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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for December 27, 2017:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | HATSouth discovers four 'hot Jupiter' exoplanetsAn international team of astronomers reports the discovery of four new 'hot Jupiter' extrasolar worlds by the HATSouth survey. The newly found exoplanets received designations HATS-50b through HATS-53b. The finding is presented in a paper published December 12 on arXiv.org. |
 | Multiwavelength image of the 'Toothbrush' galaxy clusterMost galaxies lie in clusters containing from a few to thousands of objects. Our Milky Way, for example, belongs to a cluster of about fifty galaxies called the Local Group whose other large member is the Andromeda galaxy about 2.3 million light-years away. Clusters are the most massive gravitationally bound objects in the universe and form (according to current ideas) in a "bottoms-up" fashion with smaller structures developing first and larger groupings assembling later in cosmic history. Dark matter plays an important role in this growth process. |
 | Image: Hubble captures planetary nebula NGC 6326The Hubble Space Telescope captured what looks like a colorful holiday ornament in space. It's actually an image of NGC 6326, a planetary nebula with glowing wisps of outpouring gas that are lit up by a central star nearing the end of its life. |
Russia loses contact with Angolan satellite (Update)Russia has lost contact with Angola's first national telecoms satellite launched from the Baikonur space pad, its maker said Wednesday—a fresh embarrassment for Moscow's once proud space industry. | |
 | A new stellar X-ray 'reality' show debutsA new project using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes allows people to navigate through real data of the remains of an exploded star for the first time. |
Fireball lights up social media, evening sky in New EnglandA fireball that lit up the evening sky is lighting up social media. | |
Technology news
 | US Library of Congress backtracks on complete Twitter archiveThe US Library of Congress has scaled back plans to archive every message ever sent on Twitter, sparking debate on the importance of social media in historical records. |
 | Elon Musk says Tesla is planning to make a pickup truckTesla founder and CEO Elon Musk says the electric car company will make a pickup truck after the release of its next model. |
 | Technique allows AI to learn words in the flow of dialogueA group of researchers at Osaka University has developed a new method for dialogue systems. Lexical acquisition through implicit confirmation is a method for a computer to acquire the category of an unknown word over multiple dialogues by confirming whether or not its predictions are correct in the flow of conversation. |
 | Study finds that hackers could guess your phone PIN using its sensor dataInstruments in smart phones such as the accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensors represent a potential security vulnerability, according to researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), whose research was published in the open-access Cryptology ePrint Archive on 6 December. |
 | Turning real estate data into decision-making toolsThe unprecedented amount of commercial real estate information being generated today presents new opportunities for analysts to develop models that translate masses of data into predictive tools for investors. Recognizing that potential, the MIT Center for Real Estate (CRE) has launched the Real Estate Price Dynamics Research Platform (REPD Platform) to explore models and analytics that can lay the foundation for providing real-world solutions. The platform builds on CRE's earlier work in the field of commercial property price index development. |
 | Growing organs a few ink drops at a timePrinted replacement human body parts might seem like science fiction, but this technology is rapidly becoming a reality with the potential to greatly contribute to regenerative medicine. Before any real applications, "bioprinting" still faces many technical challenges. Processing the bio-ink and making it stick to itself and hold the desired printed gel structure have been proving particularly difficult especially in inkjet printing. Few methods currently exist for gluing bio-ink droplets together and these do not work for every kind of cell, motivating new alternative approaches. |
 | This ambulance cart could transform health care access in TanzaniaIn Tanzania, rural villages are often hours from medical facilities. Mortality among pregnant women is a grave problem: Lack of health care access results in complications and even death for either mother or baby. As many as 400 women die for every 100,000 live births. |
Video game developers encounter funding woesHezekiah Olopade has just received a lesson in building video games. | |
 | Review: Surface Book 2—New Windows computer has an edgy lookI'm a sucker for sexy hardware. I think that's why I'm drawn to Apple products. Say what you will about the Apple ecosystem being too expensive—it's darn sexy. |
Amazon hits the Christmas jackpot as 'tens of millions' of Echo devices soldAmazon enjoyed its "biggest" Christmas yet, powered by a holiday sales surge of its Amazon Echo products, the company said Tuesday. | |
Self-driving vehicle proving ground tests cars before they hit open roadThe launch of self-driving vehicle testing at the American Center for Mobility west of Detroit came with something that frequently confounds human drivers in Michigan—snow. | |
 | Sizing up new car-safety technologyWe are in a new era of car safety: The focus has shifted from reducing death and injury in a vehicle collision to preventing a crash from happening in the first place. Safety features designed to avoid accidents are becoming increasingly common in new cars. |
 | Factor in safety before choosing a new dresser or TVThinking about getting a new flat-screen TV for the holidays, or a dresser for the baby's room? Factor safety into your choice. |
Gadgets: A wireless smart thermometer will cook your meat to perfectionApption Labs calls its Meater the first wireless smart meat thermometer. True or not, I had my wife do the testing on this one since I've always been lacking in cooking skills and it now has my household's seal of approval. | |
Medicine & Health news
 | Bacteria used to slow spread of dengue virus in mosquitoes found to work better in wild than in the labA team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Vietnam and Australia has found that introducing a strain of bacteria known to infect mosquitoes in the wild was more effective in reducing dengue infections than bacteria introduced in the lab. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group outlines experiments they have been conducting in Vietnam meant to reduce the number of humans infected with the dengue virus, and what they found as a result. |
 | Neuroscientists identify a circuit that helps the brain record memories of new locationsWhen you enter a room, your brain is bombarded with sensory information. If the room is a place you know well, most of this information is already stored in long-term memory. However, if the room is unfamiliar to you, your brain creates a new memory of it almost immediately. |
 | Study establishes benchmarks for HIV vaccine candidatesThe development of a vaccine that protects against HIV infections has proven extraordinarily difficult. One of the reasons is that naïve precursor B cells that can give rise to mature B cells producing broadly neutralizing antibodies—a requirement for a successful antibody-based HIV vaccine—are considered to be exceedingly rare within the average human. |
 | Study suggests ways to manipulate T cell migration in autoimmune or inflammatory diseaseTo eradicate pathogens or counteract inflammation, cells of the immune system move through often rapid blood flow toward peripheral disease sites, such as skin, gut or lung. Thus a goal of immunologists has been to define the repertoire of molecules that not only keep fast-moving immune cells on course but allow them to access inflamed tissues. |
 | Mitochondrial metabolite linked to regulation of neurotransmissionA team of researchers has discovered a novel level of regulation of the communication between neurons and other cells. The metabolite alpha-ketoglutarate, a product of the metabolism of mitochondria, the energy generators of the cell, plays an unexpected role in the regulation of neurotransmission linking mitochondrial dysfunction and neuronal disorders. The study appears in the journal Cell Reports. |
 | Computer game highlights stroke paralysis partly due to a lack of 'mental focus'An inability to focus the brain on tasks may partially explain why paralysis commonly occurs in people following a stroke, according to a news study. |
 | Neurons' sugar coating is essential for long-term memoriesHow the brain is able to store memories over long periods of time has been a persistent mystery to neuroscientists. In a new study, researchers from the Centre for Integrative Neuroplasticity (CINPLA) at the University of Oslo show that long-lived extracellular matrix molecules called perineuronal nets are essential for distant memories. |
 | Brain research points the way to new treatments for nicotine addictionAs the worldwide death toll from tobacco use continues to climb—it's currently six million per year and is expected to top eight million by 2030, according to the World Health Organization—efforts to unlock the secrets of nicotine addiction take on a distinct urgency. "Nicotine is one of the most difficult drugs to quit," says Ines Ibanez-Tallon, a scientists in the lab of Nathaniel Heintz, who is James and Marilyn Simons Professor at the Rockefeller University. For sure, while 70 percent of cigarette smokers in the U.S. say they would like to quit, each year only 3 percent are able to do so successfully. |
 | Study explores impact of obesity on bone marrow cellsNew research published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine highlights the pernicious effect of obesity on the long-term health of blood-making stem cells (hematopoietic stem cells). |
 | New guideline: Try exercise to improve memory, thinkingFor patients with mild cognitive impairment, don't be surprised if your health care provider prescribes exercise rather than medication. A new guideline for medical practitioners says they should recommend twice-weekly exercise to people with mild cognitive impairment to improve memory and thinking. |
Helpful intestinal bacteria counteracts tendency to depressionNew research suggests that probiotics, which are active in the intestines, also have an effect on the brain. A study at Aarhus University suggests they protect against depression. In the animal study at the Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University, rats were fed with an extra fatty and fiberless compound feed. Some of the rats simultaneously received a mix of micro-organisms, mostly in the form of lactic acid bacteria, in their drinking water. While the rats that lived solely on the fatty diet developed behaviour similar to depression, the rats receiving the probiotics-enriched drinking water remained neutral in their behaviour. In other words, the probiotics offset the consequences of the unhealthy diet, explains medical doctor and PhD Anders Abildgaard. The study has been published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. | |
 | CD4 T cells, xenobiotic transporters, and metabolites in inflammatory bowel diseasesThe immune system counters pathogenic microbes and toxins in the environment. The system comprises innate (non-specific) and adaptive (acquired) immunity. When innate immune cells recognize pathogens, the adaptive immune system is called into action. There are two types of adaptive immune responses: humoral immunity mediated by antibodies produced by B cells, and cell-mediated immunity mediated by T cells, a type of white blood cell. |
 | Deep brain stimulation for the treatment of movement disordersFor the first time, researchers from Charité have shown that in patients with a type of movement disorder known as dystonia, a particular pattern of brain activity is linked to both the severity of symptoms and the clinical outcomes achieved through deep brain stimulation. Results from this study, which has been published in the journal Annals of Neurology, may help to adapt treatment to individual patient needs. |
Understanding the molecular mechanisms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosisScientists have revealed more details of the molecular mechanism behind neuronal cell death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a step toward controlling progression of the disease. | |
 | New assessment highlights growing impact of diabetes in southeast OhioThe Centers for Disease Control have found that diabetes is more common in Appalachia than in the nation as a whole. And according to a recent needs assessment by the Diabetes Institute at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, its prevalence in the southeastern Ohio region is even higher than CDC estimates from a few years ago. |
Improved nutrition for extremely low birth weight preemiesAt the neonatology ward of the Vienna General Hospital (Medical University Vienna), physicians compared two mixtures of intravenous lipids for nutrition with support coming from the FWF. The researchers found no amelioration with respect to bile-flow complications in extremely low birth weight preterm babies in incubators, but they did discover more mature brain waves. | |
 | Cooling glove helps athletes and patientsA cooling device that has been improving strength and endurance in mostly male athletes for 15 years is finding new uses in helping people with multiple sclerosis live normal lives, preventing overheating in Ebola workers and cooling working dogs. In a recent trial in women, it helped frosh participants perform hundreds of pushups in an hour. |
 | What thin people don't understand about dietingDiets do not work. |
 | Why walking with your doctor could be better than talking with your doctorGyms across the country will be packed this week with people vowing to "get moving" to lose weight this year. |
 | New medical advances marking the end of a long reign for 'diet wizards'For many years, the long-term success rates for those who attempt to lose excess body weight have hovered around 5-10 percent. |
 | Our fight with fat—why is obesity getting worse?Gyms across the country will be packed in the new year with people sticking, however briefly, to their New Year's resolution to lose weight. Most of them do not know that the cards are stacked against them and that weight loss is much more complicated than working out and not eating dessert. |
 | Are you metabolically flexible? Your New Year's resolutions may depend on itLooking to fend off obesity, diabetes, heart disease or other chronic ailments in the new year? Before you hastily cut out carbs, slash the fat or sign up for the next Biggest Loser-esque workout plan, consider asking yourself: "How metabolically flexible are you?" |
To address opioid crisis, researchers call for focus on root causes of sufferingThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new findings on Thursday that paint a somber picture of the nation's opioid crisis. More than 42,000 Americans died in 2016 of opioid overdoses—a 28 percent increase over 2015. | |
 | Study finds biomarker targets to make drugs more effective in fighting cancerA new study published in Nature Communications and led by University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center researcher Qing-Bai She identifies biomarker targets that may make existing drugs more effective in fighting certain cancers. |
 | Public health research seeks to understand how natural disasters impact spread of ZikaOn April 16, 2016, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the South American country of Ecuador. It was the most severe seismic event in nearly 40 years – killing roughly 700 people and displacing more than 70,000. |
New technology accelerates autism diagnosis and treatmentAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in 68 children have some form of autism – a rate that has increased by more than 120 percent since 2002, when the rate was one in 150 children. | |
 | Why getting enough sleep should be on your list of New Year's resolutionsIf you need an alarm to get up in the morning, you're probably not getting enough sleep. |
 | The body's own bathroom scales—a new understanding of obesityResearchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have found evidence for the existence of an internal body weight sensing system. This system operates like bathroom scales, registering body weight and thereby fat mass. More knowledge about the sensing mechanism could lead to a better understanding of the causes of obesity as well as new anti-obesity drugs. |
Callous and unemotional traits show in brain structure of boys onlyCallous-unemotional traits are linked to differences in brain structure in boys, but not girls. This reports a European research team led by the University of Basel and University of Basel Psychiatric Hospital in a study on brain development in 189 adolescents. The journal Neuroimage: Clinical has published the results. | |
 | Noninvasive brainwave technology improved post-traumatic stress symptoms in militaryA noninvasive brainwave mirroring technology significantly reduced symptoms of post-traumatic stress in military personnel in a pilot study conducted at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. The study is published in the Dec. 22 online edition of the journal Military Medical Research. |
 | More pregnant women are using pot(HealthDay)—An analysis of urine samples from roughly 300,000 California women finds that more than 7 percent used marijuana while pregnant. |
 | Getting to the root of sibling rivalry(HealthDay)—Fights among your children can start for a variety of reasons, and sibling rivalry can take root even before your second child is born, according to experts at KidsHealth from the Nemours Foundation. |
 | Preoperative G-tube placement associated with cost savings(HealthDay)—Preoperative placement of gastrostomy tubes (G-tubes) in patients with head and neck cancer yields cost savings, according to a study published online Nov. 13 in Head & Neck. |
 | Both narrowband UVB, psoralen UVA helpful for hand eczema(HealthDay)—Both psoralen ultraviolet A (PUVA) and narrowband ultraviolet B (NBUVB) improve the severity of chronic palmar hand eczema, according to a pilot study published online Dec. 13 in the British Journal of Dermatology. |
 | Helping teens turn off in a world that's 'always on': The links between technology and depressionThe problem with teens and smart phones, experts say, is "they're always on." |
 | No link between childhood lead levels, later criminality(HealthDay)— Exposure to higher levels of lead during early childhood can affect neurological development—but does that mean affected kids are doomed to delinquency? |
 | Global warming's humidity could put lives in danger(HealthDay)—You may have heard the expression: It's not the heat, it's the humidity. Researchers seem to agree, and are now warning that humidity is likely to increase the threat to human health from climate change-related temperature hikes in certain parts of the world. |
 | Intensive lifestyle intervention linked to cerebral blood flow(HealthDay)—A long-term intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) in overweight and obese adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with greater cerebral blood flow (CBF), according to a study published recently in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. |
 | Rituximab effective for lupus-associated cytopenia(HealthDay)—Rituximab treatment seems effective for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-associated immune cytopenias, with an overall initial response rate of 86 percent, according to a study published online Dec. 16 in the American Journal of Hematology. |
 | Risk of ESRD in T1DM patients has fallen markedly in finland(HealthDay)—The cumulative risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among patients with type 1 diabetes has declined over time in Finland, according to a study published online Dec. 20 in Diabetes Care. |
 | L. reuteri DSM17938 effective for colic in breastfed infants(HealthDay)—Lactobacillus reuteri DSM17938 is effective for breastfed infants with colic, according to a meta-analysis published online Dec. 26 in Pediatrics. |
 | Weak association for blood lead levels, criminal behavior(HealthDay)—Childhood blood lead level (BLL) is a poor discriminator between criminal conviction and no conviction, according to a study published online Dec. 26 in JAMA Pediatrics. |
 | Intrauterine balloon tamponade may cut invasive procedures(HealthDay)—For women undergoing vaginal delivery, the use of intrauterine balloon tamponade is associated with a significantly lower use of invasive procedures for hemorrhage control, according to a study published online Dec. 4 in Obstetrics & Gynecology. |
 | Reducing Tx may harm safety in early HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer(HealthDay)—For patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)+ stage I or II oropharyngeal cancer, deintensification of treatment from chemoradiotherapy to one modality may compromise safety, according to a study published online Dec. 15 in Cancer. |
 | Calcium, vitamin D don't seem to reduce fracture risk in seniors(HealthDay)—For community-dwelling older adults, supplementation with calcium, vitamin D, or both does not reduce the incidence of fractures, according to a review published in the Dec. 26 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. |
 | Referrals by private ERs are prevalent in communities with a public hospitalThe practice of indirect referrals by nonpublic emergency departments and their affiliated physicians are prevalent in communities with a public hospital option. Uninsured patients are the most affected. Those are the primary findings of a study to be published in the January 2018 issue of Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM), a journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). |
 | Multimodal intervention can reduce PIVC insertion in the emergency departmentPeripheral intravenous cannula (PIVC) insertion in the emergency department can be reduced using a multimodal approach designed to support critical thinking and promote clinically appropriate peripheral intravenous cannula insertion and use. That is the primary finding of a study to be published in the January 2018 issue of Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM), a journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). |
 | Multidisciplinary approach to identifying and caring for ischemic stroke in young womenA multidisciplinary approach aimed at providing emergency physicians with a foundation of knowledge regarding ischemic stroke in young women and addressing the unique challenges in the evaluation and diagnosis of ischemic stroke in young women may improve outcomes for patients served in the ED. That is the primary finding of a study to be published in the January 2018 issue of Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM), a journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). |
Introducing internet-based testing for STIs doubles testing uptake in South London boroughsThe randomised controlled trial of more than 2,000 people in Lambeth and Southwark was led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and King's College London, in partnership with SH:24, a digital sexual health service. | |
 | New understanding of why cancer cells moveA University of Hawai'i Cancer Center researcher has identified how some cancer cells are made to move during metastasis. The research provides a better understanding of how cancer spreads and may create new opportunities for cancer drug development. |
Does dosing of drug for mom make a difference for baby's risk of cleft lip, palate?Taking a higher dose of topiramate during the first three months of pregnancy may increase a baby's risk of cleft lip or cleft palate more than when taking a lower dose, according to a study published in the December 27, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. | |
 | Genomics and AI push the boundary of precision medicine in blood cancerEvery nine minutes, someone in the US dies from blood cancer which accounts for about 10 percent of all cancer deaths. And, every three minutes, one person in the US is diagnosed with a blood cancer—about 170,000 people annually. In 2017, 62,130 people were expected to be diagnosed with leukemia. These numbers are staggering, and scientists do not fully understand the causes of the disease. |
Local economic factors affect opioid prescribing to disabled Medicare beneficiariesFor non-elderly Americans on disability, local prescribing of opioid pain medications is significantly related to county-level economic factors like unemployment and income level, reports a study in the January issue of Medical Care. | |
Biology news
 | Wrens' calls reveal subtle differences between subspeciesBirds' songs and the ways they vary between places have been well studied—but what can the simpler vocalizations known as calls tell us about bird biology? A new study from The Auk: Ornithological Advances provides the first detailed description of how Marsh Wren calls vary across eastern North America and hints at the evolutionary processes playing out between wren subspecies. |
 | Starfish making comeback after syndrome killed millionsStarfish are making a comeback on the West Coast, four years after a mysterious syndrome killed millions of them. |
 | Scientists engineer microbes to form 'memories' of their environmentMicrobes like bacteria aren't conscious enough to form memories, but a group of scientists in Texas developed a new way for them to do so at the genetic level. |
Iberian brown bears do not descend from those fled from the north during the Ice AgeAccording to the glacier refuges theory, after the last glaciations, the bears of northern Europe sought shelter in the South. Researchers from A Coruña University reject this idea. They have reconstructed the colonization of brown bears in the Iberian Peninsula and shown that the lineage of the Pleistocene bears was lost. | |
 | Study illuminates botanical biasWhen botanists began collecting plant samples for herbaria more than a century ago, their goal was to catalog and understand the diversity of the natural world. These days scientists use the collections to understand the transformative effects of climate change. |
 | Why are so many of our pets overweight?When I looked at my appointment book for the day, I thought something must be wrong. Someone who worked in the fitness industry was bringing his cat in to the Tufts Obesity Clinic for Animals. Did he confuse us for a different kind of weight management clinic? Is he looking to get muscle on his cat or maybe kitty protein shakes? |
 | Bacteria acquire resistance from competitorsBacteria not only develop resistance to antibiotics, they also can pick it up from their rivals. In a recent publication in Cell Reports, researchers from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel have demonstrated that some bacteria inject a toxic cocktail into their competitors causing cell lysis and death. Then, by integrating the released genetic material, which may also carry drug resistance genes, the predator cell can acquire antibiotic resistance. |
Central Florida endangered sparrow 'unlikely' to survive in the wildA Central Florida bird has begun to plunge so swiftly toward extinction in the wild that biologists are considering the risky option of capturing the last of the species, including fewer than two dozen females. | |
 | Veterinary surgeons perform first-known brain surgery to treat hydrocephalus in fur sealA neurosurgical team at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University has successfully performed what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind brain surgery on a Northern fur seal named Ziggy Star in an attempt to address her worsening neurologic condition. Ziggy, an adult female, is recovering well at her permanent home at Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut. |
Local electrical responses in leaves make photosynthesis heat-tolerantPlants exist in variable and often unfavorable environmental conditions, which requires the functioning of a variety of adaptive mechanisms for their survival under the action of stressors. The study of such adaptive mechanisms and identifying ways to control them opens up broad prospects for saving agricultural crops under drought and high temperatures, disease development, pests and other factors that threaten plant life. Currently, the vast majority of researchers are involved in the study of relatively slow adaptation processes that develop in the course of hours, days and weeks. However, in the case of a rapid development of stressors, such adaptive responses may not be effective enough. Therefore, it is important to identify mechanisms that lead to the development of adaptive changes within minutes or tens of minutes after the onset of the stress factor. | |
 | Don't let your pet accidentally get drunk this silly season (sorry Tiddles)Most responsible pet owners know that animals and booze don't mix, but with the Christmas season upon us, many Australians will be drinking a little more than usual. |
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