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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for January 2, 2018:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Supermassive black holes control star formation in large galaxiesYoung galaxies blaze with bright new stars forming at a rapid rate, but star formation eventually shuts down as a galaxy evolves. A new study, published January 1, 2018, in Nature, shows that the mass of the black hole in the center of the galaxy determines how soon this "quenching" of star formation occurs. |
 | Sensor to monitor orbital debris outside space stationThe International Space Station isn't the only spacecraft orbiting the Earth. In fact, it is accompanied by the Hubble Space Telescope, satellites within the Earth Observing System, and more than 1,000 other operational spacecraft and CubeSats. In addition to spacecraft, bits of orbital debris - human-made objects no longer serving a purpose in space - are also in orbit. |
Technology news
 | A fossil fuel technology that doesn't polluteEngineers at The Ohio State University are developing technologies that have the potential to economically convert fossil fuels and biomass into useful products including electricity without emitting carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. |
 | Tesla's enormous battery amazes in quick outage responseTesla Motors' grid storage battery in South Australia, switched on at just the beginning of December, has already shown it is up to the job of serving as a backup system in South Australia. Its quick response is the stuff of which energy-watching headlines are made. |
 | Source code for Apple's 1983 Lisa computer to be made public next yearBefore there was an iPhone, iMac or Macintosh, Apple had the Lisa computer. |
 | Standardizing perovskite aging measurementsPerovskite solar cells are an alternative to conventional silicon solar cells, and are poised to overtake the market with their high power-conversion efficiencies (over 22% now) and lower capital expenditure and manufacturing costs. But one of the greatest obstacles on this road is stability: to be commercially viable, perovskite solar cells must also be able to maintain their efficiency over time, meaning that they must not degrade significantly over 25 years of service. |
Texting ban may soon be enforced on Florida's deadly roadsFlorida Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Wysocky says it is hard to separate texting drivers from drunken drivers as he cruises down a suburban interstate highway. Both weave. They speed up and slow down for no obvious reason and get too close to other cars. They endanger their lives and others. | |
 | Q&A: How is the growth of bitcoin affecting the environment?The growth of bitcoin is fueling speculation and debate about the environmental impact of the collective energy needed to power the virtual currency in the era of climate change. Some questions and answers about the issue: |
Get Started: IRS warns that tax season brings security risksWhile cybersecurity should be a year-round concern for small business owners, income tax filing season can bring some particular risks, according to the IRS. | |
Medicine & Health news
 | Keeping egg cells fresh with epigeneticsKeeping egg cells in stasis during childhood is a key part of female fertility. New research published today in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology sheds some light on the role of epigenetics in placing egg cells into stasis. A team led by Dr Gavin Kelsey in the Babraham Institute and colleagues in Dresden and Munich studied a protein called MLL2 and discovered how it produces a distinctive pattern of epigenetic marks that are needed for egg cell stasis. |
 | New brain mapping technique highlights relationship between connectivity and IQA new and relatively simple technique for mapping the wiring of the brain has shown a correlation between how well connected an individual's brain regions are and their intelligence, say researchers at the University of Cambridge. |
 | Hairy skin grown from mouse stem cellsIndiana University School of Medicine researchers have cultured the first lab-grown skin tissue complete with hair follicles. This skin model, developed using stem cells from mice, more closely resembles natural hair than existing models and may prove useful for testing drugs, understanding hair growth, and reducing the practice of animal testing. The work appears January 2 in the journal Cell Reports. |
 | DNA-testing kit company to launch huge weight-loss study focused on diet, exercise and genesIs fitting into your jeans a matter of your genes? |
 | Diabetes drug 'significantly reverses memory loss' in mice with Alzheimer'sA drug developed for diabetes could be used to treat Alzheimer's after scientists found it "significantly reversed memory loss" in mice through a triple method of action. |
 | New cholesterol calculation may avoid need to fast before testing, study suggestsIn a direct comparison study, Johns Hopkins researchers have added to evidence that a newer method of calculating so-called "bad cholesterol" levels in the blood is more accurate than the older method in people who did not fast before blood was drawn. The research results, published in print on Jan. 2 in Circulation, suggest that routine fasting for cholesterol tests could be eliminated for most people, making such screening more convenient. |
 | Perfectionism among young people significantly increased since 1980s, study findsThe drive to be perfect in body, mind and career among today's college students has significantly increased compared with prior generations, which may be taking a toll on young people's mental health, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. |
 | Novel nanomedicine inhibits progression of pancreatic cancer in miceA new Tel Aviv University study pinpoints the inverse correlation between a known oncogene—a gene that promotes the development of cancer—and the expression of an oncosuppressor microRNA as the reason for extended pancreatic cancer survival. The study may serve as a basis for the development of an effective cocktail of drugs for this deadly disease and other cancers. |
 | Revealing snapshots: Advanced imaging uncovers how the brain responds to vascular injuryPericytes, a little-understood type of cell on the brain's blood vessels, grow into the empty space left when neighboring pericytes die, report researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in a January 2nd, 2018 article in Cell Reports. Such growth is a kind of brain plasticity that might be harnessed to fight age-related vascular disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and stroke. |
 | Discovery brings stem cell therapy for eye disease closer to the clinicScientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, report that tiny tube-like protrusions called primary cilia on cells of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)—a layer of cells in the back of the eye—are essential for the survival of the retina's light-sensing photoreceptors. The discovery has advanced efforts to make stem cell-derived RPE for transplantation into patients with geographic atrophy, otherwise known as dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in the U.S. The study appears in the January 2 Cell Reports. |
 | No rise in autism in US in past three years: studyAfter more than a decade of steady increases in the rate of children diagnosed with autism in the United States, the rate has plateaued in the past three years, researchers said Tuesday. |
 | Spider's web inspires removable implant that may control type 1 diabetesFor the more than 1 million Americans who live with type 1 diabetes, daily insulin injections are literally a matter of life and death. And while there is no cure, a Cornell University-led research team has developed a device that could revolutionize management of the disease. |
 | New guidelines on clinical trial design for patients with brain metastasesClinical trials of new anti-cancer therapies have often excluded patients whose disease has spread to the brain or central nervous system (CNS) or, if such patients were allowed on trial, trials have often failed to clearly capture information on the drug's effect in the brain. Today new guidelines from an international, multidisciplinary group published in the journal Lancet Oncology describe how to most appropriately address cancer patients with CNS involvement within clinical trials of anti-cancer drugs. |
 | New year brings broad pot legalization to CaliforniaThe arrival of the new year in California brought with it broad legalization of marijuana, a much-anticipated change that comes two decades after the state was the first to allow pot for medical use. |
Tax on medical devices to resume after two-year suspensionWhile much of corporate America will enjoy a tax cut in the new year, one industry is getting a tax increase it has fought hard but so far unsuccessfully to avoid. | |
 | How to kick the smoking habit for good(HealthDay)—If one of your New Year's resolutions is to quit smoking, there are a number of ways to improve your chances of success, an expert in tobacco treatment says. |
 | For a healthier new year, try making it a family affair(HealthDay)—Did you resolve to eat better in 2018? Exercise more? Lose weight? If so, here's how to turn those resolutions into successes. |
 | Researchers identify possible biomarker for Huntington's diseaseA new discovery of a potential biomarker for Huntington's disease (HD) could mean a more effective way of evaluating the effectiveness of treatments for this neurological disease. The findings may provide insight into treatments that could postpone the death of neurons in people who carry the HD gene mutation, but who do not yet show symptoms of the disease. |
Immune cells play key role in early breast cancer metastasis even before a tumor developsMount Sinai researchers have discovered that normal immune cells called macrophages, which reside in healthy breast tissue surrounding milk ducts, play a major role in helping early breast cancer cells leave the breast for other parts of the body, potentially creating metastasis before a tumor has even developed, according to a study published in Nature Communications. | |
 | Modifying baby formula doesn't prevent type 1 diabetes in childrenThe long-awaited results from the first large international trial to try to prevent type 1 diabetes shows that modified baby formula in which cow's milk proteins have been split does not prevent type 1 diabetes in children with genetic risk factors for the condition, according to researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, the coordinating center for the U.S. arm of the study. The findings were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. |
Call for improvement in post-sepsis outcomesDespite improvement in the rates of people dying of sepsis in the hospital, the condition is still a leading cause of hospital readmissions and costs, as well as long-term disabilities and impairments, prompting University of Pittsburgh and University of Michigan medical scientists to develop thorough recommendations for post-hospital recovery care and future clinical trials. | |
 | Novel diabetes drugs sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapy agentsScientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown that experimental diabetes drugs can make cancer cells more vulnerable to traditional chemotherapy agents, and they say such combinations should be explored to potentially improve outcomes for cancer patients. |
 | An organ-on-a-chip device that models heart diseaseWhen studying diseases or testing potential drug therapies, researchers usually turn to cultured cells on Petri dishes or experiments with lab animals, but recently, researchers have been developing a different approach: small, organ-on-a-chip devices that mimic the functions of human organs, serving as potentially cheaper and more effective tools. |
 | High doses of vitamin D rapidly reduce arterial stiffnessIn just four months, high-doses of vitamin D reduce arterial stiffness in young, overweight/obese, vitamin-deficient, but otherwise still healthy African-Americans, researchers say. |
 | Restasis: Why US consumers paid billions for drug deemed ineffective in other countriesWhy are Americans, both as patients and taxpayers, paying billions of dollars for a drug whose efficacy is so questionable that it's not approved in the European Union, Australia or New Zealand? Restasis, a blockbuster drug sold by Allergan to treat chronic dry eye, has done $8.8 billion in U.S. sales between 2009 and 2015, including over $2.9 billion in public monies through Medicare Part D. Restasis and Allergan have been in the news lately due to the company's novel legal strategy of transferring their patents on the drug to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in order to stave off competition posed by generic drugs. |
 | Blacks' high diabetes risk driven by obesity, not mysteryIn a surprising finding, blacks and whites have the same risk of developing diabetes when all biological factors for the disease are considered over time, reports a large new Northwestern Medicine study. |
 | Link between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular death depends on socioeconomicsVery frequent consumption of alcohol is associated with an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, but only among people in the lowest socioeconomic position, according to a new research study published in PLOS Medicine by Eirik Degerud from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, and colleagues. |
 | Danger changes how rat brain stores informationThe male rat brain changes how it stores information depending on whether the environment in which it learns is safe or dangerous, according to new research published in eNeuro. |
 | Zebrafish brain repair following concussionA simple and inexpensive zebrafish model of concussion, reported in eNeuro, reveals the genetic pathways underlying the animal's remarkable ability to regenerate injured brain tissue. Understanding the mechanisms of regeneration in the zebrafish brain could ultimately help identify new ways to promote recovery from head injury in humans. |
 | Getting back in shape in 2018? Great, but do it safely(HealthDay)—Getting into shape or losing a few pounds is a worthy New Year's resolution, but one that comes with a warning: Take it slow. |
 | Five steps to get back on the diet track after the holidays(HealthDay)—Even though successful dieters work harder than non-dieters at maintaining their weight over the holidays, they often face more weight gain than thinner people. And gaining weight often goes on for another month … into the new year, according to the National Weight Control Registry. |
 | Exercise safely when the weather outside is frightful(HealthDay)—If you're exercising outdoors this winter, take special precautions, a sports medicine expert advises. |
 | Six steps to a healthier you(HealthDay)—As one year ends and another begins, people often assess their habits and lifestyle, and consider changes that could improve their health. |
 | Pre-op accelerometry can assess cardiopulmonary fitness(HealthDay)—For patients scheduled for major surgery, preoperative accelerometry can assess cardiopulmonary fitness and act as a supplement to formal cardiopulmonary exercise tests, according to a study published online Dec. 12 in Anaesthesia. |
 | Same-day, low-dose bowel prep feasible for colonoscopy(HealthDay)—A same-day, low-dose, 1-liter polyethylene glycol-based (1L-PEG) bowel preparation can achieve similar bowel cleansing to split-dose 4L-PEG bowel preparation in select high-risk patients before colonoscopy, according to a study published online Dec. 21 in the Journal of Digestive Diseases. |
 | Laser improves QOL for breast telangiectasia due to radiation(HealthDay)—Laser monotherapy improves health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in female patients with radiation-induced breast telangiectasias (RIBT), according to a study published online Dec. 20 in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. |
 | Increase seen in gabapentinoid use from 2002 to 2015(HealthDay)—From 2002 to 2015 there was a substantial increase in gabapentinoid use, according to a research letter published online Jan. 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine. |
 | Folic acid lessens autism risk for fetal anti-epileptic exposure(HealthDay)—For children exposed to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in utero, the risk of autistic traits may be mitigated by use of periconceptional folic acid supplementation, according to a study published online Dec. 26 in JAMA Neurology. |
 | ACOG advocates cascade testing for hereditary gene mutations(HealthDay)—Obstetrician-gynecologists should be aware of who is eligible for cascade testing, use resources to ensure testing is offered, and know which options can help patients overcome potential barriers to testing, according to a Committee Opinion published online Dec. 21 in Obstetrics & Gynecology. |
 | Fractional exhaled nitric oxide moderately accurate to diagnose asthma(HealthDay)—Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) measurement can diagnose asthma in individuals aged 5 years and older with moderate accuracy, according to a review published online Dec. 20 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. |
ADHD medications may reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infectionAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increases the risk of subsequent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among adolescent and young adult populations by about three times, reports a study published in the January 2018 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP). | |
 | Booze may help or harm the heart, but income matters(HealthDay)— Alcohol's effect on heart health, good or ill, may rely in part on the drinker's income, new research suggests. |
Zambia deploys army to battle cholera after 41 deathsZambia's president Edgar Lungu has deployed the army to help combat a cholera outbreak that has claimed 41 lives in the capital Lusaka and affected 1,550 more since September. | |
Risk-based CT screening may reduce deaths from lung cancerCompared to National Lung Screening Trial criteria, targeting screening those at highest risk from lung cancer mortality using a risk prediction tool may improve efficiency in terms of greater reduction in mortality from lung cancer in the short term per person screened. However, such a targeted approach does not offer substantial gains in terms of life-years saved, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and cost-effectiveness. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine. | |
Risk-based lung cancer screening may save more lives than current USPSTF guidelinesLung cancer screening based on individual risk has the potential to save more lives than current recommendations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine. | |
Algeria breast cancer survivors shunned as 'half-women'As if losing a breast to cancer was not traumatic enough, Algerian mother-of-three Linda was then spurned by her husband for being "mutilated" and a "half-woman". | |
Johannesburg suffocates in shadow of mine dumps"Look at my spinach. That is the sand from the mine. The yellow one in the soil—it's destroying everything," said Thabo Ngubane as he tended his small allotment in Soweto. | |
 | New diagnostic criteria and treatment guidelines proposed for thyroid stormWith a mortality rate estimated at 10%, the life-threatening condition known as thyroid storm (TS) demands rapid diagnosis and treatment and can benefit from new evidence-based guidelines for TS developed by researchers in Japan. The article entitled "Thyroid Storm: A Japanese Perspective" is part of a special section on Japanese Research led by Guest Editor Yoshiharu Murata, Nagoya University, Japan, in the January 2018 issue of Thyroid. |
Migraine surgery produces 'dramatic improvements' in functioning, study findsIn addition to reducing headache frequency and severity, surgical treatment for migraine leads to significant improvements in everyday functioning and coping ability, according to a study in the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). | |
 | California starts recreational pot sales, clients jam storesFrom a pot shop in Santa Cruz that hung a banner proclaiming "Prohibition is Over!" to one in San Diego handing out T-shirts showing the first moon landing and declaring a "giant leap for mankind," the Golden State turned a shade greener with its first sales of recreational marijuana. |
 | Most big public colleges don't track suicidesMost of the largest U.S. public universities do not track suicides among their students, despite making investments in prevention at a time of surging demand for mental health services. |
 | Scheduled feeding improves neurodegenerative symptoms in miceRestricting meals to the same time each day improves motor activity and sleep quality in a mouse model of Huntington's disease, according to new research published in eNeuro. These findings suggest that eating on a strict schedule could improve quality of life for patients with neurodegenerative diseases for which there are no known cures. |
Stress gene regulates brain cell power and connections in rodentsA gene activated by stress adjusts energy output and synapse number of prefrontal cortex neurons, finds a study of male mice and rats published in JNeurosci. The results were validated in brain tissue of deceased patients with Alzheimer's disease and depression, two disorders known to be aggravated by stress. | |
Educational video may increase public willingness to become face transplant donorsAfter watching a brief educational video, members of the public are more likely to say they would be willing to donate a facial transplant to a severely disfigured patient, reports a study in the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). | |
Biology news
 | Pioneering new technology set to accelerate the global quest for crop improvementSpeed breeding technique sows seeds of new green revolution |
 | Microbeads allow ultrasonic waves to stimulate cells more safelyResearchers at Duke University have discovered a way to enhance the effectiveness and safety of sonogenetics or ultrasonic modulation, emerging techniques that use sound waves to control the behavior of individual neurons or to promote tissue growth and wound healing in other cells. |
 | Zooming in on protein to prevent kidney stonesResearchers have applied Nobel prize-winning microscope technology to uncover an ion channel structure that could lead to new treatments for kidney stones. In a recent study published in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, researchers revealed atomic-level details of the protein that serves as a passageway for calcium across kidney cell membranes. |
 | Social susceptibility: Leader-follower dynamics of influential individuals in a social groupThis is the story of a spider, small but bold. |
 | Study reveals how the midshipman fish sustains its hour-long mating callResearchers at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered how the Pacific midshipman fish can hum continuously for up to an hour in order to attract potential mates. The study, which is featured on the cover of the January 2018 issue of the Journal of General Physiology, explains how the muscle fibers surrounding the fish's swimbladder can sustain the high rates of contraction—up to 100 times per second—that are needed to produce the animal's distinctive call. |
 | Lethal fungus that causes white-nose syndrome may have an Achilles' heel, study revealsThe fungus behind white-nose syndrome, a disease that has ravaged bat populations in North America, may have an Achilles' heel: UV light. White-nose syndrome has spread steadily for the past decade and is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, known as P. destructans or Pd. |
Scientists search for survivors after the Thomas fire scorches a condor sanctuaryPushed by instinct and age, a fledgling California condor had been expected to step to the edge of its cliff-side cave sometime in December and make its first flight over the scrubby terrain of the Los Padres Sespe Condor Sanctuary. | |
 | Scientists call for action to tackle an invasive tree speciesAn invasive Australian tree is now posing a serious threat to a global diversity 'hotspot' according to new collaborative research between Landcare Research in New Zealand, the Universities of Cambridge (UK) Denver (US) and Bangor University (UK). |
 | A changing climate, changing wineIf you want to buy good wine, Elizabeth Wolkovich says stop looking at labels and listen to your taste buds. |
 | Genetic changes help mosquitoes survive pesticide attacksFor decades, chemical pesticides have been the most important way of controlling insects like the Anopheles mosquito species that spreads malaria to humans. Unfortunately, the bugs have fought back, evolving genetic shields to protect themselves and their offspring from future attacks. |
Boat that took Steinbeck to Sea of Cortez is being restoredIf all goes as planned, the boat that took John Steinbeck and marine biologist Ed Ricketts on their expedition to the Sea of Cortez will come sailing back into Monterey Bay in a few years. | |
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