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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for January 8, 2019:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Computer simulation sheds new light on colliding starsUnprecedented detail of the aftermath of a collision between two neutron stars depicted in a 3-D computer model created by a University of Alberta astrophysicist provides a better understanding of how some of the universe's fundamental elements form in cosmic collisions. |
 | 'Missing' galactic mergers come to light with new techniqueGalaxy mergers—in which two galaxies join together over billions of years in sometimes-dramatic bursts of light—aren't always easy for astronomers to spot. Now, scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a new technique for finding these cosmic couplings in surveys of the night sky. |
 | Nature's magnifying glass reveals unexpected intermediate mass exoplanetsAstronomers have found a new exoplanet that could alter the standing theory of planet formation. With a mass that's between that of Neptune and Saturn, and its location beyond the "snow line" of its host star, an alien world of this scale was supposed to be rare. |
 | Young planets orbiting red dwarfs may lack ingredients for lifeRocky planets orbiting red dwarf stars may be bone dry and lifeless, according to a new study using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Water and organic compounds, essential for life as we know it, may get blown away before they can reach the surface of young planets. |
 | Nearly a third of all galaxy clusters may have been previously unnoticedIn 1933, Fritz Zwicky, famous American astronomer of Swiss origin, arrived at the astonishing conclusion that even though galaxies are the signposts of galaxy clusters, their contribution to the total cluster mass is minuscule in comparison to a dominant dark matter component. Current estimates of a cluster total mass indicates that the contributions are roughly: |
 | TESS rounds up its first planets, snares far-flung supernovaeNASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has found three confirmed exoplanets, or worlds beyond our solar system, in its first three months of observations. |
 | Asteroid-circling spacecraft grabs cool snapshot of homeAn asteroid-circling spacecraft has captured a cool snapshot of home. |
Technology news
 | A system to generate new song lyrics that match the style of specific artistsResearchers at the University of Waterloo, Canada, have recently developed a system for generating song lyrics that match the style of particular music artists. Their approach, outlined in a paper pre-published on arXiv, uses a variational autoencoder (VAE) with artist embeddings and a CNN classifier trained to predict artists from MEL spectrograms of their song clips. |
 | Hyundai shows off walking car projectSouth Korean car maker Hyundai on Monday gave a look at work it is doing on a vehicle with robotic legs to let it walk or crawl over treacherous terrain. |
 | GoSun woos outdoor cooks with Fusion's solar powerMany organizations are striving to create fewer emissions or less pollution in their products. It was always likely that CES 2019 would reflect the times and that companies launching environmentally friendly products would definitely be pulling up to the hotel curbs. |
 | Study suggests solar energy a good option for mountainous Swiss regionsA trio of researchers at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne has found that solar panels could provide a lot more power for Switzerland than has been previously thought. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Annelen Kahl, Jérôme Dujardin and Michael Lehning describe their feasibility study of solar panel use in mountainous Swiss regions using satellite data. |
 | Termite-gut microbes extract clean energy from coalTermites generally don't elicit a whole lot of love. But surprisingly, this wood-eating insect may hold the key to transforming coal—a big polluting chunk of the global energy supply—into cleaner energy for the world, according to University of Delaware researchers. |
 | Researchers create a wireless, battery-free, biodegradable blood flow sensorA new device developed by Stanford University researchers could make it easier for doctors to monitor the success of blood vessel surgery. The sensor, detailed in a paper published Jan. 8 in Nature Biomedical Engineering, monitors the flow of blood through an artery. It is biodegradable, battery-free and wireless, so it is compact and doesn't need to be removed and it can warn a patient's doctor if there is a blockage. |
 | Giving up gas: China's Shenzhen switches to electric taxisOne of China's major cities has reached an environmental milestone: an almost entirely electric-powered taxi fleet. |
 | SoftBank scaling back WeWork investment: reportSoftBank is scaling back plans for fresh investment in shared-office provider WeWork, reports said Tuesday, slashing a multi-billion-dollar injection in the loss-making company. |
 | Samsung Electronics flags near-30% slump in Q4 operating profitSamsung Electronics on Tuesday flagged its first quarterly profit drop in two years and painted a grim outlook owing to mounting competition from Chinese smartphone makers and declining chip prices. |
 | Tech firms see good times as flexible displays roll, and foldElectronic displays that fold, roll and bend have finally arrived after years of development, and tech firms are touting the technology as a potential source of growth and new applications. |
CES 2019: "Alexa, I'm still waiting for you to flush the potty"The Numi toilet from Kohler was impossible to ignore. | |
CES 2019: Alexa vs. Google, foldable TVs and 5G to take center stage in Las VegasEvery year, the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off the new year with a smorgasbord of new gadgets that may—or may not—ever see the light of day, gee-whiz new prototypes that do, indeed, wow us, and lots of talk about the next big thing in tech that's right around the corner. | |
 | Tackling greenhouse gasesThe images are ubiquitous: A coastal town decimated by another powerful hurricane, satellite images showing shrinking polar ice caps, a school of dead fish floating on the surface of warming waters, swaths of land burnt by an out-of-control wildfire. These dire portrayals share a common thread—they offer tangible evidence that climate change is affecting every corner of the globe. |
 | TikTok: the world's most valuable startup that you've never heard ofAnticipation has long been building about the impending takeover of the tech world by Chinese digital giants like Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, and JD. Efforts so far, however, have been largely disappointing. The most popular messaging app in the West is WhatsApp, not WeChat; people use PayPal, not Alipay, for digital payments; Google dominates the search market, not Baidu. |
 | Building wind turbines where they're not wanted brings down property valuesThe question of whether or not wind turbines have decreased property values in Ontario has been a point of contention in recent years, and fuelled by the rapid expansion of the wind energy industry following the implementation of the Green Energy Act in 2009. (The current provincial government is in the process of repealing the act.) |
 | Very risky business: The pros and cons of insurance companies embracing artificial intelligenceIt's a new day not very far in the future. You wake up; your wristwatch has recorded how long you've slept, and monitored your heartbeat and breathing. You drive to work; car sensors track your speed and braking. You pick up some breakfast on your way, paying electronically; the transaction and the calorie content of your meal are recorded. |
 | Artificial neural networks make life easier for hearing aid usersFor people with hearing loss, it can very difficult to understand and separate voices in noisy environments. This problem may soon be history thanks to a new groundbreaking algorithm that is designed to recognise and separate voices efficiently in unknown sound environments. |
 | Defeating credit card fraudOnline behavioural targeting and device fingerprinting could be used to combat credit card fraud according to a team from Botswana International University of Science and Technology, in Palapye, Botswana. Writing in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics, Motlhaleemang Moalosi, Hlomani Hlomani, and Othusitse Phefo explain how there are numerous existing credit card fraud detection techniques employed by card issuers and other stakeholders. Nevertheless, billions of dollars are lost each year to fraudsters. |
 | Blockchains in real timeBlockchains promise widescale open Internet applications that are organised decentrally, but this comes at the price of slow performance for every transaction processed by the system. Cryptography researchers working with Professor Sebastian Faust have achieved global awareness with their approach to facilitating real-time transactions using blockchains such as Ethereum. |
 | Smartphones: The cultural, individual and technical processes that make them smartHas there ever been an invention so integral to our lives, and so intimate, as the smartphone? Yet they are slippery things. Smartphones are both a step change in the ability of human beings to communicate with each other and become informed, and a new point of vulnerability to penetration by the outside world. They are at once talismans of our freedom and connectivity and tokens of the corporations who collect our data and impinge on our privacy. |
 | Samsung, like Apple, feels sting of slowing global growthSamsung expects its quarterly operating profit to fall 29 percent compared with last year, adding to the tech sector's unease about the effect of slowing global economic growth on the industry. |
 | NREL details great potential for floating PV systemsNational Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers estimate that installing floating solar photovoltaics on the more than 24,000 man-made U.S. reservoirs could generate about 10 percent of the nation's annual electricity production. Their findings, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, reveal for the first time the potential for floating PV to produce electricity in the United States. |
 | Drone sighting briefly halts Heathrow Airport flightsLondon's Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest hub, suspended all departing flights for around an hour Tuesday following a drone sighting, just three weeks after a similar incident at Gatwick caused havoc. |
 | CES 2019: Local weather for the rest of the worldThe CES 2019 gadget show opened its doors Tuesday, with tech companies from giants to tiny startups showing off their latest products and services. |
 | Apple CEO confident of prospects despite naysayersShares of Apple nudged higher on Tuesday after Chief Executive Tim Cook touted the company's technology pipeline and characterized worries about the company's future as overwrought. |
A rollable TV? LG's latest OLED TV television packs a futuristic 'wow' factorTelevisions have long been a staple at CES. LG's latest OLED TV, however, takes the traditional TV experience and flips it. Or rather, rolls it. | |
Is cutting the cord part of your New Year's Resolution? Here's what you need to knowPerhaps your New Year's resolution goes like this: Stop sending hundreds of dollars monthly to cable and satellite companies in 2019. Cut the cord and save. | |
Apple's sales struggles could translate into new iPhone deals from wireless carriersApple has an iPhone upgrade problem. That much is very clear after Wednesday afternoon's investor note from CEO Tim Cook in which the company lowered its expected revenue to $84 billion from its initial projections of between $89 billion and $93 billion for its most recent quarter ending Dec. 29. | |
 | Austria's Post Office under fire over data sharingAustria's national post office found itself under fire Tuesday for collecting and selling information about customers' political allegiances in what privacy campaigners say bears similarities to the Facebook data-sharing scandal. |
 | Ex-Nissan boss Ghosn 'could spend six months in jail'Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn could spend another six months behind bars before his case comes to trial, his lawyer said Tuesday. |
 | Boeing flies past Airbus with 2018 aircraft deliveriesBoeing reported record commercial plane deliveries for the second straight year on Tuesday and although short of the company's forecast the figures still beat those of Boeing's European rival Airbus. |
 | French Renault workers unmoved as CEO Ghosn faces trial in JapanAs Renault's chief executive Carlos Ghosn made his first appearance in a Japanese court Tuesday over salary fraud charges, few of the carmaker's French workers were rushing to his defence. |
Google's latest Doodle featuring dinosaurs created by a second graderA second grader dreamt up Google's latest playful take on its logo. | |
 | Google Assistant will soon be on nearly 1 billion devices, company says at CES 2019Deep in a battle with Amazon's Alexa for the dominant voice companion, Google Assistant will be on 1 billion devices by the end of January, the company said. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Some Facebook users perceive worsening physical healthFacebook use linked to perceptions of worsening physical health, new research from the University of Surrey, reports. |
 | 'Meaningful' activities may mean healthier old ageOlder adults who find meaning in their daily activities may remain in better health as they age, a new study suggests. |
 | Essential nutrient may help fight Alzheimer's across generationsIn a new study, researchers at the Biodesign Institute explore a safe and simple treatment for one of the most devastating and perplexing afflictions: Alzheimer's disease (AD). |
 | Study sheds light on why checkpoint blockade therapy succeeds or failsA new study led by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital in collaboration with colleagues at the Broad Institute examines the effects of checkpoint blockade therapies on different populations of T cells, a key class of immune cells in tumors. The team's surprising results point to a population of T cells that have been overlooked in the past and led to the identification of a molecular factor that may be predictive of response to treatment. |
 | Hormone could slow Alzheimer's progressionQueen's University researcher Fernanda De Felice (Psychiatry), along with co-authors from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, have identified an exercise-linked hormone that could slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. This research was recently published in the high-profile publication, Nature Medicine. |
 | Flu vaccine supply gaps can intensify flu seasons, make pandemics deadlierMore than 50 million people died in the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919. Its 100th anniversary this flu season serves as a reminder to close flu vaccine supply gaps that may be costing lives now and could cost many more when the next "big one" strikes, researchers say. |
 | New genetic risk factors discovered for Alzheimer's diseaseA large-scale international study has discovered new genetic risk loci for Alzheimer's disease, and researchers published their work in Nature Genetics. |
 | New antibiotic proves to be effective against river blindness in miceA team of researchers from the U.K., the U.S., Japan and Germany has developed an antibiotic that kills a type of bacteria necessary for larval growth in the parasitic worm that causes river blindness. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their development of the antibiotic and how effective it was in treating river blindness in mice. |
 | Better understanding of aggressive brain tumourResearch led by Newcastle University has allowed scientists to gain a greater understanding into an aggressive form of childhood brain cancer. |
 | A gene found only in humans and active in the cerebral cortex can enlarge the ferret brainThe human brain owes its characteristic wrinkled appearance to its outer layer, the cerebral cortex. During human evolution, the neocortex, the evolutionarily youngest part of the cerebral cortex, expanded dramatically and had to fold into wrinkles to fit inside the restricted space of the skull. The human neocortex supports advanced cognitive skills such as reasoning and language. But how did the human neocortex become so big? The answer may lie in genes that are unique to humans, such as ARHGAP11B. |
 | Brain plasticity restored in adult mice through targeting specific nerve cell connectionsNeuroscientists at Tufts University School of Medicine, in collaboration with colleagues at Yale University School of Medicine, have discovered a new molecular mechanism that is essential for maturation of brain function and may be used to restore plasticity in aged brains. Unlike previous research that broadly manipulated brain plasticity using approaches that affected the entire brain, this study targets for the first time a specific molecule acting on a single type of neuronal connection to modulate brain function. This restores the brain's ability to rewire itself. |
 | Dental flossing and other behaviors linked with higher levels of toxic chemicals in the bodyA new study suggests certain types of consumer behaviors, including flossing with Oral-B Glide dental floss, contribute to elevated levels in the body of toxic PFAS chemicals. PFAS are water- and grease-proof substances that have been linked with numerous health problems. The findings provide new insight into how these chemicals end up in people's bodies and how consumers can limit their exposures by modifying their behavior. |
 | Over half of UK female surgeons have experience of workplace discrimination, poll suggestsMore than half of female surgeons in the UK have faced or witnessed discrimination in the workplace, suggest the results of a confidential online poll, published in the online journal BMJ Open. |
Environmental sustainability should be inherent to dietary guidanceIt is the position of the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB) that environmental sustainability should be inherent to dietary guidance, whether working with individuals or groups about their dietary choices or in setting national dietary guidance. Improving the nutritional health of a population is a long-term goal that requires ensuring the long-term sustainability of the food system. The position paper is published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. | |
Caring for preterm babies in single family rooms may help prevent sepsis and improve exclusive breastfeedingCaring for preterm babies in single family rooms appears to reduce the incidence of sepsis and improve exclusive breastfeeding rates compared with traditional open ward neonatal units, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal. | |
 | Saving sight: Using AI to diagnose diabetic eye diseaseResearchers have used artificial intelligence to support the instant diagnosis of one of the top causes of blindness, diabetes-related eye disease, in its earliest stages. |
 | High-fat diets appear bad for blood pressure in younger males and femalesThere's more evidence that a high-fat diet is bad for both younger males and females, but exactly how it's harmful may differ between the sexes, scientists report. |
 | Rituximab beneficial in secondary progressive MS(HealthDay)—For patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), treatment with rituximab is associated with a significantly lower Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score and delayed progression, according to a study published online Jan. 7 in JAMA Neurology. |
 | Trying Whole30 diet? Watch out for weight regain(HealthDay)—Thinking of eating healthier in 2019? Kickstarting with the Whole30 diet may be a good choice, a dietitian suggests. |
 | How common pain relievers may promote Clostridium difficile infectionsClostridium difficile causes the most common and most dangerous hospital-born infections in the United States and around the world. People treated with antibiotics are at heightened risk because those drugs disturb the microbial balance of the gut, but observational studies have also identified a link between severe C. difficile infections and use of NSAIDs, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The study is published in the journal, mBio. |
 | Hospital SIESTA project reduces inpatient sleep interruptionsSelective tinkering with the medical center's electronic health records (EHR) system, plus a 20-minute presentation to doctors and nurses on the consequences of in-hospital sleep deprivation, was able to change the behavior of caregivers in ways that allowed more patients to sleep undisturbed through the night. |
 | Flu vaccine is safe for hospitalized patientsHospitalized patients who received the flu vaccine had no increased risk of outpatient visits or hospital readmission within seven days of discharge, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. |
 | Medical marketing has skyrocketed in the past two decades, while oversight remains limitedHealthcare spending in the United States is the highest in the world: totaling $3.3 trillion—or 17.8% of the GDP—in 2016. To capture market share—and to expand the market—drug companies and healthcare organizations use a wide array of promotional activities, including TV and digital advertising, social media, disease awareness campaigns targeting consumers, and marketing to professionals via free drug samples or consulting payments. In an article recently published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers from The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice reviewed medical marketing (the marketing of prescription drugs, disease awareness, laboratory tests and health services to consumers and professionals) over a 20-year period from 1997 through 2016 and found that while it had increased dramatically from about $17.7 billion to $29.9 billion, regulation has not. |
 | Having more than one chronic disease amplifies costs of diseases, study findsHaving two or more non-communicable diseases (multimorbidity) costs the country more than the sum of those individual diseases would cost, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine by Tony Blakely from the University of Otago, New Zealand, and colleagues. |
 | Intermittent fasting could improve obese women's healthResearch carried out at the University of Adelaide shows that obese women lost more weight and improved their health by fasting intermittently while following a strictly controlled diet. |
 | Doctoral student gives tips for preventing, recovering from hangoverChampagne and New Year's Eve go hand-in-hand like, well, things that go hand-in-hand together. This New Year's Eve, some of us probably had more fun than we expected, drank more champagne than we expected and woke up feeling more like death than we expected. University of Arkansas health, sport and exercise science doctoral student Adam Seal has some tips for preventing (or recovering) from your next hangover. |
 | Anxiety-depressive disorder changes brain genes activityRussian neuroscientists discovered that anxiety-depressive disorder in mice is associated with impaired energy metabolism in the brain. The obtained data provides a fresh look at depression development and other psycho-emotional conditions. The results of the study are published in the BMC Neuroscience. |
 | Drug can boost long-term memory of objectsAllergy sufferers may use antihistamines to reduce symptoms, but new research reveals that better long-term memory might be possible with pro-histamine treatment. Long-term memory is used to remember anything before 48 hours ago. |
 | Charcoal and white teethCharcoal seems to be the latest thing—for cleansing your face and purifying your insides—and even brushing your teeth. But before you start using a charcoal-based toothpaste, it's best to realize that claims that it results in whiter and brighter teeth are unproven, and it may in fact be harmful. It's not among the small number of whitening products that have received the American Dental Association Seal of Acceptance, given after scientific evaluations for safety and effectiveness. |
 | Elevated blood lead level in early childhood associated with increased risk of academic problems in school-aged childrenSubstantial numbers of Cleveland's youngest students have had elevated levels of lead in their blood prior to kindergarten and these children have a higher risk of academic issues, according to two new studies by researchers at Case Western Reserve University. |
 | Genetically engineered mice mimic common sleep problemsMice that sleep fitfully could help researchers unravel the mystery of insomnia. |
 | Genetic risk for atypical heart attack in women identifiedNew research published by teams from Leicester, UK and Paris, France in collaboration with international partners from the US and Australia, has found a common genetic factor that confers a significant risk of atypical heart attacks in women. |
 | Different brain areas linked to smoking and drinkingAcademics at the University of Warwick have found that low functional connectivity of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex that is associated with the tendency to smoke is associated with increased impulsiveness—which may contribute to the tendency to smoke. The high connectivity of the reward-related medial orbitofrontal cortex in drinkers may increase the tendency to be attracted to the reward of alcohol consumption. |
 | Hospital gowns leave patients feeling open and vulnerable – their time is upMost of us feel vulnerable when hospitalised, and being told to strip off and put on a pre-worn, revealing, backless gown does nothing to improve matters. Being escorted in this attire, often through public areas of a hospital, pretty much completes the humiliation. |
 | Here's why doctors are backing pill testing at music festivals across AustraliaFor many years experts in the field of drug policy in Australia have known existing policies are failing. Crude messages (calls for total abstinence: "just say no to drugs") and even cruder enforcement strategies (harsher penalties, criminalisation of drug users) have had no impact on the use of drugs or the extent of their harmful effects on the community. |
 | Scientists develop new mouse model of Hirschsprung's diseaseAbout one in every 5,000 babies is born without enteric neurons in the distal colon resulting in Hirschsprung's disease. Because of the missing neurons, contents of the gut cannot pass normally, resulting in constipation and enlargement of colon. |
 | Key mechanism of epileptic seizures reportedRussian scientists investigated the changes in the temporal lobe cortex of a rat brain during prolonged epileptic seizures. Despite the complex interaction of neural signals, biologists and physicists managed to build their mathematical model and identified the key factor leading to the seizures. This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation and published in Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. |
 | Researchers develop new tuberculosis treatmentLed by researchers at RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland), a team of researchers has developed a new treatment for tuberculosis (TB). This work could offer a practical treatment that has the potential to be scaled-up and mass-produced for clinical testing. |
 | Long-term survival rate of patients with cardiac defect called tetralogy of FallotA new study from the University of Minnesota Medical School and Masonic Cancer Center researchers, recently published in JAMA Cardiology, evaluated the long-term survival rate of patients with a very serious cardiac defect called tetralogy of Fallot. |
 | Immune cell defect stimulates Alzheimer'sDefects in the gene TREM2 are linked to increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. The gene is required to activate immune cells called microglia in the brain, which help to eliminate the neurotoxic deposits that are typical of the disease. |
 | The biomechanics of vascular agingCardiovascular diseases (CVD) lead to atherosclerosis and heart failure and are prevalent age-related illnesses in humans. In a new study, published in the renowned journal JCI, scientists from Roland Foisner's group at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna, together with scientists from the Ludwig Boltzmann Cluster for Cardiovascular Research at the Center for Biomedical Research, Medical University of Vienna and from the BOKU, Vienna describe the molecular mechanism behind CVD in the premature aging disease Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS). The findings could also help understand normal aging processes in the cardiovascular system. |
 | Post-traumatic stress disorder: Alleviating flashbacks by playing TetrisA behavioural intervention procedure including the computer game Tetris could help people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to alleviate involuntarily recurring visual memories of traumatic experiences. This is the conclusion reached by a team from Ruhr-Universität Bochum together with a researcher from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden following a study of 20 inpatients with PTSD. Following an intervention involving playing Tetris, the number of flashbacks for the stressful events decreased. |
 | New insights into sarcoma open novel avenues of studyUndifferentiated uterine sarcoma is a very rare but extremely aggressive cancer type. It can be divided into four groups with different characteristics of clinical importance—a new study at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden reveals. The results, published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, also show that the survival rate of patients with a certain type of tumour is better than predicted. |
 | Obesity surgery leads to emergence of new microbial strains in the human fecal communityUsing a unique bioinformatics technique developed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, UAB researchers have detected the emergence of new strains of microbes in the human fecal microbiota after obesity surgery. These new strains emerged after surgical disruption of the stomach and upper small intestine. In contrast, the researchers found that strains of the human gut fecal microbiota resembled those found pre-surgery following surgery in the colon, which is the lower part of the gastrointestinal, or GI, tract. |
 | Walking app is a step in the right direction for patient's fitnessA walking app designed to assess and support physical activity in medical patients – in a simpler and more accessible way than many current methods—is being developed at the University of Strathclyde. |
 | Pyronaridine‐artesunate for treating uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malariaResearchers from LSTM have looked at the efficacy of using a novel artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), pyronaridine-artesunate, to treat malaria in areas where resistance to other ACTs is becoming a problem. The analysis finds it at least as effective as the currently used ACTs, if not better. |
 | Nigeria isn't doing enough to reduce tobacco use. Here's whyTobacco remains the biggest public health threat, killing more than seven million people globally every year. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognised progress in Nigeria, but concerns remain about effective implementation. |
 | Noise and motion links to dyslexia pave way for early diagnosisMost children are able to learn language almost effortlessly. But for those with communication disorders such as dyslexia, mastering their native tongue can be a challenge. Researchers are exploring how links with noise, language and motion could help diagnose problems earlier and pave the way for better treatment. |
 | Let them eat more fat? Researcher argues that a balance of types of fat is the keyPublic health guidelines, such as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, have long emphasized reducing dietary fat intake, but nutritionists and other health scientists now have more recent evidence that not all fats have adverse effects. Dietary fats differ with regard to their effects on health and risk for chronic diseases, particularly in regard to effects on risk for heart disease. |
 | Therapists should routinely monitor depression symptoms, intervene early for insufficient respondersAdolescents with depression who were treated with interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-A) had significantly better outcomes when their therapists regularly assessed depression symptoms and augmented treatment for insufficient responders after four weeks of therapy rather than waiting until Week 8, reports a study published in the January 2019 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP). |
 | Creating a home gym on the cheap(HealthDay)—A state-of-the-art home gym might not just be beyond the scope of your budget, it also might be beyond the scope of available space. But don't rule out this convenient fitness option so fast. |
 | A better way to look at food(HealthDay)—A "low-energy-dense food diet" sounds like just another weight loss fad, but it's an approach with decades of research behind it. |
 | Ketogenic supplements delay seizures without dietary restrictionsThe ketogenic diet has proven successful in helping people lose weight and improve their overall health, including those with epilepsy. The low-carb diet transitions the body from burning sugar to burning fat and ketones for energy. New research suggests that increasing blood ketones by using ketogenic supplementation can reduce seizures without dietary restriction. |
 | Assessments could reduce end-of-life hospital stays for seniorsBetter use of standard assessment tools could help long-term care homes identify which new residents are at risk of hospitalization or death in the first 90 days of admission. |
Cancer mortality milestone: 25 years of continuous declineA steady, 25-year decline has resulted in a 27% drop in the overall cancer death rate in the United States, translating to approximately 2.6 million fewer cancer deaths between 1991 and 2016. The data come from Cancer Statistics, 2019, the American Cancer Society's widely-quoted annual report on cancer rates and trends. The article appears early online in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and is accompanied by a consumer version, Cancer Facts & Figures 2019. | |
 | New theory of ethics may transform moral psychologyThere is consensus among moral psychologists that moral judgment is intuitive and is accomplished by a rapid, automatic, and unconscious psychological process. However, psychologists say little as to what moral intuitions are and how they work: what exactly are the underlying cognitive processes of these judgments that operate quickly, effortlessly and automatically? How are moral situations represented in our minds? What cognitive processes intuitively glue together different moral situations to one category? |
Hormone therapy may be best defense against knee osteoarthritisThere is an ongoing debate regarding the relationship between knee osteoarthritis and hormone therapy (HT), with small-scale studies providing mixed results. A new large-scale study from Korea shows that women receiving HT had a significantly lower prevalence of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis compared with women who did not take hormones. Study results are published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). | |
 | Bioengineers look deeper into how electrical stimulation activates neuronsElectrical stimulation of the brain is common practice in neuroscience research and is an increasingly common and effective clinical therapy for a variety of neurological disorders. However, there is limited understanding of why this treatment works at the neural level. A paper published by Takashi D. Y. Kozai, assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, addresses gaps in knowledge over the activation and inactivation of neural elements that affect the desired responses to neuromodulation. |
 | Genetics may influence the effects of vitamin E on cancer riskAlmost half of all Americans take a vitamin supplement, and yet many large-scale, placebo-controlled clinical trials of various supplements have found little or no benefit. A new study led by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital suggests an intriguing reason for this: genetic variation may be influencing these effects, increasing risk in some individuals while decreasing risk for others. Investigators conducted a retrospective analysis of the Women's Health Study (WHS) and its genetic component, the Women's Genome Health Study (WGHS), as well as validated their results in the Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC). Both of these trials investigated whether taking vitamin E supplements could affect risk of cancer. They found that genetic variations in the gene COMT influenced whether vitamin E decreased or increased risk of developing cancer during and after the study periods. Their results are published online in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. |
 | Technique boosts omega 3 fatty acid levels in brainGetting enough of the omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA into the brain to study their effects on conditions such as Alzheimer's and depression—which they have been shown to help—is no easy task. While supplements containing these fatty acids exist, there is scant evidence showing that these supplements actually increase DHA or EPA in the brain. To measurably increase levels of EPA in the brain, a person would have to consume a small glass of it each day, quite possibly with the side effect of smelling like fish. |
For chest pain not caused by a heart attack, doctors have a remedyIf you feel chest pain, get to a doctor fast. Nothing you're about to read below should dissuade you from that common-sense advice. | |
 | Maternal programming during pregnancy induces long-term postpartum obesityDuring normal pregnancy, mothers always gain body weight within a proper range. However, many women worry that extra pounds put on during pregnancy will not be lost after childbirth and, in fact, past studies have shown that excessive gestational weight gain is associated with immediate postpartum weight retention. But in a new study using a mouse model, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine suggest that long-term postpartum weight gain may be due not so much to retained fat as to reprogramming of maternal energy metabolism. |
 | New reference values for cancer patients' quality of lifeResearchers and practitioners around the globe frequently use the EORTC questionnaire to measure self-reported quality of life in cancer patients. For the first time, researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin report quality of life normative data for the general populations of 15 countries. This data allows for a more meaningful interpretation of questionnaire scores and provides information on regional differences in quality of life. The results of this study have now been published in the European Journal of Cancer. |
 | Recent developments suggest potential new therapeutic role for caffeineAn important new article reviews recently discovered properties of adenosine A2A receptor-dopamine D2 receptor (A2AR-D2R) and adenosine A1 receptor-dopamine D1 receptor (A1R-D1R) heteromers—both of which are main targets for caffeine—and discusses the therapeutic implications of these findings. Preclinical evidence is reviewed which indicates that caffeine and selective A2AR antagonists could be used to treat the motivational symptoms of depression as well as cognitive and emotional impairments in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. |
 | Europe's top rights court to hear Belgian euthanasia caseEurope's top human rights court has agreed to hear a case being brought against Belgium by a man whose mother was euthanized in 2012 for depression, the second case that implicates one of Belgium's leading euthanasia doctors. |
Melanoma: dabrafenib and trametinib have added benefitThe German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) investigated whether the drug combinations of dabrafenib plus trametinib and of encorafenib plus binimetinib have an added benefit in comparison with the appropriate comparator therapies for patients with melanoma. | |
 | Researcher evaluates estrogen as therapy for knee osteoarthritisMore than 30 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The degenerative joint disease, often caused by wear and tear, is a leading cause of disability in the U.S. Partly triggered by a breakdown in the fibrocartilage between the bones of the knee joint such as the meniscus, osteoarthritis results in pain, stiffness and less range of motion. |
No, your computer probably won't blind youAbout two months ago, two of my colleagues showed up to work wearing identical new glasses. When I made a joke about everyone going to see the same optometrist, I was informed that the specs were "computer glasses—over-the-counter lenses that purportedly filter out a majority of the blue wavelength of visible light. | |
First-in-class DNA-encoded monoclonal antibody therapy rapidly advances into the clinicThe Wistar Institute, along with partners Penn Medicine and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announce that the FDA has approved the initiation of a first-in-human clinical trial investigating the safety and tolerability of a novel synthetic DNA-encoded monoclonal antibody (DMAb) therapeutic technology for the prevention of Zika virus infection. | |
Biology news
 | Variable venom—why are some snakes deadlier than others?An international collaboration led by scientists from the National University of Ireland, Galway, The University of St Andrews, Trinity College Dublin and the Zoological Society of London has uncovered why the venom of some snakes makes them so much deadlier than others. |
 | New CRISPR-based technology developed to control pests with precision-guided geneticsUsing the CRISPR gene editing tool, Nikolay Kandul, Omar Akbari and their colleagues at UC San Diego and UC Berkeley devised a method of altering key genes that control insect sex determination and fertility. |
 | Space microbes aren't so alien after allMicrobes stranded in the International Space Station (ISS) are just trying to survive, man. |
 | Fighting human disease with birth control ... for mosquitoesDepending on where you live, the buzz of a nearby mosquito can be a nuisance, or it can be deadly. Worldwide, more than 500 million people suffer from diseases transmitted by the blood-feeding insects, including malaria, Dengue Fever, Zika, and West Nile, and nearly a million deaths are attributed to mosquito-borne illnesses each year. |
 | New complex carbohydrate discovered in barleyUniversity of Adelaide researchers have discovered a new complex carbohydrate in barley. The first of its kind to be discovered in over 30 years, the cereal polysaccharide has potential applications in food, medicine and cosmetics. |
 | Researchers study bacterial immunity to understand infectious diseasePatients with cystic fibrosis are often infected by pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that infects the lungs and prevents breathing, often causing death. |
 | Finding an elusive mutation that turns altruism into selfish behavior among honeybeesAmong the social insects, bees have developed a strong and rich social network, where busy worker bees tend to the queen, who in turn, controls reproduction for the benefit of the hive. |
 | Scientists provide new insight on how gene expression is controlledResearchers have provided new insight on the mechanism underlying the control of gene expression in all living organisms, according to a study published today in eLife. |
 | How locusts switch colours in different settingsScientists have discovered how locusts change their body colour to adapt to different environments, according to new research published in eLife. |
 | Roaming cats prey on their owners' mindsMany cat owners worry about their pets wandering the streets, but perceive cats hunting mice and birds to be unavoidable instinct, researchers at the University of Exeter have found. |
 | The first case of a Portuguese beetle living exclusively in groundwaterA diving beetle demonstrating various adaptations to the life underground, including depigmentation and evolutionary loss of eyes, was discovered at the bottom of a clay pound in the cave Soprador do Carvalho, Portugal. The species turned out to be the very first in the whole order of beetles (Coleoptera) to be known exclusively from the underground waters of the country. |
 | Climate change: Effect on sperm could hold key to species extinctionSince the 1980s, increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves have contributed to more deaths than any other extreme weather event. The fingerprints of extreme events and climate change are widespread in the natural world, where populations are showing stress responses. |
 | Study finds tiny cavities in Banksia trees are nests for native beesA new study from Curtin University has found pre-formed cavities in Banksia trees to be an important nesting home for a tiny native Western Australian bee. |
 | Europe's first samurai wasps found in stink bug eggsFood crops are continuously threatened by invasive pest species. One such pest that began to appear in Europe over the last decade or so is the Halyomorpha halys, commonly known as the brown marmorated stink bug. Native to eastern Asia, the bug is highly polyphagous, feeding on more than 170 plant species – including tree fruit, nuts, vegetables and field crops – and causing significant crop damage every year. To date, broad-spectrum insecticides have been the most common way of managing H. halys. However, food safety and ecosystem health concerns have made finding more environmentally friendly and sustainable control measures imperative. A promising solution is the biological control of this agricultural pest using one of its natural enemies. |
 | Experts warn against mega-dams in lowland tropical forestsMega-dams should not be built in lowland tropical forest regions due to the threat they pose to biodiversity and ecosystems, according to experts at the University of Stirling. |
 | US Supreme Court takes on tribal rights, treaties and elk huntingDoes an 1868 treaty protect the rights of Native Americans to hunt on unpopulated federal forest lands? |
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