Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for February 13, 2018:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | New models give insight into the heart of the Rosette NebulaA hole at the heart of a stunning rose-like interstellar cloud has puzzled astronomers for decades. But new research, led by the University of Leeds, offers an explanation for the discrepancy between the size and age of the Rosetta Nebula's central cavity and that of its central stars. |
 | Researchers conduct chemical analysis of three chemically peculiar starsResearchers have carried out a chemical abundance analysis of three chemically peculiar stars, HD 51959, HD 88035 and HD 121447. The research, based on spectroscopic data acquired by the Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph (FEROS), finds that the three objects are nitrogen-enhanced barium stars. The results were presented February 5 in a paper published on arXiv pre-print server. |
 | A piece of Mars is going homeA chunk of Mars will soon be returning home. |
Russia launches cargo spacecraft after aborted liftoff (Update)Russia on Tuesday launched an unmanned Progress cargo ship to the International Space Station after a glitch led officials to postpone the planned liftoff two days earlier. | |
 | Researcher discusses successful mission to transport the Icarus antennas to the International Space StationSince 13 February, two key components of the Icarus mission have been orbiting in space. Following the on-board computer, which was carried to the International Space Station (ISS) in October 2017, another Soyuz Progress rocket has now transported the antennas of the joint German-Russian Icarus project to the ISS. Martin Wikelski, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell and head of the Icarus Mission, talks about his very first countdown in life and the future of the global animal tracking system. |
 | An X-ray camera that can resolve tens of thousands of X-ray colorsNASA is part of an international team developing a cutting edge microcalorimeter X-ray camera that will provide extraordinarily detailed information about energetic cosmic phenomena. |
 | Eclipse season starts for NASA's SDOOn Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, saw a total solar eclipse in space when Earth crossed its view of the Sun. Also known as a transit, Earth's passage was brief, lasting from 2:10 a.m. to 2:41 a.m. EST and covering the entire face of the Sun. |
 | ESO's VLT working as 16-meter telescope for first timeThe ESPRESSO instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile has used the combined light of all four of the 8.2-meter Unit Telescopes for the first time. Combining light from the Unit Telescopes in this way makes the VLT the largest optical telescope in existence in terms of collecting area. |
 | Professor hopes key to deep-space exploration is the moonThe secret to deep-space exploration could be buried deep within the moon. |
 | Self-driving servicer now baselined for NASA's Restore-L satellite-servicing demonstrationOne test changed the fortunes of an advanced 3-D imaging lidar system now baselined for NASA's Restore-L project that will demonstrate an autonomous satellite-servicing capability. |
 | Ears for IcarusOn 13 February, a Russian rocket carried the antenna of the Icarus mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The Icarus on-board computer was thus joined by another key component of the orbiting animal tracking system. Using the system developed by scientists from the Max Planck Society in cooperation with the Russian space agency Roscosmos, the German Aerospace Center and the University of Konstanz, researchers around the world will be able to study the movements of animals and determine the conditions in which they live. |
Technology news
 | Researchers discover new lead-free perovskite material for solar cellsA class of materials called perovskites has emerged as a promising alternative to silicon for making inexpensive and efficient solar cells. But for all their promise, perovskites are not without their downsides. Most contain lead, which is highly toxic, and include organic materials that are not particularly stable when exposed to the environment. |
 | Can a cockroach teach a robot how to scurry across rugged terrain?When they turn up in family pantries or restaurant kitchens, cockroaches are commonly despised as ugly, unhealthy pests and are quickly killed. But in the name of science, Johns Hopkins researchers have put these unwanted bugs to work. |
 | Much ado about words as two Shakespeare sleuths spot old manuscriptWill the real William Shakespeare please stand up? Massive numbers of academic papers have focused through the decades on questions of where and when the bard lifted from other works and how much was from his own head. |
 | Energy-efficient encryption for the internet of thingsMost sensitive web transactions are protected by public-key cryptography, a type of encryption that lets computers share information securely without first agreeing on a secret encryption key. |
 | Tissue paper sensors show promise for health care, entertainment, roboticsUniversity of Washington engineers have turned tissue paper – similar to toilet tissue – into a new kind of wearable sensor that can detect a pulse, a blink of an eye and other human movement. The sensor is light, flexible and inexpensive, with potential applications in health care, entertainment and robotics. |
 | Moore's law has ended. What comes next?The speed of our technology doubles every year, right? Not anymore. |
Virtual-reality field trips give students advanced adventureOn a February afternoon in a Brooklyn classroom, 16-year-old Taylor Engler came face to face with a cow. But it was all in her head. | |
 | Fake news production and social media 'trolls'A network of digital workers are designing political disinformation campaigns, creating fake news and fanning the flames of public discontent in the Philippines, new research has found. |
'Smart cane' could one day help flag gait problems, falling risks more quicklyFeeling a little unsteady and don't know why? | |
 | Google takes on Snapchat with its own 'Stories' formatGoogle launched its own "stories" format Tuesday to compete with Snapchat and Instagram with image-driven news articles aimed at mobile phone and tablet users. |
 | Transatlantic test for Airbus low-cost airlinerThe long-range version of Airbus's updated single-aisle aircraft took off Tuesday on a flight from Paris to New York in what could be a boon for low-cost flights across the Atlantic. |
 | Chemical cluster could transform energy storage for large electrical gridsTo power entire communities with clean energy, such as solar and wind power, a reliable backup storage system is needed to provide energy when the wind isn't blowing and the sun isn't out. |
Apple signs NBA star Durant to produce new TV seriesNBA star Kevin Durant has agreed to co-produce a basketball-themed drama television series that will be part of Apple's original television programming. | |
 | UK unveils new technology to fight extremist content onlineThe British government is unveiling new technology designed to remove extremist material from social media, amid mounting pressure on companies like Facebook and Twitter to do more to remove such content from their platforms. |
 | Award winning algorithm could improve accuracy and speed of diagnosis of retinal diseaseA new technique for identifying and diagnosing damage to the human retina has been awarded 'Best Student Paper' at the industry-leading BIOIMAGING 2018 conference in Portugal. |
 | Ryanair drops airfares to Catalonia over secession crisisRyanair said Tuesday it slashed airfares to Catalonia to continue filling its planes, blaming the secession crisis for keeping visitors away. |
To prevent cyberattacks, paper suggests agency similar to National Transportation Safety BoardAfter arguably the worst year ever for cyberattacks and data breaches, Indiana University research suggests it may be time to create an independent cybersecurity agency board comparable in approach to the National Transportation Safety Board that investigates airplane crashes and train derailments. | |
 | UK cryptocurrency firms launch trade bodySeven of Britain's top cryptocurrency firms on Tuesday linked up to create CryptoUK, a trade body that will oversee the controversial sector, amid ongoing jitters over volatile Bitcoin. |
 | Cost-reduction roadmap outlines two pathways to meet DOE residential solar cost target for 2030Leveraging cost-reduction opportunities in the roof replacement or new construction markets for residential photovoltaic (PV) installations could help the United States meet the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) residential solar photovoltaic cost target by 2030, according to new research from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). |
 | Apple CEO leaves investors dangling on future dividend hikeApple CEO Tim Cook is leaving shareholders in suspense about whether the iPhone maker will use its windfall from a tax cut on overseas profits for a big boost to its quarterly dividend. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Study maps molecular mechanisms crucial for new approach to heart disease therapyCreating new healthy heart muscle cells within a patient's own ailing heart. This is how scientists hope to reverse heart disease one day. Today, a new study led by UNC-Chapel Hill researchers reveals key molecular details that should be useful in developing this ambitious approach. |
 | The end of yo-yo dieting? Researchers uncover brain switch that controls fat burningScientists have discovered a molecular switch in the brain that regulates fat burning - and could provide a way to control weight gain following dieting. |
 | In effort to treat rare blinding disease, researchers turn stem cells into blood vesselsPeople who inherit a mutated version of the ATF6 gene are born with a malformed or missing fovea, the eye region responsible for sharp, detailed vision. From birth, their vision is severely limited, and there is no cure. Jonathan Lin, MD, PhD, associate professor of pathology at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute, and team were the first to link ATF6 to this type of inherited vision impairment. |
 | PFASs, chemicals commonly found in environment, may interfere with body weight regulationA class of chemicals used in many industrial and consumer products was linked with greater weight gain after dieting, particularly among women, according to a study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The chemicals—perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)—have been linked with cancer, hormone disruption, immune dysfunction, high cholesterol, and obesity. |
 | Visual cues amplify soundLooking at someone's lips is good for listening in noisy environments because it helps our brains amplify the sounds we're hearing in time with what we're seeing, finds a new UCL-led study. |
 | Researchers discover brain cells change following close contact with a stressed individualHealth-care workers treating soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) report that some soldiers' partners and family members display symptoms of PTSD despite never serving in the military. A research study by scientists at the University of Calgary may help explain how that could happen. |
 | Researchers develop novel immunotherapy to target colorectal cancerA Yale-led research team has developed an antibody that blocks tumors in animal models of colorectal cancer. If the finding is confirmed in clinical trials, the antibody-based treatment could become an effective weapon against colorectal cancer, and possibly other cancers, that resist current immunotherapies, the researchers said. |
 | Clues to aging found in stem cells' genomesLittle hints of immortality are lurking in fruit flies' stem cells. |
 | Team unravels mysterious eye infection—Oregon woman first known case of human infected with cattle eyeworm speciesAn August 2016 call to an infectious disease hotline OHSU runs for Northwest physicians ended up being one for the record books. |
 | Brain sciences researcher pinpoints brain circuit that triggers fear relapseSteve Maren, the Claude H. Everett Jr. '47 Chair of Liberal Arts professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Texas A&M University, and his Emotion and Memory Systems Laboratory (EMSL) have made a breakthrough discovery in the process of fear relapse. |
 | Money only buys happiness for a certain amountThere is an optimal point to how much money it takes to make an individual happy, and that amount varies worldwide, according to research from Purdue University. |
 | Scientists identify immune cascade that fuels complications, tissue damage in chlamydia infectionsClosing a critical gap in knowledge, Harvard Medical School scientists have unraveled the immune cascade that fuels tissue damage and disease development in chlamydia infection—the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States. |
 | Cancer-killing virus acts by alerting immune systemA new UC San Francisco study has shown that a cancer-killing ("oncolytic") virus currently in clinical trials may function as a cancer vaccine—in addition to killing some cancer cells directly, the virus alerts the immune system to the presence of a tumor, triggering a powerful, widespread immune response that kills cancer cells far outside the virus-infected region. |
 | Brain imaging helps redefine intelligenceHigh-tech scans of the resting human brain can provide a new way to define and interpret the brain's actual mental capacity, new research suggests. |
 | Obesity associated with longer survival for men with metastatic melanomaObese patients with metastatic melanoma who are treated with targeted or immune therapies live significantly longer than those with a normal body mass index (BMI), investigators report in a study published in Lancet Oncology of 1,918 patients in six independent clinical cohorts. |
 | Cold open water plunge provides instant pain reliefA short, sharp, cold water swim may offer an alternative to strong painkillers and physiotherapy to relieve severe persistent pain after surgery, suggest doctors in the journal BMJ Case Reports. |
Efforts are needed to tap into the potential of nutraceuticalsA growing demand exists for nutraceuticals, which seem to reside in the grey area between pharmaceuticals and food. The products are thought to provide medical or health benefits "beyond the diet, but before the drugs". A new review published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology looks at the potential of nutraceuticals, stressing the need for a proper definition of nutraceuticals and clear regulations to ensure their safety. | |
 | Kidney stones on the rise, study findsKidney stones are a painful health condition, often requiring multiple procedures at great discomfort to the patient. Growing evidence suggests that the incidence of kidney stones is increasing steadily, especially in women. Using data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, Mayo Clinic researchers investigated the rise in stone formers to determine if this is a new trend, or simply an improvement in the way kidney stones are detected. Their findings appear in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. |
 | Can gene therapy be harnessed to fight the AIDS virus?For more than a decade, the strongest AIDS drugs could not fully control Matt Chappell's HIV infection. Now his body controls it by itself, and researchers are trying to perfect the gene editing that made this possible. |
Opioid makers gave $10M to advocacy groups amid epidemicCompanies selling some of the most lucrative prescription painkillers funneled millions of dollars to advocacy groups that in turn promoted the medications' use, according to a report released Monday by a U.S. senator. | |
 | Measles cases in Europe tripled last year, officials sayThe European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says the number of measles cases across the continent tripled last year and is continuing to cause new outbreaks due to low immunization rates. |
 | Pimavanserin: Relief from psychosis in dementia, without devastating side-effectsA new kind of antipsychotic has been found to relieve terrifying and disturbing symptoms suffered by millions of people with Alzheimer's disease worldwide. |
 | Consensual sex is key to happiness and good health, science saysAs we approach Valentine's Day, it's nice to celebrate love and, one the best parts about it, sex. As a doctor and epidemiologist who studies sex, I bring good news for Valentine's Day. It's not just that sex is fun – it's also good for your physical and mental health. |
Therapy dogs may unlock health benefits for patients in hospital ICUsWhile therapy dogs have long been welcomed as "nonpharmacological interventions" for some hospitalized patients, their use with those who are critically ill is new for many hospitals. | |
 | Researcher finds TV's powerful influence on pregnancy, childbirthSurfing through cable TV channels often results in catching a glimpse of a woman giving birth or preparing for motherhood in one of the popular pregnancy and childbirth reality shows. |
 | Protein that prevents further cartilage damageThere may be a protein in the body that hinders cartilage degradation in patients with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). |
 | New insights into gene underlying circadian rhythmsA genetic modification in a "clock gene" that influences circadian rhythm produced significant changes in the length and magnitude of cycles, providing insight into the complex system and giving scientists a new tool to further investigate how circadian rhythm is regulated. |
 | Ibuprofen can damage men's endocrine systemsIbuprofen can reduce the production of testosterone in men, shows new research. |
 | First study published connecting challenges of food allergies with personality traitsUniversity of Otago researchers have broken new ground in the area of food allergies, with a study showing that personality traits impact people living with a food allergy published in the international medical journal Frontiers in Psychology. |
 | Current PSA monitoring ignores risk to some prostate cancer survivorsProstate cancer survivors make up the largest group, 41 percent, of male cancer survivors. In these survivors, early detection of recurrence can lead to life-saving interventions, but in older men who survived low-risk cancer and have limited life expectancy, those same interventions may do more harm than good. |
 | Study reveals the liver's 'weak spot' for hepatitis B virus replicationIn a surprising discovery, researchers from the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), A*STAR, have found that the liver is the main site of hepatitis B (HBV) replication—not only because it contains material that helps the virus proliferate, but also because most other tissues of the body contain proteins that actively repress HBV replication. |
 | Beware of palm oil in your Valentine's chocolateA diet rich in saturated fat and sugar not only leads to obesity, it creates inflammation in the nucleus accumbens, a part of the brain that controls mood and the feeling of reward. And this inflammation can lead to depressive, anxious and compulsive behaviour and disrupt metabolism, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM). Published in the journal Molecular Metabolism, the study on mice provides new evidence confirming the harmful effect of saturated fat on health. |
 | What is your real 'biological age', and what does this mean for your health?Age-based risk calculators that work out your "real biological age" are increasingly popular. We hear about body age on health shows like How to Stay Young; gyms promote reductions in metabolic age and fitness age; games and apps claim to lower your brain age; and researchers have developed specific organ measures like heart age, lung age and bone age. |
 | Congenital heart defects linked to increased risk of dementiaBeing born with a heart defect may raise the odds of later developing dementia, especially early-onset dementia, a new study finds. |
 | How to support someone with dementia—and feel better yourselfVisiting a loved one with dementia can feel frustrating, even hopeless, but there are ways to turn that precious time into a better experience, says a University of Alberta researcher. |
 | New study links genetic diversity of tumors with resistance to treatment in Asian lung cancer patientsScientists from A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and medical oncologists from the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) have discovered that lung cancer tumours in Asian patients contain much higher genetic diversity than previously expected. Hence, this type of tumour tends to develop resistance despite initial tumour shrinkage. With this discovery, scientists and oncologists are better equipped to guide treatments and develop more refined and personalised approaches to common non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The study was published in the international journal Nature Communications. |
 | Third hand cigarette smoke not cause for panicAn Australian National University (ANU) researcher is warning against undue alarm as the concept of health concerns from third-hand-smoke - lingering residue from cigarettes - is starting to build momentum in Australia. |
 | How I discovered there's (at least) 14 different kinds of love by analysing the world's languagesNo emotion, surely, is as cherished and sought after as love. Yet on occasions such as Valentine's day, we can often be misled into thinking that it consists solely in the swooning, star-crossed romance of falling deeply "in love". But on reflection, love is far more complex. Indeed, arguably no word covers a wider range of feelings and experiences than love. |
 | Too much TV at age two makes for less healthy adolescentsSkipping breakfast, eating junk food and doing less well in school might all result from watching TV too young, Canadian study finds. |
Digital liver scanning technology could halve the number of liver biopsies needed in the NHSA study jointly led by the University of Birmingham and University of Edinburgh has revealed that a new scanning technology could almost halve the number of liver biopsies carried out on people with fatty liver disease. | |
 | 20 mph speed limits are effective, study findsA new study published today, The Bristol Twenty Miles Per Hour Limit Evaluation (BRITE) Study by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), has found that 20mph speed limits lead to important reductions in average traffic speeds, and are associated with very promising improvements in road safety. |
 | Premature babies' low blood pressure puzzle explainedScientists have discovered crucial new information about how a foetus develops which could explain why very premature babies suffer low blood pressure and other health problems. |
 | Controversial pregnancy test drug shows deformities in zebrafish embryos within hours of exposureThe components of a controversial drug, allegedly linked to birth defects in the 1960s and '70s, caused deformations to fish embryos just hours after they received a dose in new studies by researchers at the University of Aberdeen. |
 | 'Off the shelf' living artificial tissues could repair severe nerve injuriesSevere nerve damage has been successfully repaired in the laboratory using a new living artificial nerve tissue developed by UCL, ReNeuron and Sartorius Stedim Biotech. |
 | North-south divide in England revealed as prescription of opioid drugs riseThe prescription of opioid drugs by GPs in England is steadily rising, especially in more deprived communities, even though they can cause complications and adverse effects and have not been proven to work for chronic pain, finds a new study led by UCL and UCLH. |
 | New device measures blink reflex parameters to quickly and objectively identify concussionThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that between 1.6 and 3.8 million concussions occur each year in the US. In addition, research indicates that nearly a quarter of annual traumatic brain injuries among children are sustained during high-contact/collision recreational activities or sports. Unfortunately, current methods for diagnosing and evaluating concussion severity are not very accurate. Medical professionals and field-side staff must base concussion-related decisions on overt symptom assessments (e.g., balance, neurocognition) and self-reports that often provide incomplete, misleading or conflicting information. |
Medical cannabis significantly safer for elderly with chronic pain than opioids: studyMedical cannabis therapy can significantly reduce chronic pain in patients age 65 and older without adverse effects, according to researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the Cannabis Clinical Research Institute at Soroka University Medical Center. | |
Dutch court stubs out smokers' corners in cafesA Dutch court on Tuesday upheld an appeal by anti-cigarette campaigners and barred the use of public spaces in cafes and bars reserved for smokers. | |
 | No proof at-home 'cranial stimulation' eases depression(HealthDay)—Devices that send electrical pulses to the brain—in the comfort of your own home—are a treatment option for depression and certain other conditions. But a new research review finds little evidence they work. |
 | The right way to weigh yourself(HealthDay)—The scale can be your best friend—or your worst enemy—when you're on a diet. |
 | EHRs not sufficient to ensure success in value-based care(HealthDay)—Electronic health records (EHRs) are not sufficient to ensure success in value-based care, according to an article published in Medical Economics. |
Painkiller may disrupt sex hormones, placing unborn babies at riskUse of the painkiller acetaminophen during pregnancy may cause harmful sex hormone abnormalities, according to a study led by San Diego researchers. | |
Gene expression patterns may help determine time of deathInternational team of scientists led by Roderic Guigó at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona showed that changes in gene expression in different tissues triggered by death can be used to predict the time of death of an individual. As reported in a paper published in Nature Communications this week, researchers suggest that by analysing a few readily available tissues (for example lung or skin tissue), the post-mortem interval (time elapsed since death) can be determined with considerable accuracy and may have implications for forensic analyses. | |
 | Quality toolkit improves care in Indian hospitalsA simple toolkit of checklists, education materials and quality and performance reporting improved the quality of care but not outcomes in hospitals in the south Indian state of Kerala and may have the potential to improve outcomes of heart attacks and other major cardiovascular disease events in other settings, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). |
Investigators highlight potential of exercise in addressing substance abuse in teensExercise has numerous, well-documented health benefits. Could it also play a role in preventing and reducing substance misuse and abuse in adolescents? This is the intriguing question that a team of investigators from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Cleveland Clinic seeks to answer. | |
 | One or more soda a day could decrease chances of getting pregnantThe amount of added sugar in the American diet has increased dramatically over the last 50 years. Much of that increase comes from higher intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, which constitute approximately one-third of the total added sugar consumption in the American diet. While consumption of these beverages has been linked to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, early menstruation, and poor semen quality, few studies have directly investigated the relationship between sugary drinks and fertility. |
 | Understanding a fly's body temperature may help people sleep betterIn findings that one day may help people sleep better, scientists have uncovered the first molecular evidence that two anciently conserved proteins in the brains of insects and mammals share a common biological ancestry as regulators of body temperature rhythms crucial to metabolism and sleep. |
Most children with sickle cell anemia not receiving key medication to stay healthyOne of the greatest health threats to children with sickle cell anemia is getting a dangerous bacterial infection—but most are not receiving a key medication to reduce the risk, a new study suggests. | |
 | Pride tops guilt as a motivator for environmental decisionsA lot of pro-environmental messages suggest that people will feel guilty if they don't make an effort to live more sustainably or takes steps to ameliorate climate change. But a recent study from Princeton University finds that highlighting the pride people will feel if they take such actions may be a better way to change environmental behaviors. |
 | For the win (or tie): Most avoid risk, despite better chance at rewardSay you're the coach of a basketball team that's trailing by two points in the dying seconds of a game. Your team has the ball and you call a timeout to set up a play. |
 | Scientists develop low-cost way to build gene sequencesA new technique pioneered by UCLA researchers could enable scientists in any typical biochemistry laboratory to make their own gene sequences for only about $2 per gene. Researchers now generally buy gene sequences from commercial vendors for $50 to $100 per gene. |
 | Researchers identify risk factors for sleep apnea during pregnancySnoring, older age and obesity may increase a pregnant woman's risk for sleep apnea—or interrupted breathing during sleep—according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study, which appears in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was supported by NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. |
Dutch agree law to list all citizens as organ donorsThe Netherlands approved ground-breaking legislation Tuesday that will in future register all citizens over the age of 18 as potential organ donors—unless they explicitly opt out. | |
 | Pregnant women deficient in vitamin D may give birth to obese childrenVitamin D deficiency in pregnant women could preprogram babies to grow into obese children and adults, according to a Keck School of Medicine of USC-led study. |
Scientists create most sophisticated human liver model yetScientists at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) have developed the most sophisticated mini-livers to date. These organoids can potentially help scientists better understand certain congenital liver diseases as well as speed up efforts to create liver tissue in the lab for transplantation into patients. | |
 | What is a 'normal' blood pressure response during exercise testing?New data from the University of Illinois at Chicago suggest that the guidelines used to evaluate an individual's peak blood pressure response during cardiopulmonary exercise testing, which were last updated in 1996 and help doctors screen for hypertension and cardiovascular disease, may need to be revised. |
 | Depression common in U.S., women hit hardest(HealthDay)—Nearly one in 10 U.S. adults has depression, and the rate is almost twice as high for women as men, health officials say. |
 | Omalizumab effective for chronic spontaneous urticaria(HealthDay)—Omalizumab, alone or in combination with a short-term course of corticosteroids, is highly effective for the treatment of refractory chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), according to a study published online Feb. 5 in the International Journal of Dermatology. |
 | Disparities seen in gastric cancer patients' receipt of pre-op chemo(HealthDay)—Racial and ethnic disparities in the use of preoperative chemotherapy exist among patients with gastric cancer in the United States, according to a study published online Feb. 2 in Cancer. |
 | USPSTF recommends against ovarian cancer screening(HealthDay)—The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends against screening for ovarian cancer in asymptomatic women. These findings form the basis of a final recommendation statement published in the Feb. 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. |
Study finds depression and fatigue increase women's risk of work-related injuriesWomen who suffer from depression, anxiety, and fatigue are more likely to be injured at work, according to a new study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine led by researchers from the Colorado School of Public Health's Center for Health, Work & Environment on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. The study found that these health factors significantly affected women's risk of injury but not men's risk. | |
Patients lack information about imaging examsPatients and their caregivers desire information about upcoming imaging examinations, but many are not getting it, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. The researchers found that half of all patients and caregivers end up seeking information on their own. | |
Protecting transplanted lungsPrimary graft dysfunction (PGD)—acute lung injury that develops within 72 hours of lung transplantation—is a major cause of illness and death after transplant. The mechanisms leading to PGD are not well understood, and there are no specific therapeutic interventions. | |
Arthritis drugs linked to lower Alzheimer's riskScientists from the University of Southampton have teamed up with researchers from the University of Oxford to look at whether existing drugs for arthritis have any effect on a person's risk of developing dementia. By looking at two groups of people – one receiving the drug treatment and one not – they found that fewer people developed dementia after five years of taking the drugs, compared to those who did not receive the treatment for arthritis. | |
 | Cardiff spin-out pioneers 'AI' ultrasound scannerA pilot by Cardiff University spin-out MedaPhor could bring future benefits to pregnant women. |
Nigeria reports 450 suspected cases of Lassa fever; 37 deadThe World Health Organization says as many as 450 people may have been infected with Lassa fever in Nigeria in less than five weeks. | |
 | NIH releases first dataset from unprecedented study of adolescent brain developmentThe National Institutes of Health today released to the scientific community an unparalleled dataset from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. To date, more than 7,500 youth and their families have been recruited for the study, well over half the participant goal. Approximately 30 terabytes of data (about three times the size of the Library of Congress collection), obtained from the first 4,500 participants, will be available to scientists worldwide to conduct research on the many factors that influence brain, cognitive, social, and emotional development. The ABCD study is the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States. |
 | SNMMI and ASNC issue joint guidelines for quantification of myocardial blood flow using PETThe Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's (SNMMI) Cardiovascular Council and the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) have issued the joint position paper, Clinical Quantification of Myocardial Blood Flow Using PET, which was jointly published in the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology and The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. |
 | Mayo Clinic minute: Three tips for healthy fitness during winterFrigid winter temperatures may make you want to skip your workout and curl up in a blanket indoors, but it's important not to let the weather affect your exercise plan. Dr. Sara Filmalter, a Mayo Clinic sports medicine specialist, says there are three things to remember if you're going to work out in the cold. |
Nivolumab immunotherapy safe, feasible during chemoradiation for adv. head and neck cancerAnalysis of a clinical trial, RTOG Foundation 3504, finds that nivolumab immunotherapy can be administered safely in conjunction with radiation therapy and chemotherapy for patients with newly diagnosed local-regionally advanced head and neck cancers. All patients in the trial were able to complete curative-intent radiation therapy even with the addition of the PD-1 inhibitor to platinum-based chemotherapy, and maintenance immunotherapy to one year was found to be feasible. The study will be presented today in an online news briefing and at the 2018 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium in Scottsdale, Arizona. | |
Lower-dose radiation effective, safe for HPV+ head and neck cancer after induction chemoResults of the phase II OPTIMA clinical trial indicate that patients with head and neck cancers associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV), including those with advanced nodal disease, can receive substantially lower radiation doses safely and effectively if they respond to induction chemotherapy initially. Patients who responded well to induction chemotherapy and subsequently received the lower-dose treatment experienced excellent survival—92 percent were without evidence of recurrence two years after treatment—and had improved functional outcomes with fewer side effects, compared to those who received standard chemoradiation therapy. The study will be presented today in an online news briefing and at the 2018 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium in Scottsdale, Arizona. | |
Phase II trial shows activity of durvalumab in recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancerAnalysis of the phase II CONDOR trial indicates that the immune checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab is tolerable among heavily pre-treated patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer and has the potential to slow growth in tumors with low or negative expression of the PD-L1 protein. The previously reported phase II HAWK trial demonstrated the safety and efficacy of durvalumab monotherapy in head and neck tumors that express high levels of PD-L1, and CONDOR (NCT02319044) is the first trial to show similar findings for durvalumab monotherapy in patients with low or negative PD-L1. The study will be presented today in an online news briefing and at the 2018 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium in Scottsdale, Arizona. | |
Cabozantinib shows significant first-line activity for differentiated thyroid cancerResults of a new phase II clinical trial indicate that cabozantinib offers an active therapy option for patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) that has progressed following surgery and treatment with radioactive iodine (RAI). Thirty-four of 35 patients in the trial experienced a reduction in tumor size following treatment with the targeted kinase inhibitor, and more than half experienced reductions in excess of 30 percent. The study will be presented today in an online news briefing and at the 2018 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium in Scottsdale, Arizona. | |
 | The impact of Hurricane Harvey on pregnant momsJohanna Bick, assistant professor of clinical psychology at the University of Houston, is launching a study of women who were pregnant during Hurricane Harvey, or who became pregnant within six months after, to track the role of stress in neonatal development and pregnancy outcomes and whether a simple online writing exercise can alleviate some of that anxiety. |
 | Is cupping therapy effective among athletes?Swimmer Michael Phelps's continued dominance at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics was accompanied by worldwide awareness of cupping. Cupping therapy has re-emerged as a potential approach to boost post-exercise metabolic recovery, reduce pain, and improve range of motion by increasing local microcirculation. But what does science tell us about the effectiveness or safety of cupping? A new systematic review that examines the results of eleven clinical trials encompassing nearly 500 participants is published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (JACM). |
 | Houston surgeons separate toddlers joined at chest, abdomenDoctors in Houston have successfully separated twin toddlers who were born in 2016 conjoined at the chest and abdomen. |
Biology news
 | When it comes to extinction, body size mattersOn a certain level, extinction is all about energy. Animals move over their surroundings like pacmen, chomping up resources to fuel their survival. If they gain a certain energy threshold, they reproduce, essentially earning an extra life. If they encounter too many empty patches, they starve, and by the end of the level it's game over. |
 | Genetic study of soil organisms reveals new family of antibioticsA team of researchers at Rockefeller University has discovered a new family of antibiotics by conducting a genetic study of a wide range of soil microorganism antibiotics. In their paper published in the journal Nature Microbiology, the group describes their study and how well samples of the new antibiotic worked in rats. |
 | Gene improves plant growth and conversion to biofuelsA research team led by the University of Georgia has discovered that manipulation of the same gene in poplar trees and switchgrass produced plants that grow better and are more efficiently converted to biofuels. |
 | Interdisciplinary approach yields new insights into human evolutionThe evolution of human biology should be considered part and parcel with the evolution of humanity itself, proposes Nicole Creanza, assistant professor of biological sciences. She is the guest editor of a new themed issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, the oldest scientific journal in the world, that focuses on an interdisciplinary approach to human evolution. |
 | Plants feel the heatIt's not just humans and animals that suffer when the mercury rises, plants feel the heat too. Heat stress is a major issue in agriculture and can significantly reduce crop yield. Even small increases in temperature can affect plant growth and development. While plants cannot move to a shady spot to escape the heat, they have developed strategies to protect themselves from heat stress when the sun comes out; however, how plants sense and respond to heat stress is not fully understood. |
 | Genetic limits threaten chickpeas, a globally critical foodPerhaps you missed the news that the price of hummus has spiked in Great Britain. The cause, as the New York Times reported on February 8: drought in India, resulting in a poor harvest of chickpeas. Far beyond making dips for pita bread, chickpeas are a legume of life-and-death importance—especially in India, Pakistan, and Ethiopia where 1 in 5 of the world's people depend on them as their primary source of protein. |
 | #EpicDuckChallenge shows we can count on dronesA few thousand rubber ducks, a group of experienced wildlife spotters and a drone have proven the usefulness and accuracy of drones for wildlife monitoring. |
Facial attraction: Red-fronted lemurs recognize photos of their own speciesWild red-fronted lemurs (Eulemur rufrifrons) appear to be able to recognize individuals belonging to the same species (conspecifics) from photographs, a study published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology suggests. | |
 | Surprising results from a unique bat study in the US reveal shifting behavioral patterns due to environmental changeHistorical radar data from weather monitoring archives have provided unprecedented access to the behaviours of the world's largest colony of migratory bats and revealed changes in the animals' seasonal habits with implications for pest management and agricultural production. |
 | Software package processes huge amounts of single-cell dataScientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München have developed a program that for managing enormous datasets. The software, called Scanpy, is a candidate for analyzing the Human Cell Atlas, and has recently been published in Genome Biology. |
 | Researchers find warmer oceans could increase invasive 'sea squirts'They're lovingly called 'sea squirts', but certain marine soft-bodied animals, or tunicates, could cause a giant-sized problem in cold water areas like the Gulf of Maine. New research from the University of New Hampshire shows that with a water temperature increase of just two degrees Celsius (or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) predicted in the coming years, the invasive tunicate species Botrylloides violaceus will be able to double their reproduction because warmer water allows them a longer growing season. This seemingly modest temperature increase could cause the sea squirts to take up more space on natural and artificial places where organisms grow (like the ocean floor or fishing lines), therefore crowding out native species and potentially creating more problems for the aquaculture and fishing industries who work along the northern New England coast. |
Microtubule bridges organize the cytoskeletons of cells in the early embryoScientists at A*STAR have discovered how cells in the nascent embryo organize the 'bones' that make up the skeleton, known as microtubules. While this discovery has resolved one mystery, it also raises a range of new questions. | |
 | Opinion: It's time for a more realistic approach to conservationThe tropics are home to the greatest diversity of plants and animals on Earth. Yet many of these hotspots are in war zones that disregard the rules of democracy and nurture an indefinite influence of corruption. |
 | Higher temperatures likely to affect sharp-tailed grouse, study findsA study by University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers has found that predicted increased temperatures across the Great Plains are likely to influence the survival of the sharp-tailed grouse, a native game bird species, by reducing nesting space. |
 | X chromosome not the reason for sex differences in lifespanThe shorter average lifespan of males compared to females appears not to be a result of the fact that males have only one X chromosome. This is the conclusion from a research study on fruit flies at Linköping University, Sweden. The results have been published in the scientific journal Evolution. |
 | Blue mussel shape is a powerful indicator for environmental changeTemperature, salinity and food supply are key influences on the shape of common blue mussels (Mytilus spp.), reveals a new study involving scientists from British Antarctic Survey. The research is published this week (12th February 2018) in the journal Scientific Reports. |
 | Snapping shrimp may act as 'dinner bell' for gray whales off Oregon coastScientists have for the first time captured the sounds of snapping shrimp off the Oregon coast and think the loud crackling from the snapping of their claws may serve as a dinner bell for eastern Pacific gray whales, according to new research being presented at the Ocean Sciences Meeting here today. |
 | Ocean winds influence seal pup migrationScientists have confirmed what native Alaskans have observed for centuries - maritime winds influence the travel patterns of northern fur seal pups. New research presented at the Ocean Sciences Meeting here today shows strong winds can potentially displace seal pups by hundreds of kilometers during their first winter migration. |
Building a DNA barcode library for the Canadian flora using herbarium collectionsThe dry, mothball-scented stacks of a herbarium might seem to be far away from the cutting edge of plant science. However, the curated plant specimens stored there contain irreplaceable genetic, morphological, ecological, and chemical information just waiting to be analyzed with modern techniques. In a new study in a recent issue of Applications in Plant Sciences, Dr. Maria Kuzmina at the University of Guelph and colleagues tapped this trove of information, showing that herbarium specimens can yield viable DNA barcode libraries. | |
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