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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for September 29, 2017:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Lockheed Martin unveils reusable water-powered Mars landerA reusable, water-powered Mars lander that will allow humans to explore the Red Planet from an orbiting 'base camp' as early as the 2030s was unveiled Friday by US defence giant Lockheed Martin. |
 | NASA tests thruster bound for metal worldAs NASA looks to explore deeper into our solar system, one of the key areas of interest is studying worlds that can help researchers better understand our solar system and the universe around us. One of the next destinations in this knowledge-gathering campaign is a rare world called Psyche, located in the asteroid belt. |
 | Lava tubes as hidden sites for future human habitats on the Moon and MarsLava tubes, underground caves created by volcanic activity, could provide protected habitats large enough to house streets on Mars or even towns on the moon, according to research presented at the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) 2017 in Riga. A further study shows how the next generation of lunar orbiters will be able to use radar to locate these structures under the moon's surface. |
 | SpaceX's Musk unveils plan to reach Mars by 2022Futurist and inventor Elon Musk unveiled ambitious plans Friday to send cargo ships to Mars in five years and use rockets to carry people between Earth's major cities in under half-an-hour. |
 | Model sheds new light on the formation of terrestrial planets and EarthThe element carbon and its compounds form the basics for life on Earth. Short-duration flash-heating events in the solar nebula prior to the formation of planets in our solar system were responsible for supplying the Earth with a presumably ideal amount of carbon for life and evolution. This shows a carbon chemistry model developed by Heidelberg University researchers. The research findings of Prof. Dr Hans-Peter Gail of the Centre for Astronomy and Prof. Dr Mario Trieloff of the Klaus Tschira Laboratory for Cosmochemistry at the Institute of Earth Sciences were recently published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. |
 | Small collisions make big impact on Mercury's thin atmosphereMercury, our smallest planetary neighbor, has very little to call an atmosphere, but it does have a strange weather pattern: morning micro-meteor showers. |
 | Image: Saturn-facing hemisphere of EnceladusThe brightly lit limb of a crescent Enceladus looks ethereal against the blackness of space. The rest of the moon, lit by light reflected from Saturn, presents a ghostly appearance. |
MATISSE to shed light on the formation of Earth and planetsThe MATISSE instrument is ready to be sent to Chile, where in the next few weeks it will be installed on the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the world's most powerful astronomical observatory. This achievement is the outcome of fifteen years of development, including a final year of testing at the Laboratoire J.-L. Lagrange (Observatoire Côte d'Azur/CNRS/Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis). The instrument, for which France is responsible under the auspices of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is international in scope. By observing the protoplanetary disks that surround young stars, the MATISSE project should improve our understanding of the formation of the Earth and of planets in general. | |
 | Worries about spreading Earth microbes shouldn't slow search for life on MarsThere may be no bigger question than whether we are alone in our solar system. As our spacecraft find new clues about the presence of liquid water now or in the past on Mars, the possibility of some kind of life there looks more likely. On Earth, water means life, and that's why the exploration of Mars is guided by the idea of following the water. |
 | Revealed today, Elon Musk's new space vision took us from Earth to Mars, and back home againIn front of a huge SpaceX multimedia slide presentation, the company's founder Elon Musk today said that in 2022 he will send cargo missions to Mars, and manned missions by 2024. |
Public invited to test new tool to study earth using photos taken by International Space Station astronautsCosmoQuest's Image Detective, a NASA-funded citizen science project, invites the public to identify Earth features in photographs taken by astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS). | |
 | Telescope project still faces fight from Hawaiian opponentsOne of Hawaii's most divisive issues is centered on a largely barren, wintry mountain—its peak the highest point in the state—accessible via vehicles with four-wheel drive that can navigate a steep gravel road with sharp switchbacks. Breathing can be difficult up there at an elevation of nearly 14,000 feet (4,267 meters). |
Technology news
 | Bug-repair system learns from exampleAnyone who's downloaded an update to a computer program or phone app knows that most commercial software has bugs and security holes that require regular "patching." |
 | Sensible driving saves more gas than drivers thinkIt's common knowledge that driving aggressively can dent gas mileage, but it's difficult to determine exactly how much gas drivers waste. |
 | Review: Could Fabriq's Chorus be a better way to talk to Alexa?Amazon's Echo line of products is pretty popular. |
New Expedia CEO has a hard act to followMark Okerstrom sat 6 feet to the right of his boss, Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, for more than five years. | |
Can this guy help Intel catch the AI wave?To get a sense of computer scientist Naveen Rao, just take a look at his hands. | |
FAA bans drone flights near major US landmarksThe Federal Aviation Administration is banning drone flights within 400 feet (122 meters) of several national landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore. | |
 | GoPro out to ride online video creation waveGoPro on Thursday beefed up its line of action-catching mini-cameras as the struggling company aimed to ride the growing wave of creating captivating video to share online. |
 | EU leaders look to digital futureEU leaders will look to the bloc's digital future at a summit in Tallinn on Friday, a day after debating wider plans unveiled by French President Emmanuel Macron to strengthen the union. |
 | Developing sensors to defend aircraft against lasersLaser strikes, the aiming of high-power laser pointers at aircraft, are a growing safety concern for pilots and aircraft passengers. They pose numerous dangers to pilots, including distraction during crucial moments in flight, temporary flash blindness, and in rare cases, permanent eye damage. Laser strikes have increased steadily in the last decade and can be criminally motivated, but they are more commonly pranks or unintentional incidents. |
 | Researchers develop smart tattoos for health monitoringHarvard and MIT researchers have developed smart tattoo ink capable of monitoring health by changing color to tell an athlete if she is dehydrated or a diabetic if his blood sugar rises. |
 | 'Angry Birds' maker spreads wings in market debutFinland's Rovio, creator of the popular smartphone game "Angry Birds" saw its shares take off in its stock market debut Friday, adding tens of millions of euros to its market value within minutes of trading. |
 | Uber boss to meet London transport chief over banNew Uber boss Dara Khosrowshahi will visit London on Tuesday to meet with the city's transport chiefs "to make things right" following their decision not to renew the firm's licence, the company said. |
 | VW's dieselgate bill jumps on 'complex' US recallsVolkswagen on Friday said it was setting aside another 2.5 billion euros to deal with the fallout from the "dieselgate" scandal in the United States as its efforts to recall tainted cars there proved to be more "complex" than expected. |
Travel anywhere in under an hour: Elon Musk's new planGetting anywhere on the planet in under an hour—one of the more intriguing possibilities that Elon Musk, the billionaire innovator, raised as he unveiled plans for a new rocket. | |
Lighting a path to smarter homes, roads and bridgesIf you're worried about carbon monoxide poisoning, you might purchase a detector for your home. But what if your house itself could sense carbon monoxide and other potentially harmful gases – nitrogen oxides, natural gas, formaldehyde – without the need for a separate device for each chemical? | |
 | Using deep learning to forecast ocean wavesScientists have made amazing advances enabling machines to understand language and process images for such applications as facial recognition, image classification (e.g., "cat" or "dog") and translation of texts. Work in the IBM Research lab in Dublin this summer was focused on a very different problem: using AI techniques such as deep learning to forecast a physical process, namely, ocean waves. |
 | AI can predict whether your relationship will last based on how you speak to your partnerAny child (or spouse) who has been scolded for their tone of voice – such as shouting or being sarcastic – knows that the way you speak to someone can be just as important as the words that you use. Voice artists and actors make great use of this – they are skilled at imparting meaning in the way that they speak, sometimes much more than the words alone would merit. |
 | Poland to roll out mobile phone ID cards in 2018Polish citizens will be able to carry around electronic versions of their ID cards on their mobile phones starting next year, Digital Minister Anna Strezynska said Friday. |
 | Government internet shutdowns cost Africa dear: reportGovernment shutdowns of the internet have cost sub-Saharan Africa about $237 million since 2015, according to a study released Friday, as authorities increasingly implement planned disruptions. |
 | EU to propose Google, Facebook tax in 2018, says JunckerThe EU will propose a new tax on tech giants such as Google and Facebook next year despite opposition by several states that fear a blow to their economies, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said Friday. |
VW to take $2.9 billion charge over diesel retrofit costsVolkswagen says it expects to take charges of about 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) in the third quarter to cover the costs of buying back and retrofitting diesel cars in North America. | |
 | Twitter execs talk to House, Senate in Russia probeExecutives of the social media giant Twitter spoke with House and Senate investigators Thursday at the Capitol about Russian interference in the 2016 elections and anonymous "bots" that can spread misinformation. |
 | Greece opens Russian cybercrime suspect's extradition caseRussian cybercrime suspect Alexander Vinnik, who is wanted in the United States in a $4 billion bitcoin fraud case, denied the charges against him Friday during an appearance in a Greek court to fight an extradition request. |
 | Using AI to help aging populations live betterThe world's population is rapidly aging: Today there are 617 million people over the age of 65. By 2050, that number will jump to 1.6 billion. The population of seniors over 80 is expected to triple in that timeframe, and in some Asian and Latin American countries, it's expected to quadruple. People might be living longer, but that doesn't mean they are living better. |
Counting every person on Earth to eradicate poverty and empower womenThe number one United Nations Sustainable Development Goal is to eliminate poverty, leaving nobody behind. Researchers in the United Kingdom are harnessing the large-scale data-processing power of Microsoft Azure to map the location of every person on Earth to provide the accurate population statistics needed to achieve this international humanitarian goal. | |
 | How to safeguard vulnerable metro systems against terrorist attacksSince the start of the millennium, hundreds of passengers have been killed and thousands injured by bombings on metro rail systems. These systems are particularly vulnerable to terrorist attacks using improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a weakness which has been exploited by more than 150 terrorist organisations – ranging from ultra-left extremists to religious fanatics – to target commuters in 64 different countries over the past four decades. |
 | IMF chief tells central bankers to not dismiss bitcoin (Update)Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, has a message for the world's central bankers: Don't be Luddites. |
Whole Foods says customer payment information was hackedWhole Foods says the credit and debit card information of customers who bought meals or drinks at its in-store restaurants or bars were exposed to hackers. | |
Medicine & Health news
 | Biologists identify possible new strategy for halting brain tumorsMIT biologists have discovered a fundamental mechanism that helps brain tumors called glioblastomas grow aggressively. After blocking this mechanism in mice, the researchers were able to halt tumor growth. |
 | Signal flare – how heart muscle cells protect themselves from viral invadersThe human heart is particularly vulnerable to viruses. That's because cardiac myocytes, the heart muscle cells that give your heart its ability to "beat," have one major weakness – they don't reproduce themselves to repair the heart in the same way that cells in other organs do. So damage to these cells from viruses or bacteria is a really big deal. |
 | New mouse model replicates an underlying cause of intellectual disabilityResearchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have developed the first mice that lack the Upf3b gene, providing a new model for studying its underlying role in intellectual disabilities and neurodevelopmental disorders. The study published September 26 in Molecular Psychiatry. |
 | Confronted with bacteria, infected cells die so others can live, study findsThe immune system is contantly performing surveillance to detect foreign organisms that might do harm. But pathogens, for their part, have evolved a number of strategies to evade this detection, such as secreting proteins that hinder a host's ability to mount an immune response. |
Parkinson's disease drug shows anticancer effectsResearch shows the Parkinson's disease drug carbidopa displays significant anticancer effects in both human cell lines and mice when given at normal patient dosage levels. | |
Women with disabilities may be missing out on cancer screeningWomen with disabilities are a third less likely to participate in breast cancer screening and a quarter less likely to take part in bowel cancer screening compared to women reporting no disabilities, according to a new paper published in the British Journal of Cancer by researchers from the University of Oxford. | |
 | Typhoid vaccine for infants 'safe': studyA trial vaccine against typhoid, a disease that kills more than 200,000 people every year, is safe for use, researchers said on Friday. |
Man's best friend aids Australian military vets with PTSDThey are nicknamed "pills with four legs"—highly-trained dogs helping ex-Australian military veterans overcome the mental scars of war. | |
 | Physical abuse and punishment impact children's academic performanceA Penn State researcher and her collaborator found that physical abuse was associated with decreases in children's cognitive performance, while non-abusive forms of physical punishment were independently associated with reduced school engagement and increased peer isolation. |
 | Why do we fall asleep when bored?Humans often defy sleepiness and stay awake when attention is necessary,yet experience an inescapable desire to sleep in boring situations. The brain mechanisms governing the regulation of sleep by cognitive and emotional factors are not well understood. A new paper published in the journal Nature Communications finds that a part of the brain that is associated with motivation and pleasure, the nucleus accumbens, can also induce sleep. The new findings may explain why we have a tendency to fall asleep in the absence of motivating stimuli, i.e., when bored. |
 | How do children construct views of themselves?How do children construct views of themselves and their place in the world? Children's social relationships turn out to be critical. For example, children develop higher self-esteem when their parents treat them warmly. But they develop lower self-esteem when their parents lavish them with inflated praise. These and other findings are included in a special section edited by Eddie Brummelman (University of Amsterdam) and Sander Thomaes (Utrecht University) and soon-to-be published in the journal Child Development. In a series of articles, now available online, the researchers share the results of research on the origins of the self-concept in children. |
 | The food ingredient hordenine in beer activates the reward centre in the brainVisitors to the Oktoberfest have always known it and now it has been scientifically proven – beer can lift your spirits. Scientists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) examined 13,000 food components to find out whether they stimulate the reward centre in the brain and make people feel good. Hordenine which is found in malted barley and beer seems to do the job quite well. |
 | Carcinoma-promoting FOXQ1 transcription factor found to suppress melanoma tumorsA treatment that works well for one cancer type can possibly make other cancers grow more quickly. That is the striking implication of new research from a team at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, published in the journal Cell Reports. |
 | Study finds workers fare worse when popular medications leave the marketA little pill can have a big effect on worker absenteeism, according to a new study from the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business. |
 | Cellular calcium handling in diabetesTight regulation of calcium levels in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) – a cellular organelle with multiple functions – contributes to insulin secretion by pancreatic beta cells. Although ER calcium handling is perturbed in diabetes, the molecular determinants of ER calcium balance are not clear. |
Concussion—how the NFL came to shape the issue that plagued itPlayers kneeling during the national anthem is the most recent NFL controversy, but certainly not the first nor the biggest. | |
 | Elderly who have trouble identifying odors face risk of dementiaA long-term study of nearly 3,000 adults, aged 57 to 85, found that those who could not identify at least four out of five common odors were more than twice as likely as those with a normal sense of smell to develop dementia within five years. |
 | New heart attack test could save NHS millions of pounds every yearA revolutionary new blood test for detecting a heart attack could speed up diagnosis and save the NHS millions of pounds every year, according to new research funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). |
 | For suicidal veterans, loneliness is the deadliest enemyAbout 20 veterans commit suicide every day. The primary enemy most veterans face after service is not war-related trauma but loneliness, according to a new study by researchers at Yale and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). |
Meningioma diagnosis shown to impact patient's quality of lifeMeningiomas—tumors that arise from the lining of the brain and spinal cord—have recently been in the news with celebrities Kate Walsh and Maria Menounos sharing their initial shock upon diagnosis and their experiences with side effects such as memory loss, confusion and physical weakness months after surgery. | |
 | Children found to understand difference between independent agreement and copyingA new study has shown that children as young as eight years old know the difference between independent agreement and copying and can take into account individuals' independence when evaluating the reliability of a consensus. |
 | Study highlights high prevalence of hip and knee replacements for former elite rugby playersIn new research from the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis, researchers from the University of Oxford and our Department for Health have identified that former elite, male rugby union players are at a greater risk of suffering from osteoarthritis, joint replacement and osteoporosis, than members of the general population. |
Lower levels of antioxidants may lessen damage from colitisA new study finds that lowering the levels of an antioxidant in the colon has an unexpectedly positive effect on gastrointestinal (GI) inflammation. The paper is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology. | |
 | Googling for a new dentist or therapist? Here's how to look past the glowing testimonialsIf you've ever searched online for a new dentist or other health professional, you're certain to find websites with positive testimonials. Then there are the impressive "before and after" photos. |
 | Stroke patients benefit from at-home therapy video game trialConstraint-induced movement therapy— a therapeutic approach developed by University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher Ed Taub, Ph.D., to rehabilitate movement after stroke— is being translated to a video game version called Recovery Rapids through an ongoing clinical trial. |
Risk of transmission of livestock-associated MRSA to non-farm dwellers is negligibleAt a swine farm with pigs carrying methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, levels of MRSA among 95% of visitors became virtually undetectable only two hours after exposure. MRSA in the nasal passages was associated with exposure to airborne MRSA and not directly on physical contact with the animals. The research is published September 29th in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. | |
 | Gamers have an advantage in learning: studyNeuropsychologists of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum let video gamers compete against non-gamers in a learning competition. During the test, the video gamers performed significantly better and showed an increased brain activity in the brain areas that are relevant for learning. Prof Dr Boris Suchan, Sabrina Schenk and Robert Lech report their findings in the journal Behavioural Brain Research. |
 | Social media feedback can identify high risk hospitalsOnline patient feedback, including Twitter and Facebook posts, can provide accurate near real-time representations of the quality of care in NHS hospitals – thereby identifying high risk hospitals in need of inspection. |
 | How the lungs of premature babies can undergo damagePremature babies that need ventilation to support their breathing often suffer from a condition known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, partner in the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), have now discovered a molecular mechanism that plays a key role in the development of the disease. The study has been published in EMBO Molecular Medicine. |
 | Frequent sauna bathing keeps blood pressure in checkFrequent sauna bathing reduces the risk of elevated blood pressure, according to an extensive follow-up population-based study carried out at the University of Eastern Finland. The risk of developing elevated blood pressure was nearly 50% lower among men who had a sauna 4–7 times a week compared to men who had a sauna only once a week. These findings were published recently in the American Journal of Hypertension. |
 | Over 60s not using public transport despite health benefitsTwo thirds of adults over 60 rarely or never use public transport, even though it's free and brings health benefits, according to a UCL-led study. |
 | Researchers get a lead on how to detect degenerative neurological diseases soonerResearchers at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) may have found a way to help doctors diagnose diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's earlier in their progression. A special peptide probe being developed in Jeffery Kelly's lab at TSRI is showing promise as a tool for detecting the early signs of transthyretin (TTR) polyneuropathy, a progressive neurological disease. This probe could enable doctors to implement interventions before degeneration becomes too severe, allowing treatments to be more effective. This probe may also increase our understanding regarding which aggregate structure(s) disrupts the normal functions of neurons. |
 | Study shows MRIs are safe for patients with wide variety of pacemakers, defibrillatorsMagnetic resonance imaging appears to be safe for patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices, even for chest imaging, according to a new study by researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City. |
 | Immune system cells protect against CMV-induced hearing loss in miceImmune system cells known as natural killer (NK) cells play an important protective role against hearing loss in mice infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV), according to a new study published in PLOS Pathogens. |
 | Study ranks safety, effectiveness of cognitive enhancers for Alzheimer'sA new study ranking the safety and effectiveness of four drugs taken to enhance concentration, memory, alertness and moods, found that donepezil was most likely to effectively improve cognition in patients with Alzheimer's dementia. |
 | New functions of hippocampus unveiled to bring insights to causes and treatments of brain diseasesA research team led by Lam Woo Professor of Biomedical Engineering Ed X. Wu of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Hong Kong has made major breakthrough in unveiling the mysteries of the brain to reveal functions of an important region, hippocampus, not known to scientists before. |
New study identifies protein that could improve symptoms and reduce mortality in fluFlu season is on its way, and a new report in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology has identified an innovative strategy for battling this deadly illness. Scientists showed that a small protein called retrocyclin-101 (RC-101) could potentially improve the symptoms and mortality associated with the flu and possibly other types of infectious illness. As a potential drug candidate, RC-101 is unique in that it not only targets the influenza virus, but also the harmful inflammation it causes. | |
Black children less likely to see doctor for eczema despite being more severely affectedA new study shows white children in America are more likely to see a doctor for treatment of eczema than black children, despite the fact that the disease is likely more severe among minorities. Research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found black children with eczema were 30 percent less likely to see a doctor for their eczema than white children. The study, published today in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, also found black children who see a doctor about the condition have more visits and receive more prescriptions than white children, indicating more severe disease. | |
 | Study questions practice of placenta eating by new moms(HealthDay)—You may have heard that some new mothers choose to eat their own placenta after childbirth. But there's no indication the trendy practice offers any health benefits, and some evidence it could prove dangerous, new research suggests. |
 | Tasty ways to get more fiber(HealthDay)—You probably know that it's a good idea to eat more fiber. But do you know why? |
 | Specific vascular flow void in acute macular neuroretinopathy(HealthDay)—Patients with acute macular neuroretinopathy (AMN) have areas of inner choroidal vascular flow void on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), and these may persist for weeks after symptom onset, according to a study published online Sept. 28 in JAMA Ophthalmology. |
 | More than 78 percent of health care personnel receive flu shot(HealthDay)—More than 78 percent of health care personnel (HCP) and 53.6 percent of pregnant women received influenza vaccination during the 2016-2017 influenza season, according to two studies published in the Sept. 29 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. |
 | Minimal important difference ID'd in voice handicap index-10(HealthDay)—A difference of 6 on the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) total score may represent a minimal important difference (MID) for patients with voice disorders, according to a study published online Sept. 28 in JAMA Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery. |
 | Propranolol use inversely linked to melanoma recurrence(HealthDay)—For patients with melanoma, use of propranolol is associated with reduced risk of recurrence, according to a study published online Sept. 28 in JAMA Oncology. |
 | Immune checkpoint inhibitor endocrine dysfunction explored(HealthDay)—Patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) regimens may experience endocrine dysfunction, with increased risk of thyroid dysfunction and hypophysitis for patients on combination therapy, according to a review published online Sept. 28 in JAMA Oncology. |
 | Respiratory disease death rates have soared(HealthDay)—The number of Americans who die from chronic respiratory diseases has skyrocketed over the past 35 years, led in large part by deaths from COPD, a new report indicates. |
 | Is gluten-free such a good idea?(HealthDay)—Gluten-free diets are increasingly popular but not a good idea for everyone, doctors say. |
 | Secukinumab effective for moderate / severe scalp psoriasis(HealthDay)—Secukinumab is safe and effective as a treatment for patients with extensive moderate-to-severe scalp psoriasis, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. |
 | Pioglitazone improves left ventricular diastolic function(HealthDay)—Pioglitazone improves whole-body and myocardial insulin sensitivity, left ventricular (LV) diastolic function, and systolic function in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a small study published online Sept. 22 in Diabetes Care. |
 | Supplements don't measurably increase macular pigment density(HealthDay)—Dietary supplementation does not lead to measurable increases in macular pigment optical density, according to a study published online Sept. 28 in JAMA Ophthalmology. |
 | Accurate lung cancer staging depends on quality nodal exam(HealthDay)—The prognostic value of pathologic nodal (pN) stratification depends on the thoroughness of nodal examination in the staging of non-small-cell lung cancer, according to a study published online Sept. 28 in JAMA Oncology. |
 | Checkpoint inhibitors no less safe with radiation(HealthDay)—Immune-related adverse events (IRAEs), including pneumonitis, are not more common in patients with metastatic lung cancer who receive both immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) and thoracic radiotherapy (TRT), according to a research letter published online Sept. 28 in JAMA Oncology. |
Nation's public cord blood banks provide benefits, despite drop in use, study findsThe nation's public umbilical cord blood banks provide benefits that far outweigh their costs and should continue to receive federal support, even though use of cord blood stem cells from the banks has been declining, according to a new RAND Corporation study. | |
 | New regulator of liver metabolism discoveredResearchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have identified an enzyme that has a major effect on glucose utilization in liver cells. The enzyme, retinol saturase, helps these cells adapt to variations in glucose levels. However, when glucose levels are consistently too high, retinol saturase appears to exert a damaging effect on cells. Results from this study have been published in the journal Nature Communications. |
 | An epidemic of dream deprivation: Review finds unrecognized health hazard of sleep lossA silent epidemic of dream loss is at the root of many of the health concerns attributed to sleep loss, according to Rubin Naiman, PhD, a sleep and dream specialist at the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, who recently published a comprehensive review of data. |
 | Certified plastic surgeons underrepresented on Instagram(HealthDay)—Among physicians posting top plastic surgery-related content to Instagram, plastic surgeons eligible for membership in the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery are underrepresented, according to a study published online Aug. 30 in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal. |
Biology news
 | A stinging report: Research shows climate change a major threat to bumble beesNew research from a team of Florida State University scientists and their collaborators is helping to explain the link between a changing global climate and a dramatic decline in bumble bee populations worldwide. |
 | Researchers identify molecular motor that transforms chromosomesA molecular "motor" that organizes the genome into distinct neighborhoods by forming loops of DNA has been characterized by researchers at MIT and the Pasteur Institute in France. |
 | African penguins found to work together to corral fish for foraging(Phys.org)—A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in South Africa has found that African penguins sometimes work together to corral fish to allow for more efficient foraging. In their paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the group describes how they studied the birds, what they found and why they believe the penguins might go extinct if something does not change soon. |
 | Female macaque at Italian sanctuary ate her mummified dead baby(Phys.org)—A trio of researchers working at Italy's Parco Abatino animal sanctuary report witnessing an adult female Tonkean macaque eat the mummified remains of her dead infant. In their paper published in the journal Primates describing the incident, Arianna De Marco, Roberto Cozzolino and Bernard Thierry also outline the events leading up to the odd behavior and offer possible reasons for it. |
 | New study changes view on flying insectsFor the first time, researchers are able to prove that there is an optimal speed for certain insects when they fly. At this speed, they are the most efficient and consume the least amount of energy. Corresponding phenomena have previously been demonstrated in birds, but never among insects. |
 | Sharks longer in the tooth than we thoughtA James Cook University researcher has found that sharks and rays live a lot longer than we thought - some twice as long as previously estimated. |
 | Genes that separate humans from fruit flies foundGenes which determine animal complexity – or what makes humans so much more complex than a fruit fly or a sea urchin – have been identified for the first time. |
Conservationists should harness 'Hollywood effect' to help wildlifeHow did Finding Nemo affect clownfish? Was Jaws bad for sharks? Did the remake of the Jungle Book help pangolins? | |
 | Fungal microbes as biofertilizers in agriculture and gardening—is the reward greater than the risk?Companies are increasingly producing fungal inoculants and marketing these as biofertilizers to improve plant growth and soil health. However, there is little or no evidence of their effectiveness and possible ecological risks, as shown in a new study published in the journal Functional Ecology on 29 September 2017. |
 | Unraveling what genomics can doIt took nearly 10,000 years of breeding to take maize from a tropical crop with thumb-sized ears to the high-yielding Midwest crop of today. But in just the next decade, new corn varieties will likely have higher levels of vital nutrients, handle drought and temperature extremes better, and produce yields more efficiently. |
 | The science behind why some people love animals and others couldn't care lessThe recent popularity of "designer" dogs, cats, micro-pigs and other pets may seem to suggest that pet keeping is no more than a fad. Indeed, it is often assumed that pets are a Western affectation, a weird relic of the working animals kept by communities of the past. |
 | How different ant species coexist in the same territoryIn every animal community, several species in the same group often share habitats. An international team including scientists from Catalonia in Spain has created the largest public-access database on the cohabitation ants. The goal is to understand their tricks for coexistence and how they respond to invasive species and climate change. |
 | Debris from the 2011 tsunami carried hundreds of species across the Pacific OceanWhen a foreign species arrives in a new environment and spreads to cause some form of economic, health, or ecological harm, it's called a biological invasion. Often stowing away among the cargo of ships and aircraft, such invaders cause billions of dollars of economic loss annually across the globe and have devastating impacts on the environment. |
 | Climate change affecting whooping cranes' migration patterns, study findsEndangered whooping cranes are migrating earlier in the spring and later in the fall in association with higher average temperatures, according to a new study from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's School of Natural Resources and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. |
 | Two items of music anthology now stored for eternity in DNAThanks to an innovative technology for encoding data in DNA strands, two items of world heritage – songs recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival and digitized by EPFL – have been safeguarded for eternity. This marks the first time that cultural artifacts granted UNESCO heritage status have been saved in such a manner, ensuring they are preserved for thousands of years. The method was developed by US company Twist Bioscience and is being unveiled today in a demonstrator created at the EPFL+ECAL Lab. |
 | Bioreactors on a chip renew promises for algal biofuelsFor over a decade, companies have promised a future of renewable fuel from algae. Investors interested in moving the world away from fossil fuel have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to the effort, and with good reason. Algae replicate quickly, requiring little more than water and sunlight to accumulate to massive amounts, which then convert atmospheric CO2 into lipids (oils) that can be harvested and readily processed into biodiesel. |
 | Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities exposed with new DNA sequencing approachThe roots of most land plants are colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, which help their plant partners to grow while also influencing the wider environment. Their hidden nature has meant these fungi are poorly understood, but researchers from the Chicago Botanic Garden and Northwestern University have developed a new approach to detect and identify the many species involved in these ecologically vital communities. |
 | Feeding habit of Malaysian fruit batsThe lesser short-nosed bat, Cynopterus brachyotis, is the most common bat in Peninsular Malaysia and can be found in natural and logged forests, plantations, farms, villages, cities, and towns. Lesser short-nosed bats feed mainly on fruit, but which fruit they prefer remains largely unknown due to difficulties in identifying the digested plant remains of fruit in bats' faeces. Unfortunately, it is often believed that lesser short-nosed bats feed on farm-grown fruits, and thus are killed as crop pests. |
US considers ending protections for northwest Montana bearsOn the heels of lifting protections for Yellowstone-area grizzly bears the U.S. government plans to consider the same action for bruins in northwestern Montana, home to the largest group of grizzlies in the Lower 48. | |
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