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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for September 3, 2018:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | NASA anxious to hear from Mars rover as dust storm clearsNASA is anxious to hear from its dust-silenced Mars rover, Opportunity, as the planet's red skies clear. |
 | Image: Hubble's lucky observation of an enigmatic cloudThe little-known nebula IRAS 05437+2502 billows out among the bright stars and dark dust clouds that surround it in this striking image from the Hubble Space Telescope. It is located in the constellation of Taurus (the Bull), close to the central plane of our Milky Way galaxy. Unlike many of Hubble's targets, this object has not been studied in detail and its exact nature is unclear. |
 | Satellites more at risk from fast solar wind than a major space stormSatellites are more likely to be at risk from high-speed solar wind than a major geomagnetic storm according to a new UK-US study published this week in the Journal Space Weather. |
 | UAE announces first astronauts to go to space (Update)The United Arab Emirates has selected its first two astronauts to go on a mission to the International Space Station, Dubai's ruler said Monday. |
 | Underwater robots help NASA plan future deep-space missionsAn expedition that will help NASA search for life in deep space launched today – not with a rocket's roar, but with a gentle splash into the deep Pacific Ocean. The project, called the Systematic Underwater Biogeochemical Science and Exploration Analog, or SUBSEA, will use underwater robots to explore the biology, geology and chemistry of the environment around a deep-sea volcano off the coast of Hawaii. Scientists believe this is similar to what may exist on Saturn's moon Enceladus. Studying the extreme conditions where life can survive on Earth will help them understand the potential for life to exist on other ocean worlds in the solar system. |
Technology news
 | Fusion system has arms, hands to show how tasks are done"Body surrogacy." Technology's word masters have nailed this effort easily enough, but explaining what it is takes more than a few words. Several tech-watching sites were having a close look at a project called Fusion, which is a system that give you two extra robotic hands to get things done—thanks to a person remotely working in collaboration with you to do the task well. |
 | Huawei joins smart speaker crowd with standout routerSmart speakers represent a product category that will not disappear any time soon. A combo smart speaker-Internet router is in the news. It is the combo part that has won the company its hoped-for chatter. |
 | Scientists pioneer a new way to turn sunlight into fuelThe quest to find new ways to harness solar power has taken a step forward after researchers successfully split water into hydrogen and oxygen by altering the photosynthetic machinery in plants. |
 | Tech nostalgia on show at Berlin's IFAFor many consumers, rewinding cassettes, carefully placing a needle on a record or shaking dry a Polaroid photo may all feel like long-forgotten gestures from a bygone era. |
 | California net neutrality bill clears key hurdleThe California Assembly voted Wednesday to enshrine net neutrality in state law, delivering a major victory to advocates looking to require an equal playing field on the internet. |
 | China's 'Silk Road' project runs into debt jamChina's massive and expanding "Belt and Road" trade infrastructure project is running into speed bumps as some countries begin to grumble about being buried under Chinese debt. |
 | Facebook adds Alaska's Inupiaq as language optionBritt'Nee Brower grew up in a largely Inupiat Eskimo town in Alaska's far north, but English was the only language spoken at home. |
 | Europe's new privacy law causes influx of cookie notices, many of which likely fall short legallyChances are in the past few months you may have had a message or two pop up on a major website informing you of an update in their privacy policy or asking if you understand that the company is using cookies to collect data about you. |
 | Video: Stretchy wires for the futureScientists at Duke Chemistry, NC State Engineering and the University of California – San Diego have teamed up to create stretchable, flexible wires that conduct current and change colors to indicate they're about to reach the breaking point. |
 | UK demands action from tech giants over online child abuseBritain warned Monday that internet giants could face new laws if they fail to tackle online child abuse content, with up to 80,000 people in the country deemed to pose a threat. |
 | The next iPhones, Apple Watch leak as Apple preps for Sept. 12 eventApple may be preparing to announce new iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches on Sept. 12, but it looks like someone has decided to share the images of the new products a bit early. |
 | Apple buying Tesla? A 'poor idea,' says Warren BuffettWhen Warren Buffett talks, everybody listens. And one person who might want to listen closely is Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook. |
 | Say a fond farewell to the small smartphoneLet's take a moment this weekend to praise and fondly remember the compact smartphone. |
 | Berlin fair a dreamland for wannabe sandmen of 'sleep tech'As people in developed nations increasingly obsess over the quality of their 40 winks, technology companies are cashing in with so-called "sleep tech"—gadgets to stop wearers snoring or collect data on their sleep cycles. |
 | EU lifts restrictions on solar panels from ChinaThe European Union will end its five-year-old restrictions on solar panel imports from China, officials said Monday, as Brussels and Beijing increase their own trade cooperation in the face of protectionist steps from the United States. |
 | London show explores hidden world of facial recognitionDon't judge by appearances. It's an age-old piece of advice that is being roundly ignored by corporations, governments and law-enforcement agencies around the globe. |
 | China blocks Australian state broadcaster's website: ABCChina has blocked access to the website of Australia's national broadcaster for breaching Beijing's internet rules and regulations, ABC said on Monday. |
 | Group: US, Russia block consensus at 'killer robots' meetingA key opponent of high-tech, automated weapons known as "killer robots" is blaming countries like the U.S. and Russia for blocking consensus at a U.N.-backed conference, where most countries wanted to ensure that humans stay at the controls of lethal machines. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Infants can distinguish between leaders and bullies, study findsA new study finds that 21-month-old infants can distinguish between respect-based power asserted by a leader and fear-based power wielded by a bully. |
 | Age, race or need for instant gratification—which best predicts how much you will earn?For the first time, Temple University researchers have used machine learning to rank the most important determinants of future affluence. Education and occupation were the best predictors—but surprisingly, a person's ability to delay instant gratification was also among the most important determinants of higher income, beating age, race, ethnicity and height. Published in Frontiers in Psychology, the study suggests that interventions to improve this "delay discounting" could have literal payoffs in terms of higher income attainment. |
 | Inherited gene that leads to Huntington's causes changes in brain development from a young ageThe inherited gene that leads to Huntington's disease has been found to affect brain development from an early age, even though most patients don't develop symptoms of the disease until they are between the ages of 30 and 50. |
 | Ground-breaking approach accelerates drug discovery processAn international collaboration between Imperial College London, Singapore's Duke-NUS Medical School and Belgium-based pharmaceutical company UCB led to the discovery of a new anti-epileptic drug target and a whole new approach that promises to speed up the discovery of future drugs to treat debilitating diseases, such as epilepsy. |
 | How sickled red blood cells stick to blood vesselsOne of the most common complications of sickle-cell disease occurs when deformed red blood cells clump together, blocking tiny blood vessels and causing severe pain and swelling in the affected body parts. |
 | Scientists engineer way to prevent immune response to gene therapy in miceStanford University School of Medicine researchers have demonstrated that gene therapy can be effective without causing a dangerous side effect common to all gene therapy: an autoimmune reaction to the normal protein, which the patient's immune system is encountering for the first time. |
 | Drug-resistant superbug spreading in hospitals: studyA superbug resistant to all known antibiotics that can cause "severe" infections or even death is spreading undetected through hospital wards across the world, scientists in Australia warned on Monday. |
Oregon's only heart transplant program shuts downThe only Oregon hospital to offer heart transplants abruptly shut down its program Friday, leaving nearly two dozen patients on its waitlist to seek out-of-state treatment and hundreds of others in limbo for post-operative care. | |
 | Study shows health, reaction-time declines in firefightersRandy Brooks' son had a request three years ago: What could his dad do to make wildland firefighting safer? |
 | Microwave weapon suspected in mystery attacks on US diplomats: reportDoctors and scientists increasingly suspect attacks with unconventional microwave weapons as the cause of the mysterious ailments that have stricken more than three dozen American diplomats and their families in Cuba and China, The New York Times reported Sunday. |
 | Experiencing homelessness for longer than six months can cause significant damage to a child's healExperiencing homelessness at any time during the pre- or postnatal period can negatively affect a young child's health. Researchers at Children's HealthWatch, based out of Boston Medical Center (BMC), found that children who experienced both pre- and post-natal homelessness and those who experienced homelessness for longer than six months were at highest risk of negative health outcomes. These findings, published in Pediatrics, illustrate the urgent need to intervene and rapidly house children and families experiencing homelessness to minimize the negative health outcomes. |
 | Swedes enjoy world-class healthcare—when they get itAsia Nader didn't know whether to worry more about being diagnosed with a hole in her heart at the age of 21, or having to wait a year for Swedish doctors to fix it. |
HIV prevention drug could be hindered by slow roll outA promising new drug that almost entirely eliminates the risk of contracting HIV might fail to control the epidemic in New Zealand if not enough people are using it. | |
 | Five of the scariest antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the past five yearsNearly one million people die every year from bacterial infections that cannot be treated with common antibiotics. This is frightening because right now we don't have any alternatives to these antibiotics. |
 | Prof demystifies long-term health damage of backpacksIt's that time of year again. Store shelves are stocked full of back-to-school items and parents are making decisions about what to buy. |
 | New approach needed in the fight against superbugsAn international research team, led by Professor Peter Collignon from The Australian National University (ANU) Medical School, has found we need to take a much broader approach than simply focusing on antibiotic usage, when it comes to fighting the spread of "superbugs". |
Patients with new-onset AFib after TAVR at highest risk for complicationsPatients developing AFib after TAVR are at higher risk of death, stroke and heart attack compared to patients who already had AFib prior to the procedure, according to a study today in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions. The paper is the first nationwide examination of patients who developed AFib for the first time following TAVR. | |
Children born through IVF may have higher risk of hypertensionChildren conceived through assisted reproductive technologies may be at an increased risk of developing arterial hypertension early in life, among other cardiovascular complications, according to a Swiss study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. | |
 | Targeted and population-based strategies both necessary for blood pressure controlHypertension, or high blood pressure, is the leading risk factor for heart disease, and improvements in both targeted and population-based strategies for blood pressure control can lead to better prevention and control of hypertension, according to a review paper published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. This paper is part of an eight-part health promotion series where each paper will focus on a different risk factor for cardiovascular disease. |
S.Africa declares end of listeria outbreak that killed 200South Africa on Monday declared an official end to the world's worst recorded listeria outbreak after it killed 216 people and sickened more than 1,000 since early 2017. | |
 | All children should receive flu vaccine ASAP, doctors advise(HealthDay)—All children 6 months of age and older should have a flu shot, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says. |
 | Losing weight the online way(HealthDay)—Not being able to attend face-to-face meetings doesn't mean you can't get the benefits of joining an organized diet group. All you need is an internet connection. |
 | Ground chuck products recalled by publix super markets(HealthDay)—Possible Escherichia coli contamination has triggered the recall of ground beef products made from chuck that were sold at Publix Super Markets in Florida. |
 | Helmets may not protect skiers from traumatic brain injury(HealthDay)—The use of helmets may not protect alpine sports participants from traumatic brain injury, according to a study recently published in Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. |
 | Californians living longer with cancer—some longer than othersAs he grew older, Dale Kunitomi paid closer attention to his health—and to his doctor's advice. When he noticed rectal bleeding in 2010, he went to see his physician, who ordered a colonoscopy. |
Health officials, worried about outbreak, investigate HIV cluster in North SeattleA cluster of eight people in North Seattle, described as heterosexuals, drug users, and recently homeless, has been diagnosed with HIV infections since February, and health officials are worried that their cases could represent a new pattern of transmission for a virus that has been in steep decline. | |
 | Over past 20 years, percentage of children with ADHD nearly doublesThe number of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has reached more than 10 percent, a significant increase during the past 20 years, according to a study released Friday. |
 | From penny press to Snapchat: Parents fret through the agesWhen Stephen Dennis was raising his two sons in the 1980s, he never heard the phrase "screen time," nor did he worry much about the hours his kids spent with technology. When he bought an Apple II Plus computer, he considered it an investment in their future and encouraged them to use it as much as possible. |
 | Ebola survivors returning home to fear, stigma in CongoLeoni Kahumbu remembers the night her 15-year-old daughter, Pascaline, first showed signs of Ebola. She found her fainted on the bathroom floor, blood everywhere. |
 | Can changing our views on death improve how we live our lives?Life is not possible without death and yet, modern medicine has waged an unending war against death. Now, a Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) residential fellow is exploring how the concept of kenosis might create a common ground for personal growth, mutual understanding, civil discourse and productive policymaking in today's diverse and polarized society. |
 | Who am I? How our perceived sporting ability influences our identityAre you good at sport? Do your parents think you're good at sport? And how do those perceptions influence your sense of identity? A study of 160 adolescents aged 12 to 14 in Perth found that boys with good motor coordination have healthier identities than those with lower motor coordination. |
Biology news
 | Chaos-inducing genetic approach stymies antibiotic-resistant superbugsA genetic disruption strategy developed by University of Colorado Boulder researchers effectively stymies the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as E. coli, giving scientists a crucial leg up in the ongoing battle against deadly superbugs. |
 | 8,000 new antibiotic combinations are surprisingly effective, biologists reportScientists have traditionally believed that combining more than two drugs to fight harmful bacteria would yield diminishing returns. The prevailing theory is that that the incremental benefits of combining three or more drugs would be too small to matter, or that the interactions among the drugs would cause their benefits to cancel one another out. |
 | A breakthrough for Australia's fishA research team from the Threatened Species Recovery Hub has made a breakthrough that could help dwindling numbers of Australian freshwater fish species. |
 | Tracking marine migrations across geopolitical boundaries aids conservationThe leatherback sea turtle is the largest living turtle and a critically endangered species. Saving leatherback turtles from extinction in the Pacific Ocean will require a lot of international cooperation, however, because the massive turtles may visit more than 30 different countries during their migrations. |
 | Are these humpback whales too close for comfort?As many as six humpback whales were spotted in Boston Harbor on Wednesday, a rare sight in the congested shipping port. But the whales probably weren't lost, according to Joseph Ayers, a professor at Northeastern's Marine Science Center in Nahant, Massachusetts. They were probably just looking for a snack. |
 | What is fake honey and why didn't the official tests pick it up?Australia has been rocked this week by reports that many products labelled as honey are actually fake or "adulterated" honey. |
 | Newly sequenced golden eagle genome will help its conservationConservation and monitoring efforts for the golden eagle will benefit from the newly-completed golden eagle genome sequence – the first of 25 species' genomes sequenced by the Wellcome Sanger Institute, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh. |
 | Brazil court lifts ban on glyphosate weedkillerAn appellate court on Monday lifted a court-ordered suspension of licenses in Brazil for products containing glyphosate, an industrial weedkiller in common use in Latin America's agricultural powerhouse. |
China culls 38,000 pigs as swine fever spreadsMore than 38,000 pigs have been culled across China, state media said Sunday, as the world's largest pork producer scrambles to contain an outbreak of African swine fever. | |
 | Sri Lanka probes deaths of wild elephantsSri Lankan authorities on Monday began investigating the deaths of wild elephants in the east of the island after pulling seven carcasses out of a marsh, a minister said. |
 | France begins vaccinating cows, sheep against anthraxThe eastern French region of Hautes-Alpes said Monday it has begun vaccinating cows and sheep against anthrax after an outbreak of the fatal virus in the region. |
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