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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for October 4, 2017:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Analysis of Martian meteorites has uncovered 90 million years' worth of new information about one of the red planAnalysis of Martian meteorites has uncovered 90 million years' worth of new information about one of the red planet's volcanoes – and helped pinpoint which volcano the meteorites came from. |
 | Milky way's 'most-mysterious star' continues to confoundIn 2015, a star called KIC 8462852 caused quite a stir in and beyond the astronomy community due to a series of rapid, unexplained dimming events seen while it was being monitored by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope. And the star has continued to foil scientists' efforts to understand it ever since. |
 | Surface helium detonation spells end for white dwarfAn international team of researchers has found evidence that the brightest stellar explosions in our Universe could be triggered by helium nuclear detonation near the surface of a white dwarf star. Using Hyper Suprime-Cam mounted on the Subaru Telescope, the team detected a type Ia supernova within a day after the explosion, and explained its behavior through a model calculated using the supercomputer ATERUI. This result was reported in Nature published on Oct. 5. |
 | Mysterious dimming of Tabby's Star may be caused by dustOne of the most mysterious stellar objects may be revealing some of its secrets at last. |
 | Researchers simulate 1770 magnetic storm using data from historical documentationAuroras are light shows that typically occur at high latitudes such as the Arctic and Antarctic; however, they can expand toward the equator during severe magnetic storms. Past observations of such unusual auroras can therefore allow researchers to determine the frequency and severity of magnetic storms. The more information that can be gathered about historically intense magnetic storms, the greater the opportunity to mitigate disruption of power grids in a future event. |
 | Another chance to put your name on MarsWhen it lands on Mars in November of 2018, NASA's InSight lander will be carrying several science instruments—along with hundreds of thousands of names from members of the public. |
 | New antenna in Alaska expands spacecraft communications capabilitiesNASA's newest communications antenna became operational today following a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Alaska Satellite Facility in Fairbanks. The antenna will increase the agency's communications support to Earth-observing missions. |
 | Monster volcanoes on Mars—how space rocks are helping us solve their mysteriesMars famously has the largest volcanoes known to science. The largest is Olympus Mons, pictured above, which towers 22km above the surrounding plains – over two and a half times taller than Mount Everest. This extinct volcano is 640km wide even at its narrowest point, greater than the distance between London and Glasgow, or Los Angeles and San Francisco. And Olympus Mons isn't alone in the Earth-beating stakes – three other Martian volcanoes are more than 10km high. |
 | Image: Hertz chamber for radio-frequency testingA view inside ESA's cavernous Hertz chamber for radio-frequency testing of satellites, which will be on show to the public during this Sunday's ESA Open Day in the Netherlands. |
 | 60 years after Sputnik, Russian space program faces troublesSix decades after Sputnik, a refined version of the rocket that put the first artificial satellite in orbit remains the mainstay of Russia's space program—a stunning tribute to the country's technological prowess, but also a sign it has failed to build upon its achievements. |
 | NASA's Webb Telescope to witness galactic infancyScientists will use NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to study sections of the sky previously observed by NASA's Great Observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope, to understand the creation of the universe's first galaxies and stars. |
Technology news
 | Two intelligent vehicles are better than oneIntelligent vehicles get their intelligence from cameras, Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensors, and navigation and mapping systems. But there are ways to make them even smarter. Researchers at EPFL are working to improve the reliability and fault tolerance of these systems by combining the data they gather with that from other vehicles. This can, for example, extend the field of view of a car that is behind another car. Using simulators and road tests, the team has developed a flexible software framework for networking intelligent vehicles so that they can interact. |
 | 2013 hack hit all 3 billion Yahoo accounts: companyA 2013 hack affected all three billion accounts at Yahoo, triple the original estimate, the online giant's parent company said Tuesday following a new analysis of the incident. |
 | MIT CSAIL explores virtual reality control room(Tech Xplore)—If we clear our heads of all the anxious chatter about robots marching into a factory and humans marching out, we get our arms around the likely scenario: manufacturing will adopt systems that involve robots and people. |
 | Alphabet's DeepMind forms ethics unit for artificial intelligenceDeepMind, the Google sibling focusing on artificial intelligence, has announced the launch of an "ethics and society" unit to study the impact of new technologies on society. |
 | Pixel smartphone upgrade highlights Google push into hardwareGoogle on Wednesday unveiled newly designed versions of its Pixel smartphone, the highlight of a refreshed line of devices which are part of the tech giant's efforts to boost its presence against hardware rivals. |
 | Trial pitting Waymo against Uber delayed a monthA judge on Tuesday delayed the start of trial in Waymo's suit against Uber over swiped self-driving car technology, giving the unit of Google-parent Alphabet time to study fresh evidence. |
 | Fukushima operator gets first safety approval since 2011 disasterThe operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant cleared a major regulatory hurdle Wednesday to restart two reactors in Japan, its first since the 2011 tsunami sparked the worst atomic accident in decades. |
 | Amazon must pay $295 million in back taxes, EU saysAmazon has to pay $295 million in back taxes to Luxembourg, the European Union ordered Wednesday, in its latest attempt to tighten the screws on multinationals it says are avoiding taxes through sweetheart deals with individual EU states. |
Senate bill to clear obstacles to self-driving cars advancesLegislation that could help usher in a new era of self-driving cars advanced in Congress on Wednesday after the bill's sponsors agreed to compromises to address some concerns of safety advocates. | |
 | 'New era' in solar energy fuelling growth in renewables: IEAThe renewable energy sector is growing faster than expected, driven largely by a "new era" in solar power and strong expansion in China, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. |
 | Robotic bugs train insects to be helpersTiny mobile robots are learning to work with insects in the hope the creatures' sensitive antennae and ability to squeeze into small spaces can be put to use serving humans. |
 | Mini Crypto chip is a self-contained encryption engineThe Air Force's new Mini Crypto chip will secure communications and data between systems like unmanned aerial vehicles and explosive ordnance disposal robots, while being "losable." |
Foxconn to announce location of Wisconsin plant WednesdayTaiwanese technology manufacturer Foxconn is expected to announce it will locate its new sprawling manufacturing complex in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. | |
 | Powerful micro diaphragm pump for mini-sensorsParticulate matter harms the heart and lungs. In the future, a smartphone with an inbuilt gas sensor could be used to warn of heavy exposure. To help the sensor respond quickly and provide accurate measurements, researchers at Fraunhofer have developed a powerful micro diaphragm pump for delivering ambient air to the sensor. |
 | A new brain-computer interface for music compositionIf that melody has just come to you, and if you know your way around a score, you might be able to think it into being now a group of researchers have developed a new brain-computer interface (BCI) application. |
Driverless vehicles could bring out the best or worst in our cities by transforming land useThe convergence of technology and the city is seen as a possible remedy for the challenging issues of urbanisation. Autonomous vehicles are among the most popular of many smart city solutions. Also known as driverless car technology, it could reshape our cities. | |
 | The enduring power of print for learning in a digital worldToday's students see themselves as digital natives, the first generation to grow up surrounded by technology like smartphones, tablets and e-readers. |
Samsung announces new Windows-based virtual-reality headset at Microsoft eventSamsung is joining Microsoft's virtual reality push, announcing an immersive headset that pairs with Windows computers. | |
City of Amazon proposed to attract company's HQ2 to GeorgiaThe latest pitch to attract Amazon's second headquarters? Create a city named Amazon for the company's planned expansion site. | |
Apps help college graduates with jobs, finances, housing and moreThose first months after leaving college can bewilder many graduates, but some apps may help to ease the transition from the sheltered halls of academia to the harsh realities of the business world. | |
Battling the forces of darkness: Cybersecurity firm CEO talks Equifax, moreFor millions of Americans, the cybersecurity problem plaguing U.S. businesses just hit home in about the worst way possible. The failure of one business, Equifax, to keep its data secure will lead to a decades-long threat to the finances of more than half the nation's adults. | |
Inside a Silicon Valley startup's explosive demiseBehind Kanoa's slick promotional photos and videos, lofty promises to revolutionize music listening, and countless reassurances to customers, the warning signs were there - the startup was in trouble. | |
 | Google to unveil new Pixel phones and other gadgetsA year to the day after first unveiling the Pixel smartphone, Google will launch the next generation of the would-be iPhone killers in San Francisco. |
 | EU's Vestager, Silicon Valley's nemesisWhen Silicon Valley's critics need a leader, they turn to Denmark's Margrethe Vestager, the EU's top anti-trust regulator. |
 | Will your job be automated? 70 percent of Americans say noMost Americans believe their jobs are safe from the spread of automation and robotics, at least during their lifetimes, and only a handful says automation has cost them a job or loss of income. |
 | Assessing regional earthquake risk and hazards in the age of exascaleWith emerging exascale supercomputers, researchers will soon be able to accurately simulate the ground motions of regional earthquakes quickly and in unprecedented detail, as well as predict how these movements will impact energy infrastructure—from the electric grid to local power plants—and scientific research facilities. |
 | Fitbit-style prosthetics? Navy developing 'smart' artificial limbsTraditional leg prosthetics enable amputees to maintain mobility and lead more active lives. But these prosthetics depend on soft limb tissue to function and can be painful to wear, resulting in awkward walking motion and possible skin infection. |
Foxconn to locate plant in Mount Pleasant, WisconsinTaiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group says it plans to locate a display screen factory in the southeastern Wisconsin village of Mount Pleasant. | |
 | Google unveils new phones, speakers to counter Amazon, Apple (Update)Google on Wednesday unveiled new phones, smart speakers and other devices infused with artificial intelligence in its bid to claim the high ground against rivals Amazon and Apple. |
 | The Latest: A Google hands-free camera snaps pics by itselfThe Latest on Google's new-product showcase (all times local): |
 | Teleoperating robots with virtual realityMany manufacturing jobs require a physical presence to operate machinery. But what if such jobs could be done remotely? This week researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) presented a virtual-reality (VR) system that lets you teleoperate a robot using an Oculus Rift headset. |
 | Greece backs extradition of Russian to US over bitcoin fraudA Greek court ruled Wednesday to extradite Russian cybercrime suspect Alexander Vinnik to the United States, where he is wanted in connection with a $4 billion bitcoin fraud case. |
 | Transatlantic tussles: EU cases against US firmsThe EU's decision to slap Amazon with a multi-million euro tax bill and take Ireland to court for not complying with a landmark case against Apple are the latest in a string of competition cases against US firms. |
 | Integrating data to learn moreTremendous amounts of data are generated in scientific research each day. Most of this data has more potential than we are using now, says Katy Wolstencroft, assistant professor in bioinformatics and computer science. We just need to integrate and manage it better. |
DirecTV Now wins, YouTube TV loses in channel battleWould-be cord-cutters weighing their options often ask me: Which digital bundle should I get instead of cable? | |
White House adviser: Phase out Social Security number as IDA cybersecurity adviser to President Donald Trump is pushing to phase out the use of Social Security numbers as a form of identification. | |
DOJ's Rosenstein takes aim at Silicon Valley encryptionA high-ranking Department of Justice official is taking aim at Silicon Valley's methods for protecting privacy, saying there should be a public debate about whether companies should create digital lock boxes that cannot be opened by police and judges. | |
Medicine & Health news
 | Mental training changes brain structure and reduces social stressMeditation is beneficial for our well-being. This ancient wisdom has been supported by scientific studies focusing on the practice of mindfulness. However, the words "mindfulness" and "meditation" denote a variety of mental training techniques that aim at the cultivation of various different competencies. In other words, despite growing interest in meditation research, it remains unclear which type of mental practice is particularly useful for improving either attention and mindfulness or social competencies, such as compassion and perspective-taking. |
 | A super-elastic surgical glue that sticks and seals in vivo, even when tissues are movingTo repair ruptured or pierced organs and tissues, surgeons commonly use staples, sutures and wires to bring and hold the wound edges together so that they can heal. However, these procedures can be difficult to perform in hard-to-reach areas of the body and wounds are often not completely sealed immediately. They also come with the risk that tissues are further damaged and infected. A particular challenge is posed by wounds in fragile or elastic tissues that continuously expand or contract and relax, like the breathing lung, the beating heart and pulsing arteries. |
 | Do mothers favor daughters and fathers favor sons?Imagine a parent who is shopping and has a few moments to spare before heading home. If the parent has both a son and daughter but time to buy only one surprise gift, who will receive the gift? |
 | Scientists reverse advanced heart failure in an animal modelResearchers have discovered a previously unrecognized healing capacity of the heart. In a mouse model, they were able to reverse severe heart failure by silencing the activity of Hippo, a signaling pathway that can prevent the regeneration of heart muscle. The study appears in the journal Nature. |
 | Cell stress response sheds light on treating inflammation-related cancer, agingStress - defined broadly - can have a profoundly deleterious effect on the human body. Even individual cells have their own way of dealing with environmental strains such as ultraviolet radiation from the sun or germs. One response to stress - called senescence - can trigger cells to stop dividing in cases of cancer and aging, found researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Their study, published this week in Nature, may hold promise for treating inflammation-related disorders. |
 | Mystery of breast cancer risk gene solved, 20 years after its discoveryMore than 20 years after scientists revealed that mutations in the BRCA1 gene predispose women to breast cancer, Yale scientists have pinpointed the molecular mechanism that allows those mutations to wreak their havoc. |
 | Monoclonal antibody 'cocktail' halts Zika infectionA collaborative study led by a University of Miami Miller School of Medicine researcher has found that a "cocktail" of monoclonal antibodies prevented Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in primates. "This is a promising intervention to prevent and treat ZIKV infection during pregnancy," said David Watkins, Ph.D., professor and vice chair for research, Department of Pathology. "We would like to develop this antibody combination and get it into clinical trials as soon as possible." |
 | Deep sleep critical for visual learningRemember those "Magic Eye" posters from the 1990s? You let your eyes relax, and out of the tessellating structures, a 3-D image of a dolphin or a yin yang or a shark would emerge. |
 | Pathway in neurons may contribute to neurodegenerative diseaseAn injury pathway in the neurons of fruit flies may cause the loss of synapses in diseases such as Alzheimer's and ALS, according to University of Michigan researchers. |
 | Test reveals antibiotic-resistant bacteria in a half hourThe discovery of antibiotics in the early part of the 20th century changed modern medicine. Simple infections that previously killed people became easy to treat. Antibiotics' ability to stave off infections made possible routine surgeries, organ transplants, and chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer. |
 | Gene therapy helps boys with 'Lorenzo's Oil' diseaseThe fledgling field of gene therapy has scored another win: An experimental treatment seemed to help boys with the inherited nerve disease featured in the movie "Lorenzo's Oil." |
 | Why does divorce run in families? The answer may be geneticsChildren of divorced parents are more likely to get divorced when compared to those who grew up in two-parent families—and genetic factors are the primary explanation, according to a new study by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and Lund University in Sweden. |
 | Older-adult patients more likely to disclose suicidal thoughts as they ageSuicide among older adults is a growing public health issue. Conditions associated with aging—chronic pain, diagnosed or perceived terminal illness, social isolation, and the death of friends and family—can push older Americans towards ending their own lives. A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that 23% of individuals aged 50 and older who died by suicide had disclosed their suicide intent. |
 | Brain damage caused by Zika exposure in utero can be detected by both fetal MRI and ultrasoundClinicians managing Zika-affected pregnancies should use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in addition to standard ultrasound (US) because the more detailed MRI images can reveal more extensive areas of damage to the developing fetal brain, according to research presented during IDWeek 2017. |
Panic in Madagascar as plague spreadsCrowds of fearful residents flock to their local pharmacies before dawn, desperate to buy masks and antibiotics to stave off a plague outbreak sweeping Madagascar. | |
 | One in four people leave work a year after a heart attack, study findsOne in four people leave their job within a year of returning to work after having a heart attack, according to a newly published study from Denmark in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. |
 | Psychosocial factors, psychological disorders and violent crimeA group of researchers from the department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Seville, in collaboration with the Public Foundation for the Integration of People with Mental Illnesses (FAISEM), has carried out a study in which they tried to determine the main factors associated with being convicted of committing a violent crime. |
 | 'Ideal biomarker' detects Alzheimer's disease before the onset of symptomsAbsence of prefrontal activation during sensory gating of simple tones predicts Alzheimer's disease (AD) before the occurrence of the first symptoms. Sanja Josef Golubic Ph.D., physicist at the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, reports the high potential of this non-invasive biomarker of AD pathology in a new study published in Human Brain Mapping. |
Delays for melanoma surgeries linked to insurance typeA retrospective review of several thousand melanoma cases in North Carolina found that Medicaid patients were more likely to experience surgical treatment delays than patients with private insurance, according to a study by University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers. | |
 | Anxiety and depression caused by childhood bullying decline over timeA new UCL-led study has provided the strongest evidence to date that exposure to bullying causes mental health issues such as anxiety years later. |
Poorer health literacy associated with longer hospital stay after surgeryAmong more than 1,200 patients who underwent major abdominal surgery, a lower health literacy level was associated with a longer hospital length of stay, according to a study published by JAMA Surgery. | |
Use of CPR, defibrillators improves after public health initiativesAfter coordinated and comprehensive public health initiatives in North Carolina, more patients received bystander CPR and first-responder defibrillation at home and in public, which was associated with improved survival, according to a study published by JAMA Cardiology. | |
 | New information on a major player in chronic visceral leishmaniasisIn an article in the latest issue of PLOS Pathogens, INRS professor Simona Stäger and her team show how the parasite Leishmania donovani uses a physiological response to low oxygen levels (hypoxia) to establish a chronic infection. |
 | Psychiatrist recommends allowing children to dress to express themselves this HalloweenFor most children, dressing up in a fun costume is one of the best parts about Halloween. Some children may even choose to dress in a costume that may not traditionally be worn for their gender. One Baylor College of Medicine expert discusses how families can handle this situation so that the child has a great Halloween experience. |
 | New drug reduces rate of progression of incurable eye diseaseAn international study including researchers from the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) has found a way to slow the progression of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) - one of the most common causes of vision loss in people over the age of 50. |
 | World-first trial for universal flu vaccineThe world's first widespread human testing of a flu vaccine which researchers hope will protect more over 65-year-olds against influenza has begun in the NHS. |
 | Should you be 'nudged' into better health without knowing it?The popular notion of "nudging" is based on the idea we can push people gently towards doing what's best for their health. |
 | How inherited fitness may affect breast cancer riskRepeated studies have shown that physical inactivity, and the occurrence of obesity to which it is linked, increases the risk for many chronic diseases, including breast and other cancers. |
 | High-intensity workouts send the wrong message, says kinesiologistThe allure of high-intensity interval training is simple – go all-out for as little as one minute and reap the benefits of a 45 or 60-minute workout. With a promise like that, it is easy to understand why people are willing to try it. |
 | Five things everyone should know about breast cancerIn 2017, the American Cancer Society estimates more than 250,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the United States, with more than 40,000 deaths. But progress in treatment and early detection has led to improved survival rates, with more than 3 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. today. |
 | Flashing neurons in worms reveal how the brain generates behaviorThe 100 billion neurons of the human brain control our behavior, but so far there is no way to keep track of all that activity, cell by cell. Whole-brain imaging techniques like fMRI offer only a blurry view of the action, with each pixel representing tens of thousands of neurons. |
 | Membrane for islets of Langerhans transplantationsResearchers at the University of Twente and other Dutch knowledge institutes have developed a membrane with which individual islets of Langerhans – insulin-producing cell clusters – can be encapsulated. The idea behind the system is that these islets could eventually be safely transplanted to cure type 1 diabetes patients. The research results were published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports. |
Obese individuals more prone to blood poisoningHigh weight, little physical activity and smoking increase our vulnerability for severe bloodstream infections. They also increase mortality. | |
 | A new approach to improving hemispatial neglect after strokeJacinta O'Shea from the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences explains how stimulation of the brains of stroke patients can cause long-lasting improvements. |
 | Women can be just as daring and risky as men, new studies showWomen can be just as risky as men – or even riskier—when the conventional macho measures of daring—such as betting vast sums on a football game—are replaced by less stereotypical criteria, according to new research led by the University of Exeter. |
Study links neighborhood affluence, positive birth outcomesIt's not uncommon for new parents to relocate in search of neighborhoods with better schools, safer streets and healthier, more kid-friendly activities. But a new study led by University of California, Irvine sociologist Jennifer Kane has found that living in such neighborhoods before a baby is born protects against the risks of poor birth outcomes. | |
Brain scans detect Alzheimer's before onset of symptomsResearchers in New Mexico and Croatia have used a brain scanning technique known as magnetoencephalography, or MEG, to search for a new biological fingerprint of Alzheimer's disease. The results of the study are published today in Human Brain Mapping. | |
 | Pregnant women asked to take part in a vaccine trial to tackle a severe baby diseaseExpectant mothers in London are among the first in the world to participate in a clinical trial of a possible vaccine which causes life threatening breathing problems in babies. |
 | High BMI and blood pressure create a heavy heartBeing overweight or obese creates damaging changes to the structure of the heart, according to new research led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). |
 | Asthma increases risk of complications during pregnancy and deliveryWomen with asthma suffer more often from preeclampsia (PE) and run a higher risk of giving birth to underweight babies. These and other complications during pregnancy and delivery can not be explained by hereditary or environmental factors, according to a study from Karolinska Institutet published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. |
 | Vaccination produces huge drop in early cervical cancer signsThe number of young Scottish women showing early signs of potential cervical cancer have almost halved since the introduction of a school vaccination programme. |
Dutch children bereaved by domestic homicides 'more burdened than expected'The majority of Dutch children who lost a parent to intimate partner homicide had already experienced violence, often without professional support, according to a study published October 4, 2017 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Eva Alisic from Monash University, Australia, and colleagues. | |
 | Study reveals staggering economic burden of dementia in younger peopleYou may not have heard of it, but frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) accounts for 20 to 50 percent of dementia cases in people under the age of 65. FTD ravages an individual's quality of life by dramatically altering their language, personality, behavior, cognition and motor function. But it doesn't end there. |
 | Sperm banking is underutilized by adolescent and young adult cancer patientsA comprehensive study of adolescent and young adult cancer patients found just 43.8 percent of those at risk for infertility banked sperm prior to cancer therapy, suggesting that patients might benefit from efforts to increase awareness and understanding of the option. The study was led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and appears today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. |
 | For women, high blood pressure in your 40s may be tied to increased risk of dementiaWomen who develop high blood pressure in their 40s may be more likely to develop dementia years later, according to a study published in the October 4, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. |
 | DNA-based Zika vaccine is safe and effective at inducing immune responseA new generation DNA-based Zika vaccine demonstrated both safety and ability to elicit an immune response against Zika in humans in a phase 1 clinical trial conducted through a partnership among the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, GeneOne Life Science, and The Wistar Institute. The research was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. |
Impacts of ride-hailing on crashes differ from city to cityRide-hailing services reduce drunk-driving crashes in some cities, reports a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania this month in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The research is the first to look at the specific effects of ride-hailing, or "ride-sharing," within specific cities, rather than averaging data across multiple cities. | |
 | Could you be overdoing it with sleeping pills?(HealthDay)—More Americans are having trouble getting a good night's sleep, a national health survey found. |
 | MI incidence down with CT angiography in suspected CAD(HealthDay)—For patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD), coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is associated with reduced incidence of myocardial infarction but no reduction in death or cardiac hospitalization versus functional stress testing, according to a review published online Oct. 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine. |
Out-of-pocket costs often keep pricey new cholesterol drugs out of reach, study findsAccess to powerful new cholesterol-lowering drugs is so tightly controlled and patients' out-of-pocket costs are so high that fewer than a third of people whose doctors prescribe the drugs get them, a new study found. | |
Abbott wins FDA approval for diabetes device that doesn't require routine finger pricksAbbott Laboratories has gained clearance to start selling in the U.S. the first continuous glucose monitor that does not require people with diabetes to routinely prick their fingers. | |
 | Home remedies: controlling and managing your blood pressureLifestyle changes can help you control and prevent high blood pressure, even if you're taking blood pressure medication. |
 | 'Lifelike' 3D printed spine to help train spinal surgeonsResearchers are 3-D printing replica human vertebrae which act and feel like real bone tissue to help train spinal surgeons before they go into live operations. |
Scientists identify a possible therapeutic target for regulating body weightA new study published online in The FASEB Journal reveals a novel gene involved in maintaining body weight. Specifically, the study suggests that GTRAP3-18 interacts with pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) in the hypothalamus to regulate food intake and blood glucose levels. Inhibiting the interaction between GTRAP3-18 and POMC might be a strategy for treating leptin/insulin resistance in patients with obesity and/or type 2 diabetes. | |
Healing molecule discovery could reduce limb amputations for diabetes patientsScientists have discovered new insights into a molecule which is part of the body's tissue repair system, in a finding which could help treat non-healing wounds and injuries, such as diabetic foot. | |
New use for alcohol aversion drug in treatment of chemo resistant lung cancer foundScientists have had positive results from a laboratory-based study using a well-known alcohol aversion drug to try to combat chemotherapy resistance in the most common type of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The findings from the scientists at Trinity College Dublin and St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland, have been published in the leading international journal Oncotarget. | |
Resistance training prevents age-related tendon damageA study published online in The FASEB Journal suggests that resistance training may prevent age-related tendon problems, such as ruptures and tendinopathies. In the report, scientists used different groups of sedentary and resistance-trained rats to reveal that the tendons of trained rats showed fewer signs of age-related damage than their sedentary counterparts. If this proves true in humans, it would provide further evidence that resistance training can have beneficial effects throughout one's lifespan. | |
 | Blood test for HPV may help predict risk in cancer patientsA blood test for the human papillomavirus, or HPV, may help researchers forecast whether patients with throat cancer linked to the sexually transmitted virus will respond to treatment, according to preliminary findings from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. |
Air pollution and poverty stack the deck for ADHDScientists at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health report the first evidence that prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)—carcinogenic and neurotoxic combustion byproducts commonly found in urban air—combines with material hardship to significantly increase ADHD symptoms in children. Results are online in the journal Environmental Research. | |
Safe motherhood campaign associated with more prenatal visits, birth planning, study findsIn Tanzania, pregnant women who were exposed to a national safe motherhood campaign designed to get them to visit health facilities for prenatal care and delivery were more likely to create birth plans and to attend more prenatal appointments, according to new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research. | |
Researchers discover why females have heart health advantageIt's long been known that heart disease develops later in women than men. But the biological reasons why females have a heart health advantage were unknown. New research from the University of Guelph may have solved the mystery. | |
Antidote to synthetic cannabis 'Spice' intoxication could be found in slimming drugEarly research from Queen Mary University of London has potentially found an antidote that can rapidly stop the intoxicating effects of cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids. | |
 | Discovery offers clues to why Zika became more dangerousUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln virologists have identified a Zika mutation that may help explain why the virus became more lethal during outbreaks that sickened tens of thousands of people in the Caribbean, South America and the United States in 2015 and 2016. |
Study: therapists lack knowledge to prevent transmission of CMVResults from a new health-risk knowledge survey indicate that physical and occupational therapists are at increased risk of contracting cytomegalovirus (CMV), a leading cause of prenatal infection and lifelong disabilities, but that they lack sufficient knowledge to prevent its transmission. | |
 | Antifungals and probiotics may play a key role in the development of treatment for Crohn's diseaseScientists have determined that fungus may play a key role in chronic intestinal inflammation disorders. They found that patients with Crohn's disease tend to have much higher levels of the fungus Candida tropicalis compared to their healthy family members. A new review published in Digestive and Liver Disease looks at these findings and provides insights into potential new therapeutic approaches using antifungals and probiotics in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn's disease (CD). |
 | Different sugars, different risks to your liverIf you're one of the two billion people in the world who are over-weight or obese, or the one billion people with fatty liver disease, your doctor's first advice is to cut calories—and especially to cut down on concentrated sugars such as high-fructose corn syrup, a sugar found in sweetened beverages and many other processed foods. |
 | Study pokes holes in fetal alcohol hypothesisA new study published in the journal Brain Behavior and Immunity appears to challenge the theory that cells in the brain's immune system are the culprit behind the neurological damage that occurs in children exposed to alcohol while in the womb. |
Setback for EU deal on hormone-disrupting chemicalsThe EU's efforts to regulate chemicals which can potentially disrupt the body's hormones suffered a setback on Wednesday when MEPs blocked a key proposal. | |
Madagascar plague death toll climbs to 30An outbreak of high contagious plague has claimed 30 lives in the impoverished Indian Ocean island nation of Madagascar over the last two months, authorities said Wednesday. | |
 | 'Sleep positioners' a danger to baby: FDA(HealthDay)—Infants should be put to sleep on their backs on a firm, empty surface and never placed on a sleep positioner, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says. |
 | Increase in number of centers doing robotic prostatectomy(HealthDay)—The number of centers performing robotic surgery for radical prostatectomy increased during 2010 to 2014, according to a study published online Oct. 3 in The Lancet Oncology. |
 | LAMA plus LABA tied to fewer exacerbations in stable COPD(HealthDay)—Treatment with long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA) plus long-acting β-agonists (LABA) is associated with fewer exacerbation events in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a clinical evidence synopsis published online Oct. 3 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. |
 | Process promising for on-site printing of custom-dosed meds(HealthDay)—Small molecular medicines can be printed precisely using organic vapor jets, according to a study published online Sept. 27 in Nature Communications. |
 | Smoking cessation support less likely for cancer patients(HealthDay)—General practitioners are less likely to support cessation of smoking in patients with cancer than in those with coronary heart disease (CHD), according to a study published online Sept. 11 in the Annals of Family Medicine. |
Problems with senses may predict older adults' overall health, ability to functionThe five senses are hearing, vision, smell, touch, and taste. When these senses begin to dim or are lost as we age, we face challenges dealing with everyday life. Losing one's senses can also cause serious health problems. | |
 | Working night shifts may widen your waistline(HealthDay)—Workers who regularly pull overnight shifts may be more prone to pack on the pounds, a new analysis suggests. |
 | Bioengineering an alternative to open fetal repair for spina bifidaResearchers from Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus recently discovered a promising alternative to open fetal surgery for spina bifida repair. Ahmed Marwan, MD, fetal surgeon and researcher at the hospital's Colorado Fetal Care Center, along with researchers Deawon Park, PhD, and James Bardill from the CU Department of Bioengineering, have developed an alternative approach to current in utero treatment for spina bifida: a minimally-invasive repair using a bioengineered material - a reverse thermal gel (RTG) - to cover the neural tube defects (NTD) at an earlier gestational age than traditional treatment. |
How to treat sunspotsDear Mayo Clinic: How effective is laser resurfacing for removing sunspots? Are there creams or other products that work to treat sun-damaged skin? | |
Intense strength training benefits postmenopausal women with low bone massExercise is known to be beneficial to bone health but there is reluctance to use high intensity programs in older women with low bone mass because of the risk of fracture or other injury. A new Journal of Bone and Mineral Research study found that only 30 minutes twice a week of high intensity resistance and impact training improved functional performance and bone density, structure, and strength in postmenopausal women with low bone mass, without adverse effects. | |
Avoiding meat during pregnancy linked with later substance misuse by childrenLower meat consumption by women during pregnancy was linked with an increased risk of substance misuse by their children during adolescence. The findings come from a study published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. | |
 | Study examines home health care in medicare beneficiariesAccording to an analysis published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Medicare beneficiaries receiving home health services who are dually enrolled in Medicaid, live in a low-income neighborhood, or are Black tend to receive care from lower-quality home health agencies and have higher rates of hospital admissions and visits to the emergency department than other Medicare beneficiaries. |
Health care professional's recommendation important factor for chemoprevention decisionsA health care professional's recommendation was the most important factor driving decisions by women at high risk for breast cancer on whether to take selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs). | |
Virtual reality videos may help alleviate pre-surgical anxiety in childrenA virtual reality tour of the operating room prior to anaesthesia helped reduce preoperative anxiety in children scheduled to undergo surgery who took part in a clinical trial published in the BJS (British Journal of Surgery). | |
Analysis highlights the importance of pharmacology measures in early clinical trialsA new analysis published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology indicates that 'first-in-man' clinical trial protocols in the Netherlands often lack a consistent consideration of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic aspects in establishing drug doses. | |
Febuxostat prevents gout flares in recent clinical trialAs reported in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology, the drug febuxostat reduced gout flares in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 314 adults with early gout. Febuxostat treatment also reduced synovitis—or inflammation of the joint lining detected by MRI scanning—over a 2-year period compared with placebo. | |
 | Night shift work linked to an increased risk of obesityIn an analysis of 28 published studies, night shift work was associated with a 29% increased risk of becoming obese or overweight. The findings, which are published in Obesity Reviews, suggest that modifying working schedules to avoid prolonged exposure to long-term night shift work might help reduce the risk of obesity. |
 | Leaders of Congenital Zika Virus Program at Children's National share lessons learned with peersDuring their lifetimes, the tainted Aedes mosquitoes that spread Zika virus only fly a few hundred feet from where they hatch. And Zika hotspots—Texas and Florida domestically and dozens of nations around the world—all lie a fair distance from the nation's capital. Still, the Congenital Zika Virus Program at Children's National Health System evaluated 36 women and their fetuses from January 2016 through May 2017. Another 14 women and their infants were referred to the Zika program for postnatal consultations during that time. |
Thousands of Poles rally to defend women's rightsSeveral thousand black-clad women took to streets across Poland on Tuesday to defend their reproductive rights, which they say are being curtailed under the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government. | |
 | Microneedles can increase the effectiveness of topical anesthesia used in dentistryResearchers from Brazil and Texas have started human testing of a new strategy to increase the effectiveness of topical anesthesia used in dentistry to reduce patient discomfort during oral injections. It involves a small device containing 57 microneedles, which, when placed on the gums, cheek or other location of the mouth, makes tiny holes through which anesthetic substances like lidocaine can penetrate into deep regions of the oral mucosa. |
Risky behaviour and adverse events are increasing among ecstasy usersA survey to determine trends in the patterns of Australian drug use and the drug market has found a shift towards the higher purity crystal form of MDMA. | |
What's next for nuclear medicine training?RESTON, Va. The "Hot Topic" article in the October issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM), titled Nuclear Medicine Training: What Now?, examines the role of nuclear medicine in the era of precision medicine and the need for training to evolve with the practice. An associated editorial presents an alternative view: "Is 16 Months of Specialized Nuclear Medicine Training Enough for Best Patient Care?" The two perspectives kick off a discussion that will unfold in coming issues of JNM. | |
NYSCF and BBDF announce the availability of stem cell lines for researchThe New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) and Beyond Batten Disease Foundation (BBDF) today announce the availability of a unique and comprehensive collection of juvenile Batten (CLN3) disease induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. The two organizations partnered to develop this resource for scientists around the world. The collection is a key example of BBDF's strategy to advance therapy development for Batten disease by creating and disseminating cutting-edge tools and other resources with game-changing potential. | |
 | Can census data better predict lead exposure in children?Researchers have developed a computational model based on available childhood blood-lead level records and nationwide census data to predict the risk of lead exposure for children in the U.S. The predictive power of this model can help target high-risk areas for interventions, government support, enforcement measures, and screening, as proposed in an article published in Environmental Justice. |
Donors flock to blood banks in Vegas after shootingAs more than 500 wounded flooded the hospitals of Las Vegas after the worst mass shooting in modern US history, electronic billboard ads urged people to give blood. | |
Biology news
 | Studying bumblebees to learn more about human intelligence and memory(Phys.org)—A team of researchers at Queen Mary University in the U.K. has found that bumblebees with more "synaptic complexes" in their brains are able to learn new things more quickly and also have better memories than those with fewer of them. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B the group describes studying neural connections in individual bee brains and comparing what they found with cognitive abilities. |
 | Monitoring microbes to keep Marsonauts healthyTo guarantee a safe environment for astronauts on long-duration space missions such as a journey to Mars, it is important to monitor how microorganisms such as bacteria adapt to the confined conditions onboard spacecraft, according to a study published in the open access journal Microbiome. |
 | Pheasant roadkill peaks in autumn and late winterChickens' motives for crossing the road are often questioned - but pheasants should probably avoid it altogether, new research suggests. Researchers from the universities of Exeter and Cardiff compared roadkill figures from the 1960s and 2010s - before and after the start of mass release programmes of pheasants for shooting - and found pheasants remain disproportionately likely to be run over compared to other birds."There may be a number of reasons why pheasants are so commonly killed on the roads, including their short flight distances and relatively small brains," said Dr Joah Madden, of the University of Exeter. |
 | Benchmarking computational methods for metagenomesThey are everywhere, but invisible to the naked eye. Microbes are the unseen, influential forces behind the regulation of key environmental processes such as the carbon cycle, yet most of them remain unknown. For more than a decade, the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), a DOE Office of Science User Facility, has been enabling researchers to study uncultured microbes unable to grow in the lab, using state-of-the-art approaches such as high-throughput genomic sequencing of environmental communities ("metagenomics") and the development of computational tools to uncover and characterize microbial communities from the environment. To tackle assembling metagenomes into a set of overlapping DNA segments that together represent a consensus region of DNA or contigs, then binning these contigs into genome bins, and finally conducting taxonomic profiling of genome bins, analysts around the world have developed an array of different computational tools, however until now there was a lack of consensus on how to evaluate their performance. |
 | Cats kill one million birds a day in AustraliaFeral and pet cats kill more than one million birds in Australia every day, new research showed Wednesday, with the staggering slaughter driving the decline of many species. |
 | Research rethinks the evolutionary importance of variability in a populationIt's been long thought that variability within a population is key to population's growth and survival but new research questions that assumption. |
 | Researchers find that accurately transcribing DNA overrides DNA repairA groundbreaking and surprising discovery provides a major conceptual change of what is most important to cells: the fidelity of the DNA transcription process - accurately copying the DNA message into RNA, the precursor to proteins - or DNA repair, which saves broken chromosomes from being lost. As reported in the journal Nature, researchers found that in the model organism E. coli, the fidelity of transcribing DNA comes at the expense of DNA repair. |
 | Predatory bacteria that engineer portholes and paint frescoes in harmful bacteriaA microbiological mystery of how one bacterium could invade another and grow inside it without breaking the other bacterium instantly has been illuminated by scientists at the University of Nottingham and Indiana University. |
 | Climate change, population growth may lead to open ocean aquacultureA new analysis suggests that open-ocean aquaculture for three species of finfish is a viable option for industry expansion under most climate change scenarios – an option that may provide a new source of protein for the world's growing population. |
 | Climate change study of leatherback sea turtle hatchlings decline fails to provide answers(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with Monash University in Australia and the West Indies Marine Animal Research and Conservation Service has found that changes in temperature and rainfall in the West Indies is not a factor in the declining rate of survival of leatherback sea turtle hatchlings in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In their paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the team details their study, noting that more research is required to find the true cause of the declining survival rate of the hatchlings. |
 | New statistical method for evaluating reproducibility in studies of genome organizationA new statistical method to evaluate the reproducibility of data from Hi-C—a cutting-edge tool for studying how the genome works in three dimensions inside of a cell—will help ensure that the data in these "big data" studies is reliable. |
 | Meet Madagascar's oldest animal lineage, a whirligig beetle with 206-million-year-old originsThere are precious few species today in the biodiversity hotspot of Madagascar that scientists can trace directly back to when all of Earth's continents were joined together as part of the primeval supercontinent Pangea. |
 | Researchers demonstrate engineering approach to combine drugs, control parasitic wormsLaboratory video tells the story: tiny, parasitic worms swimming freely in a nutrient solution are active and mobile; expose the same kind of worms to a mixture of four drugs optimized by an engineering technique and they're partially paralyzed, struggling in place. |
South American howler monkeys may be more threatened than previously thoughtAmong the largest primates in the Americas and with one of the loudest calls in the animal kingdom, howler monkeys are iconic species of South American tropical forests. They live in several types of forest ecosystems, from dry to riparian and rainforest. Although the forests they inhabit are being increasingly lost to deforestation for agriculture, howler monkeys are categorized as "Least Concern" by the IUCN Red List, meaning that they are considered to be not threatened with extinction. However, increasing deforestation rates and the howler monkey's susceptibility to yellow fever outbreaks call for a reassessment of their status. | |
 | Researchers discover what is on the menu for dragonfliesResearchers from the Universities of Turku and Helsinki, Finland, have discovered the prey species of adult dragonflies and damselflies, as modern laboratory techniques enabled the study of the insects' diet. In the study, prey DNA was extracted from tiny dragonfly droppings and the researchers managed to identify dozens of prey species from the samples. The results shed light on dragonflies' position in natural food webs with an unprecedented specificity. |
 | Plenty of fish in the sea? Not necessarily, as history showsAustralia has had tens of thousands of years of fisheries exploitation. That history reveals a staggering natural bounty, which has been alarmingly fragile without proper management. The current debate over the federal government's new draft marine park plans is the latest chapter of this story. |
 | Antibiotic-resistant infections in petsNearly every day on the job, veterinary clinical medicine professor Dr. Jason Pieper, a veterinary dermatologist, sees antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in cats, dogs and other pets. This is not just a local phenomenon; nationally, rates of antibiotic-resistant infections in companion animals are rising at an alarming rate. Pieper spoke to News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates about what he sees and what can be done about it. |
 | Okinawan pit viper genome reveals evolution of snake venomA bite from a pit viper, locally known as habu, can cause permanent disability and even death. Yet, much about its venom remains an enigma. Highly variable in composition, even between littermates, this toxic cocktail keeps changing over generations. |
 | New fundamental insight into the battle against bacteriaThe intestinal bacterium E. coli can adapt to changes in its surroundings. Leiden scientists have discovered how the H-NS protein makes this possible. This new knowledge can be an important starting point in combatting bacteria and diseases such as peritonitis. Publication 2 October in the journal eLife. |
 | Researchers discovered excessive social interaction reduced collective responseFrom schools of fish, to swarms of insects, to flocks of birds, many animals live and move in groups. They have no leader, no central coordinator, and yet manage to perform awe-inspiring coordinated displays of collective motion. These swarming behaviors are archetypal examples of how local coordination between nearby animals translates into an emerging global behavior. But how localized should this local coordination be? Is more interaction always better? Not all animal taxon swarms, and observations of flocks of starlings show that they limit their interaction to their six-to-seven nearest neighbors. |
New approach may hold the key to treating antibiotic-resistant bacteriaA new study published online in The FASEB Journal highlights the therapeutic potential of a simple chemical mimic of host defense peptides (C10OOc12O) to cure bacterial infections both on its own, as well as in combination with otherwise inefficient antibiotics. | |
 | Plants become more tolerant when living in symbiosis with fungiBy developing a symbiotic relationship with fungi, plants not only become more tolerant to diseases but can also help contribute to more sustainable agricultural practices. This is the conclusion of a new study from the University of Gothenburg. |
 | Female fish like males who singNoisier seas seem to hamper fish reproduction. A new doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg shows that noise pollution impedes reproduction in sand and common gobies, both of which are important food sources for juvenile cod. |
 | Albatross feces show diet of fishery discardsAlbatross feed on several fish species that are not easy for the birds to access in nature, but which are caught by commercial fisheries, finds a study in open-access journal Frontiers in Marine Science. This indicates a high level of interaction between albatross and fisheries in some areas, and so an ongoing risk of the birds being killed in fishing gear. |
 | Hurricane exposes and washes away thousands of sea turtle nestsHurricane Irma took a devastating toll on incubating sea turtle nests in the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, one of the most important loggerhead and green turtle nesting sites in the world, according to new estimates from the UCF Marine Turtle Research Group. |
 | Federal government: No threatened species listing for walrusThe Trump administration announced Wednesday it will not list the Pacific walrus as a threatened species based on diminished Arctic Ocean sea ice, concluding that the marine mammals have adapted to the loss. |
 | Fish shrinking as ocean temperatures riseOne of the most economically important fish is shrinking in body weight, length and overall physical size as ocean temperatures rise, according to new research by LSU Boyd Professor R. Eugene Turner published today. The average body size of Menhaden—a small, silver fish—caught off the coasts from Maine to Texas—has shrunk by about 15 percent over the past 65 years. |
 | A win-win for spotted owls and forest managementRemote sensing technology has detected what could be a win for both spotted owls and forestry management, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis, the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station and the University of Washington. |
Officials: GMO mosquitoes aren't 'drugs,' need EPA oversightU.S. Food and Drug Administration officials say genetically modified mosquitoes are not "drugs" and should be regulated by environmental authorities. | |
 | Are we at a tipping point with weed control?Imagine walking the cereal aisle at your favorite grocery store. Are you reading labels? Scanning prices? Thinking about weeds? If you're like most American consumers, weeds probably aren't at the forefront of your mind when buying food. But if farmers could no longer control weeds with existing herbicides, Americans would take notice pretty quickly. |
Trophy hunting is unlikely to affect evolutionIn recent years, there has been growing controversy surrounding the evolutionary effects of trophy hunting in big game animals worldwide. An article published in the Journal of Wildlife Management explains why the removal of males possessing large horns and antlers does not inevitably cause harmful artificial selection. | |
 | Rampant consumption of hippo teeth combined with incomplete trade records imperil threatened hippo populationsGlobal wildlife trade is pushing many species to the brink of extinction. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was established to regulate this trade, but inadequate monitoring may facilitate or lead to unsustainable levels of exploitation. A recent study by the School of Biological Sciences of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) examined the case of hippo teeth and revealed discordance in trade volumes declared between importers and exporters - a scenario that could threaten the survival of the species. |
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