Science X Newsletter Week 38

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 38:

	First detection of matter falling into a black hole at 30 percent of the speed of light A UK team of astronomers report the first detection of matter falling into a black hole at 30 percent of the speed of light, located in the centre of the billion-light year distant galaxy PG1211+143. The team, led by Professor Ken Pounds of the University of Leicester, used data from the European Space Agency's X-ray observatory XMM-Newton to observe the black hole. Their results appear in a new paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
	Simulation shows nuclear pasta 10 billion times harder to break than steel A trio of researchers affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. and Canada has found evidence that suggests nuclear material beneath the surface of neutron stars may be the strongest material in the universe. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, M. E. Caplan, A. S. Schneider, and C. J. Horowitz describe their neutron star simulation and what it showed.
	Colon cancer is caused by bacteria and cell stress Researchers at Technical University Munich have reported findings related to the development of colon cancer. "We originally wanted to study the role of bacteria in the intestines in the development of intestinal inflammation," explains Professor Dirk Haller from the Department of Nutrition and Immunology at the Weihenstephan Science Centre of the TUM. "However, the surprising result for us was the discovery that bacteria, together with stress in cells, caused tumours (exclusively in the colon) and without the involvement of inflammation."
	Super cheap earth element to advance new battery tech to the industry Most of today's batteries are made up of rare lithium mined from the mountains of South America. If the world depletes this source, then battery production could stagnate.
	Octopuses given mood drug 'ecstasy' reveal genetic link to evolution of social behaviors in humans By studying the genome of a kind of octopus not known for its friendliness toward its peers, then testing its behavioral reaction to a popular mood-altering drug called MDMA or "ecstasy," scientists say they have found preliminary evidence of an evolutionary link between the social behaviors of the sea creature and humans, species separated by 500 million years on the evolutionary tree.
	Closest planet ever discovered outside solar system could be habitable with a dayside ocean In August of 2016, astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) confirmed the existence of an Earth-like planet around Proxima Centauri – the closest star to our solar system. In addition, they confirmed that this planet (Proxima b) orbited within its star's habitable zone. Since then, multiple studies have been conducted to determine if Proxima b could in fact be habitable.
	The brain predicts words before they are pronounced The brain is not only able to finish the sentences of others: A study by the Basque research centre BCBL has shown for the first time that it can also anticipate an auditory stimulus and determine the phonemes and specific words the speaker is going to pronounce.
	Why do we love bees but hate wasps? A lack of understanding of the important role of wasps in the ecosystem and economy is a fundamental reason why they are universally despised whereas bees are much loved, according to UCL-led research.
	How slick water and black shale in fracking combine to produce radioactive waste Radioactivity in fracking wastewater comes from the interaction between a chemical slurry and ancient shale during the hydraulic fracturing process, according to Dartmouth College research.
	New brain research suggests that schizophrenia is an extreme version of a common personality type Researchers have found that the signals in people's brains differ depending on a particular aspect of an individual's personality, termed Schizotypy, a discovery that could improve the way schizophrenia is characterised and treated.
	Geoscientists find unexpected 'deep creep' near San Andreas, San Jacinto faults A new analysis of thousands of very small earthquakes that have occurred in the San Bernardino basin near the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults suggests that the unusual deformation of some—they move in a different way than expected—may be due to "deep creep" 10 km below the Earth's surface, say geoscientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
	Household cleaning products may contribute to kids' overweight by altering their gut microbiota Commonly used household cleaners could be making children overweight by altering their gut microbiota, suggests a Canadian study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
	End-Permian extinction, which wiped out most of Earth's species, was instantaneous in geological time The most severe mass extinction in Earth's history occurred with almost no early warning signs, according to a new study by scientists at MIT, China, and elsewhere.
	Scientists determine four personality types based on new data Northwestern University researchers have sifted through data from more than 1.5 million questionnaire respondents and found at least four distinct clusters of personality types exist: average, reserved, self-centered and role model. The findings challenge existing paradigms in psychology.
	Study finds people flock, or behave similarly to others, despite reasoning abilities Crowd panics, market bubbles, and other unpredictable collective behaviors would not happen if people were smart about these things and just thought through their behavior before they acted. Right? That's the perspective in economics, and even psychology and sociology.
	Gaia detects a shake in the Milky Way A team led by researchers from the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB, UB-IEEC) and the University of Groningen has found, through the analysis of Gaia data, substructures in the Milky Way that were previously unknown. The findings, which appeared when combining positions and speed of 6 million stars from the galactic disk, have been published in the journal Nature.
	For-profit hospitals correlated with higher readmission rates Patients who receive care in a for-profit hospital are more likely to be readmitted than those who receive care in nonprofit or public hospitals, according to a new study published by University of Illinois at Chicago researchers.
	Germany rolls out world's first hydrogen train Germany on Monday rolled out the world's first hydrogen-powered train, signalling the start of a push to challenge the might of polluting diesel trains with costlier but more eco-friendly technology.
	Intestinal bacteria produce electric current from sugar Intestinal bacteria can create an electric current, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden. The results are valuable for the development of drugs, but also for the production of bioenergy, for example.
	Solar panels replaced tarmac on a motorway—here are the results Four years ago a viral campaign wooed the world with a promise of fighting climate change and jump-starting the economy by replacing tarmac on the world's roads with solar panels. The bold idea has undergone some road testing since then. The first results from preliminary studies have recently come out, and they're a bit underwhelming.

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