Science X Newsletter Week 44

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 44:

	Kepler telescope dead after finding thousands of worlds NASA's elite planet-hunting spacecraft has been declared dead, just a few months shy of its 10th anniversary.
	World's last wilderness may vanish The world's last wilderness areas are rapidly disappearing, with explicit international conservation targets critically needed, according to University of Queensland-led research.
	Could 'Oumuamua be an extraterrestrial solar sail? On October 19th, 2017, the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System-1 (Pan-STARRS-1) in Hawaii announced the first-ever detection of an interstellar asteroid, named 1I/2017 U1 (aka, "Oumuamua). In the months that followed, multiple follow-up observations were conducted that allowed astronomers to get a better idea of its size and shape, while also revealing that it had the characteristics of both a comet and an asteroid.
	Researchers achieve breakthrough in process to produce hydrogen fuel Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology researchers have cracked the chemical mechanism that will enable development of a new and more efficient photo-chemical process to produce hydrogen fuel from water, according to a new paper published in Nature Communications.
	Bitcoin can push global warming above 2 C in a couple decades A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change finds that if Bitcoin is implemented at similar rates at which other technologies have been incorporated, it alone could produce enough emissions to raise global temperatures by 2°C as soon as 2033.
	Anti-cancer virus fits tumor receptor like a 'key in a lock' Seneca Valley virus sounds like the last bug you'd want to catch, but it could be the next breakthrough cancer therapy. Now, scientists at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and the University of Otago have described exactly how the virus interacts with tumors—and why it leaves healthy tissues alone.
	Babies born at home have more diverse, beneficial bacteria, study finds Infants born at home have more diverse bacteria in their guts and feces, which may affect their developing immunity and metabolism, according to a study in Scientific Reports.
	Animal species becoming extinct in Haiti as deforestation nearly complete Species of reptiles, amphibians and other vertebrates are becoming extinct in Haiti as deforestation has claimed more than 99 percent of the country's original wooded areas.
	Coconut oil compounds repel insects better than DEET Compounds derived from coconut oil are better than DEET at repelling blood-sucking insects, according to a new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) study.
	Most detailed observations of material orbiting close to a black hole ESO's exquisitely sensitive GRAVITY instrument has added further evidence to the long-standing assumption that a supermassive black hole lurks in the centre of the Milky Way. New observations show clumps of gas swirling around at about 30% of the speed of light on a circular orbit just outside its event horizon—the first time material has been observed orbiting close to the point of no return, and the most detailed observations yet of material orbiting this close to a black hole.
	Astronomers discover the giant that shaped the early days of our Milky Way Some 10 billion years ago, the Milky Way merged with a large galaxy. The stars from this partner, named Gaia-Enceladus, make up most of the Milky Way's halo and also shaped its thick disk, giving it its inflated form. A description of this mega-merger, discovered by an international team led by University of Groningen astronomer Amina Helmi, is now published in the scientific journal Nature.
	High exposure to radio frequency radiation associated with cancer in male rats The National Toxicology Program (NTP) concluded there is clear evidence that male rats exposed to high levels of radio frequency radiation (RFR) like that used in 2G and 3G cell phones developed cancerous heart tumors, according to final reports released today. There was also some evidence of tumors in the brain and adrenal gland of exposed male rats. For female rats, and male and female mice, the evidence was equivocal as to whether cancers observed were associated with exposure to RFR. The final reports represent the consensus of NTP and a panel of external scientific experts who reviewed the studies in March after draft reports were issued in February.
	New quantum criticality discovered in superconductivity Using solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) techniques, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory discovered a new quantum criticality in a superconducting material, leading to a greater understanding of the link between magnetism and unconventional superconductivity.
	Lifespan and sexual maturity depends on your brain more than your body New Vanderbilt research finds how long humans and other warm-blooded animals live—and when they reach sexual maturity— may have more to do with their brain than their body. More specifically, it is not animals with larger bodies or slower metabolic rates that live longer; it is animals with more neurons in the cerebral cortex, whatever the size of the body.
	Researchers identify three sub-types of depression According to the World Health Organization, nearly 300 million people worldwide suffer from depression and these rates are on the rise. Yet, doctors and scientists have a poor understanding of what causes this debilitating condition and for some who experience it, medicines don't help.
	Trippy depression treatment? Hopes and hype for ketamine It was launched decades ago as an anesthetic for animals and people, became a potent battlefield pain reliever in Vietnam and morphed into the trippy club drug Special K.
	Giant flightless birds were nocturnal and possibly blind If you encountered an elephant bird today, it would be hard to miss. Measuring in at over 10 feet tall, the extinct avian is the largest bird known to science. However, while you looked up in awe, it's likely that the big bird would not be looking back.
	New evidence pot may harm the teen brain (HealthDay)—Teens who stop smoking pot can think and learn better afterward, even if they are only light users, a new study reports.
	Earth's oceans have absorbed 60 percent more heat than previously thought For each year during the past quarter century, the world's oceans have absorbed an amount of heat energy that is 150 times the energy humans produce as electricity annually, according to a study led by researchers at Princeton and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-San Diego. The strong ocean warming the researchers found suggests that Earth is more sensitive to fossil-fuel emissions than previously thought.
	Cancer's most deadly assassin exists in every cell A kill code is embedded in every cell in the body whose function may be to cause the self-destruction of cells that become cancerous, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. As soon as the cell's inner bodyguards sense it is mutating into cancer, they punch in the kill code to extinguish the mutating cell.

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