Science X Newsletter Week 01

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 01:

	The moon is about to do something it hasn't done in more than 150 years Call it whatever you like—a blue red moon, a purple moon, a blood moon—but the moon will be a special sight on Jan. 31.
	Lethal fungus that causes white-nose syndrome may have an Achilles' heel, study reveals The 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.
	A nonaddictive opioid painkiller with no side effects What if scientists could develop an opioid-based painkiller that is not addictive and has limited side effects?
	Specially timed signals ease tinnitus symptoms in first test aimed at condition's root cause Millions of Americans hear ringing in their ears—a condition called tinnitus—but a new study shows an experimental device could help quiet the phantom sounds by targeting unruly nerve activity in the brain.
	Quantum 'spooky action at a distance' becoming practical A team from Griffith's Centre for Quantum Dynamics in Australia have demonstrated how to rigorously test if pairs of photons - particles of light - display Einstein's "spooky action at a distance", even under adverse conditions that mimic those outside the lab.
	Single metalens focuses all colors of the rainbow in one point; opens new possibilities in virtual, augmented reality Metalenses—flat surfaces that use nanostructures to focus light—promise to revolutionize optics by replacing the bulky, curved lenses currently used in optical devices with a simple, flat surface. But, these metalenses have remained limited in the spectrum of light they can focus well. Now a team of researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has developed the first single lens that can focus the entire visible spectrum of light—including white light—in the same spot and in high resolution. This has only ever been achieved in conventional lenses by stacking multiple lenses.
	Nature's smallest rainbows, created by peacock spiders, may inspire new optical technology Brightly colored Australian peacock spiders (Maratus spp.) captivate even the most arachnophobic viewers with their flamboyant courtship displays featuring diverse and intricate body colorations, patterns, and movements - all packed into miniature bodies measuring less than 5 mm in size for many species. However, these displays aren't just pretty to look at, they also inspire new ways for humans to produce color in technology.
	Study investigates impact of lions living alongside giraffe populations It is commonly accepted that lions are the only predators to pose a risk to giraffes on an individual basis but there has never been a study to investigate how the presence of lions impacts on the population as a whole.
	Supermassive black holes control star formation in large galaxies Young 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.
	Alien megastructure not the cause of dimming of the 'most mysterious star in the universe' A team of more than 200 researchers, including Penn State Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics Assistant Professor Jason Wright and led by Louisiana State University's Tabetha Boyajian, is one step closer to solving the mystery behind the "most mysterious star in the universe." KIC 8462852, or "Tabby's Star," nicknamed after Boyajian, is otherwise an ordinary star, about 50 percent bigger and 1,000 degrees hotter than the Sun, and about than 1,000 light years away. However, it has been inexplicably dimming and brightening sporadically like no other. Several theories abound to explain the star's unusual light patterns, including that an alien megastructure is orbiting the star.
	Diabetes drug 'significantly reverses memory loss' in mice with Alzheimer's A 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.
	First direct proof of ozone hole recovery due to chemicals ban For the first time, scientists have shown through direct satellite observations of the ozone hole that levels of ozone-destroying chlorine are declining, resulting in less ozone depletion.
	Four-dimensional physics in two dimensions For the first time, physicists have built a two-dimensional experimental system that allows them to study the physical properties of materials that were theorized to exist only in four-dimensional space. An international team of researchers from Penn State, ETH Zurich in Switzerland, the University of Pittsburgh, and the Holon Institute of Technology in Israel have demonstrated that the behavior of particles of light can be made to match predictions about the four-dimensional version of the "quantum Hall effect"—a phenomenon that has been at the root of three Nobel Prizes in physics—in a two-dimensional array of "waveguides."
	New research shows how alcohol damages DNA and increases cancer risk Scientists have shown how alcohol damages DNA in stem cells, helping to explain why drinking increases your risk of cancer, according to research part-funded by Cancer Research UK and published in Nature today.
	Direct genetic evidence of founding population reveals story of first Native Americans Direct genetic traces of the earliest Native Americans have been identified for the first time in a new study. The genetic evidence suggests that people may have entered the continent in a single migratory wave, perhaps arriving more than 20,000 years ago.
	No rise in autism in US in past three years: study After 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.
	Scientists find surprising evidence of rapid changes in the Arctic Scientists have found surprising evidence of rapid climate change in the Arctic: In the middle of the Arctic Ocean near the North Pole, they discovered that the levels of radium-228 have almost doubled over the last decade.
	A virus-bacteria coevolutionary 'arms race' solves diversity by 'killing the winner' There is remarkable biodiversity in all but the most extreme ecosystems on Earth. When many species are competing for the same finite resource, a theory called competitive exclusion suggests one species will outperform the others and drive them to extinction, limiting biodiversity. But this isn't what we observe in nature. Theoretical models of population dynamics have not presented a fully satisfactory explanation for what has come to be known as the diversity paradox.
	Legal cannabis to generate $40bln, 400,000 jobs: study The legal cannabis sector is expected to generate $40 billion and more than 400,000 jobs by 2021 in the United States, according to a study released Tuesday.
	In broadest view yet of world's low oxygen, scientists reveal dangers and solutions In the past 50 years, the amount of water in the open ocean with zero oxygen has gone up more than fourfold. In coastal water bodies, including estuaries and seas, low-oxygen sites have increased more than 10-fold since 1950. Scientists expect oxygen to continue dropping even outside these zones as Earth warms.

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