care, according to a study published in the July 4 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
	Intervention ups appropriate dysglycemia screening (HealthDay)—Implementation of an intervention, including electronic health record (EHR)-based decision support and training for use of the American Diabetes Association guidelines for dysglycemia screening, is associated with an increase in appropriate dysglycemia screening, according to a study published online June 15 in Diabetes Care.
	Crowded living conditions may up myopia risk in children (HealthDay)—For children, axial length and refractive error are associated with high population density and small home size, according to a study published online June 22 in Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics.
	Reduced cancer-independent life expectancy in head, neck cancer (HealthDay)—Patients with head and neck cancer have reduced life expectancy, independent of cancer, according to a study published online June 22 in Head & Neck.
	Bacterial colonization linked to food sensitization, allergy (HealthDay)—There is a correlation between bacterial colonization and food sensitization and allergy in young children, according to a study published online June 20 in Allergy.
	Proteins linked to HIV transmission could actually be beneficial for reproduction Protein fragments found in semen, and previously only known for their ability to enhance HIV infection, also appear to play an important role in reproductive biology. A team of researchers from the Gladstone Institutes, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and Ulm University in Germany discovered that these fragments could help dispose of damaged or unneeded sperm.
	Novel metabolic mechanism holds potential as tuberculosis drug target Researchers from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, New York, have discovered a key metabolic mechanism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) bacteria, which presents as a novel drug target for potentially treating tuberculosis. This finding is published in the journal eLife.
	A human enzyme can reduce neurotoxic amyloids in a mouse model of dementia A naturally occurring human enzyme -called cyclophilin 40 or CyP40- can unravel protein aggregates that contribute to both Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, according to a study publishing June 27 in the open access journal PLOS Biology by Jeremy Baker, Laura Blair, and Chad Dickey of the University of South Florida in Tampa, and colleagues. The finding may point toward a new therapeutic strategy for these diseases.
Protein associated with Parkinson's disease linked to human upper GI tract infections Acute and chronic infections in a person's upper gastrointestinal tract appear to be linked to Parkinson's disease, say scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center and their collaborators at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
Hospitalizations for heart failure on the decline; disparities remain for blacks and men The number of people hospitalized for heart failure in the United States declined about 30 percent between 2002 and 2013, but large disparities between blacks vs. whites and men vs. women remain, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.
Estimating Alzheimer's disease causative genes by an evolutionary medicine approach Alzheimer's disease patients are increasing with the aging of the world's population, becoming a huge health care and social burden. To find the cause of various diseases, in recent years, scientists have focused within the human genome on copy number variations (CNVs), which are changes in the number of genes within a population.
	Results from new global health task shifting trial surprise researchers One of the largest stroke rehabilitation trials ever undertaken has revealed family-led rehabilitation is ineffective.
	What we can learn about global flu evolution from one person's infection A new study has found that flu evolution within some individuals can hint at the virus's eventual evolutionary course worldwide.
	With health care cuts looming, low-cost magnesium a welcome option for treating depression Depression presents an enormous disease burden, with a reported 350 million people worldwide suffering from the disease, but traditional SSRI treatments carry a burden of their own - in dollars and side effects. New clinical research published today in PLoS One shows that over-the-counter magnesium appears safe and effective to treat mild to moderate depression.
	FDA takes steps to boost generic competition, limit prices The Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to boost the number of generic prescription drugs in an effort to make medicines more affordable and to prevent price gouging.
Considering ankle replacement surgery Dear Mayo Clinic: I've had arthritis for years, but the place where it bothers me the most is in my ankles. I'm considering ankle replacement surgery, but I've read it's risky. How do surgeons determine who is a good candidate for this surgery? How long is the recovery? I am 58 and otherwise healthy.
Wealth, poverty propping up Pakistan's illegal kidney trade When Pakistani authorities burst into a makeshift hospital in Lahore this year, doctors were caught mid-way through two illegal kidney transplants, the local donors and Omani clients still unconscious on the tables.
	Yemen cholera outbreak shows signs of slowing: UN A cholera outbreak in Yemen, which has claimed 1,400 lives in two months, shows tentative signs of slowing as fatality rates drop by half, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
Research group focuses on economics of transportation needs for rural elderly A multidisciplinary team of researchers is examining economic issues associated with providing transportation for the rural elderly and other socially disadvantaged populations.
	Population health resource to give US cities access to key data Hundreds of United States cities will be able to identify their most pressing health needs more accurately—thanks to a nationwide expansion of the City Health Dashboard, an innovative health data visualization tool.
Expanded Medicaid helped people do better at their jobs or seek work, and improved health Most low-income Michigan residents who signed up for the state's expanded Medicaid program say their new health insurance helped them do a better job at work, or made it easier for them to seek a new or better job, in the first year after they enrolled, according to a new study.
New report: FMCSA's safety measurement system is sound, implementation improvements needed While the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Safety Measurement System (SMS) used to identify commercial motor vehicle carriers at high risk for future crashes is conceptually sound, several features of its implementation need improvement, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Over the next two years, FMCSA should develop a more statistically principled approach for the task, based on an item response theory (IRT) model—an approach that has been applied successfully in informing policy decisions in other areas such as hospital rankings. If the model is then demonstrated to perform well in identifying motor carriers that need interventions, FMCSA should use it to replace SMS.
UK doctors' union calls for change in abortion law The British Medical Association, which represents the country's doctors, said Tuesday abortions should not be a criminal offense and called for them to be regulated in the same way as other health procedures.
State: 111 terminally ill end lives under new California law California health officials reported Tuesday that 111 terminally ill people took drugs to end their lives in the first six months after a 2016 law made the option legal in the nation's most populous state.

Biology news

	New gene-editing technique could drive out mosquito-borne disease Scientists at UC Berkeley and UC Riverside have demonstrated a way to edit the genome of disease-carrying mosquitoes that brings us closer to suppressing them on a continental scale.
	Apes only provide food to conspecifics that have previously assisted them For us humans, it goes without saying that we reward others as an indication of the gratitude we feel towards them. Scientists from the Max Planck Institutes for Evolutionary Anthropology and for Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig have now demonstrated that similar social behaviours exist among chimpanzees. In a behavioural experiment, one animal rewarded another with food if the latter had previously come to its assistance. This suggests that some main motivations for human cooperation might have been present in our common ancestor already while supporting findings from game theory.
	What makes stem cells into perfect allrounders Researchers from the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich have discovered the protein that enables natural embryonic stem cells to form all body cells. In the case of embryonic stem cells maintained in cell cultures, this allrounder potential is limited. Scientists want to use this knowledge to treat large bone fractures with stem cells.
	Scientists illuminate structures vital to virus replication In the fight against the viruses that invade everyday life, seeing and understanding the battleground is essential. Scientists at the Morgridge Institute for Research have, for the first time, imaged molecular structures vital to how a major class of viruses replicates within infected cells.
	Genetic engineering tool generates antioxidant-rich purple rice Researchers in China have developed a genetic engineering approach capable of delivering many genes at once and used it to make rice endosperm—seed tissue that provides nutrients to the developing plant embryo—produce high levels of antioxidant-boosting pigments called anthocyanins. The resulting purple endosperm rice holds potential for decreasing the risk of certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic disorders. The work appears June 27th in the journal Molecular Plant.
	Directed gene-copy variation: The key to conquering new environments A study of yeast reveals new mechanism that allows cells to adapt to environmental changes more rapidly by accelerating genetic changes around genes that boost fitness, publishing 27 June in the open access journal PLOS Biology, by Dr. Jon Houseley and colleagues at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, UK.
	Biologist looks at butterflies to help solve human infertility When insects skip the light fandango their romantic foreplay often involves some pretty crazy things like hypnotic dance moves and flashy colors. In some species it ends with a complex ejaculate package that does more than fertilize offspring.
	Microbes in the bilge Microbiologist Steve Techtmann won a DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA) to study microbial biosignatures that identify what waters they traverse.
	To protect crops, farmers could promote potato beetle cannibalism Colorado potato beetles can decimate spud crops by devouring the plants' foliage.
	Urban nature—what kinds of plants and wildlife flourish in cities? Biodiversity refers to the variety of all living things on Earth, but people often have very specific ideas of what it means. If you run an online search for images of biodiversity, you are likely to find lots of photos of tropical rainforests and coral reefs.
	Innovation feeds the world with more fish protein As the world faces a projected population increase from today's 7.5 billion people to 9 billion people by 2050, the demand for sustainable food sources is on the rise. The answer to this looming dilemma may well reside within the booming field of aquaculture. While wild fisheries have been on the decline for the last 20 years, aquaculture, or fish farming, is the fastest growing food-producing sector in the world, and will play an increasingly vital role in our planet's food resources in the years to come.
	New knowledge about the dynamics of proteins can shape the future in drug development New research provides mechanistic insight into how protein dynamics control the activity of a group of enzymes called serine proteases. As serine proteases play pivotal roles in blood coagulation, the innate immune system and tissue remodeling, the results may be important for the development of new drugs for the treatment of various diseases.
	The Blue-winged Amazon: A new parrot species from the Yucatan Peninsula The newly identified Blue-winged Amazon parrot has a loud, short call and evolved from the White-fronted parrot quite recently, about 120,000 years ago.
	Fourth of July fireworks discouraged for sake of bald eagles Independence Day traditions in one small Connecticut town are clashing with an effort to protect an iconic symbol of the United States.
	Woodrats can't stomach favorite foods at high temps You'd think desert woodrats already had a lot of adversity. Besides the constant threat of coyotes and other predators and the scorching Mojave Desert heat, their primary source of food is the creosote bush, or chaparral - a plant so toxic that few other animals will even go near it.
	How grassland management without the loss of species works The intensive management of grasslands is bad for biodiversity. However, a study by the Terrestrial Ecology Research Group at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has brought a ray of hope: If different forms of management are optimally distributed within a region, this can lead to higher yields without the loss of insect species. In ideal cases, this will allow even more species to find habitats that are optimal for them. What is crucial here is that management is planned at the landscape level.
	Study calls for urgent need for improved human-wildlife conflict management across India There is an urgent need to strengthen human-wildlife conflict management across India, as up to 32 wildlife species are damaging life and property in this nation of 1 billion people, according to a recent study published in the July 2017 edition of Human Dimensions of Wildlife.
	Lake harvests are likely more fruitful than we knew Harvests from freshwater fisheries such as the Great Lakes could total more than 12 million tons a year globally and contribute more to global food supplies and economies than previous estimates indicate, according to a study published today by Michigan State University and the U.S. Geological Survey.
	Reptile skin grown in lab for first time, helps study endangered turtle disease Scientists recently reconstructed the skin of endangered green turtles, marking the first time that skin of a non-mammal was successfully engineered in a laboratory, according to a recently published U.S. Geological Survey study . In turn, the scientists were able to grow a tumor-associated virus to better understand certain tumor diseases.
	Hong Kong shark art protests at fin trade A towering shark fin sculpture is the latest addition to Hong Kong's harbourfront as part of an artistic push against the infamous trade.

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