Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for October 18, 2019:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Image: Hubble snags starry galaxyIn this image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, the galaxy NGC 4380 looks like a special effect straight out of a science fiction or fantasy film, swirling like a gaping portal to another dimension. |
 | First all-female spacewalking team makes historyThe world's first all-female spacewalking team made history high above Earth on Friday, replacing a broken part of the International Space Station's power grid. |
 | US makes history with first all-female spacewalkUS astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir on Friday became the first all-female pairing to carry out a spacewalk—a historic milestone as NASA prepares to send the first woman to the Moon. |
Technology news
 | Telescope: a tool to manage bioinformatics analyses on mobile devicesA team of researchers at UCLA, the University of São Paulo, the Federal University of São Carlos and the University of Southern California has recently developed an interactive tool for managing large-scale bioinformatic analyses in real-time and from portable devices. This new tool, called Telescope, was first presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv. |
 | A charging box for Skydio 2 drones could attract business usersSkydio 2 Dock is from the company with the same name, Skydio. The company showed a video of it on Wednesday. They said in the video notes that "We look forward to partnering with our first customers and regulators to roll this product out responsibly. If you believe your drone program could benefit from a Skydio 2 Dock, please get in touch with us." |
 | Research group advances perovskite solar technology for green energy productionIn a new research paper published in Nature Energy earlier this month, Professor Michael McGehee and his research team demonstrate how to dramatically improve the stability of tin-containing perovskite material used in stacked solar cells, allowing for up to 30% power conversion efficiency. |
'Legal basis' an 'absolute prerequisite' for digital monies like Libra: G7Facebook's proposed digital currency must have legal and regulatory issues worked out in key economies before it can be put into use, the Group of Seven economies said Thursday. | |
Croissant making inspires renewable energy solutionThe art of croissant making has inspired researchers from Queen Mary University of London to find a solution to a sustainable energy problem. | |
 | Driverless cars won't deliver a transport revolution—and the auto industry stands to lose outThe breathless hype around driverless electric vehicles once promised an urban transport "revolution," with claims that new technologies would ease congestion and eliminate harmful emissions. The potential benefits of these new technologies are stimulating both activity and anxiety in the auto industry—specifically around whether the cost of investment will be justified by profits from sales of new vehicles. |
 | Might consciousness and free will be the aces up our sleeves when it comes to competing with robots?The rise of artificial intelligence has led to widespread concern about the role of humans in the workplaces of the future. |
 | One in six young people use social app Snapchat while behind the wheelSnapchat has emerged as one of the surprise threats to Queensland drivers, with a new QUT study showing one in six young drivers surveyed had used Snapchat while behind the wheel. |
 | Blockchain voting: Vulnerable to hackers, software glitches, bad ID photos, and moreA developing technology called "blockchain" has gotten attention from election officials, startups and even Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang as a potential way to boost voter turnout and public trust in election results. |
 | Digital platforms: Making the world a more complicated placeDigital platforms, the websites and apps which compete for our precious screen time, have successfully invaded the traditional territory of many sectors of the "old economy." They have become the preferred—expected, even—domains for many kinds of human behaviour, from banking and property buying, to dating and entertainment. |
 | France accuses Google of flouting EU copyright law meant to help news publishersFrance has accused American internet giant Google of ignoring "the spirit and the letter" of a Europe-wide copyright law aimed at giving publishers a bigger cut of the economic benefit from online news. |
 | Quibi has partnered with T-Mobile as it prepares for April launchTelecommunications giant T-Mobile has agreed to partner with Quibi, a Hollywood start-up that plans to distribute bite-size entertainment designed for millennials. |
US agency eyes fatal crash involving self-driving carThe National Transportation Safety Board is moving to determine the probable cause of the first fatal crash involving a self-driving vehicle. | |
Google affiliate begins drone deliveries in Virginia townA Google affiliate is using drones to deliver customers' Walgreens purchases in a test being run in a Virginia town. | |
 | New tool gives researchers a better look at online anonymous marketplacesAs you read this, cocaine, bounties, and other illicit products and services are being bought and sold on dozens of online anonymous marketplaces. These marketplaces are hard to shut down because they exist on networks that are buried under layers of encryption, making it exceedingly difficult to determine the identity of those involved. |
 | Longest non-stop flight to take off from New York to SydneyA plane and its passengers are set to test the mental and physical limits of long-haul aviation when Qantas operates the first direct flight by a commercial airline from New York to Sydney this weekend. |
 | US imposes tariffs on EU goods, targeting Airbus, wine and whiskyThe United States imposed tariffs on a record $7.5-billion worth of European Union goods on Friday, despite threats of retaliation, with Airbus, French wine and Scottish whiskies among the high-profile targets. |
 | Paris, Rome, Berlin preparing to block Facebook's Libra in Europe: French ministerFrance, Italy and Germany are together preparing measures to block Facebook's new Libra cryptocurrency from use in Europe, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire announced Friday. |
Document suggests Boeing pilots saw problems with key MAX system in 2016 (Update)A Boeing pilot behind the 737 MAX certification in 2016 told a colleague a key flight handling system was "running rampant" during simulator tests, according to documents released Friday by congressional investigators. | |
Medicine & Health news
 | Study shows mouse cerebellum quite different from humanAn international team of researchers has found that the mouse cerebellum may not be a good model for the human cerebellum in brain studies. In their study published in the journal Science, the group describes their comparison study that involved the human, mice and macaque cerebellums as they developed. |
 | Increase health benefits of exercise by working out before breakfastAccording to a new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, health scientists at the Universities of Bath and Birmingham found that by changing the timing of when you eat and exercise, people can better control their blood sugar levels. |
 | Plant-based compound may enable faster, more effective gene therapyGene therapy has broadened the treatment possibilities for those with immune system deficiencies and blood-based conditions, such as sickle cell anemia and leukemia. These diseases, which once would require a bone marrow transplant, can now be successfully treated by modifying patients' own blood stem cells to correct the underlying genetic problem. |
 | A compound effective against chemotherapy-resistant cancer cells identifiedA compound effective in killing chemotherapy-resistant glioblastoma-initiating cells (GICs) has been identified, raising hopes of producing drugs capable of eradicating refractory tumors with low toxicity. |
 | First evidence of immune response targeting brain cells in autismAutism spectrum disorders affect one in 59 American children by age eight. With no known quantitative biological features, autism diagnoses are currently based on expert assessments of behavioral symptoms, including impaired social skills and communication, repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. |
 | New diagnostic method finds aggressive tumorsResearchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a new, cheap method that can identify highly heterogeneous tumors that tend to be very aggressive, and therefore need to be treated more aggressively. The technique is presented in the scientific journal Nature Communications. |
 | A new discovery: How our memories stabilize while we sleepScientists at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology (CNRS/Collège de France/INSERM) have shown that delta waves emitted while we sleep are not generalized periods of silence during which the cortex rests, as has been described for decades in the scientific literature. Instead, they isolate assemblies of neurons that play an essential role in long-term memory formation. These results were published on 18 October 2019 in Science. |
 | Novel nanoprobes show promise for optical monitoring of neural activityResearchers at UC Santa Cruz have developed ultrasensitive nanoscale optical probes to monitor the bioelectric activity of neurons and other excitable cells. This novel readout technology could enable scientists to study how neural circuits function at an unprecedented scale by monitoring large numbers of individual neurons simultaneously. It could also lead to high-bandwidth brain-machine interfaces with dramatically enhanced precision and functionality. |
New clinical research offers possibility of future rehabilitation for patients in vegetative, minimally conscious stateNon-invasive brain stimulation is to be trialled for the first time alongside advanced brain imaging techniques in patients who are minimally conscious or in a vegetative state. | |
 | Region, age, and sex decide who gets arthritis-linked 'fabella' knee boneThe once-rare 'fabella' bone has made a dramatic resurgence in human knees, but who's likely to have a fabella or two—and why? |
Is there evidence of the 'immigrant health paradox' among Arab Americans?First generation immigrants to the United States from Latin America, South America, and Asia have been shown to have better health outcomes and behaviors than second generation (born in the U.S. to immigrant parents) and third generation (born in the U.S. to U.S.-born parents with immigrant heritage) immigrants—a phenomenon known as the "immigrant health paradox." But in a study led by Boston College Connell School of Nursing Assistant Professor Nadia Abuelezam, little evidence of an immigrant health paradox was found among immigrants from Arabic speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa. | |
 | Health care intervention: Treating high-need, high-cost patientsIn crisis and with nowhere else to turn, thousands of patients with complex needs—serious mental and physical health problems and substance use disorders—every year flock to emergency rooms in Harris County, Texas and across the country. Referred to as "high-need, high-cost," these patients have limited ability to take care of themselves, making it challenging for doctors to find effective treatments. |
 | Training social workers in fight against opioidsNancy Ochoa was 15 years old the first time she used heroin with a group of friends. At 16, four months after the birth of her first child, her occasional drug use had turned into a "necessity." |
Lunch break lesson: how to reverse an opioid overdoseAt a small shop selling handmade jewelry in South Philly, employees are skipping their lunch break for a good cause. They are getting training they all wanted—in how to save someone who has overdosed on opioids. | |
America's endless battle against lethal drug fentanylIn a windowless hangar at New York's John F. Kennedy airport, dozens of law enforcement officers sift through packages, looking for fentanyl—a drug that is killing Americans every day. | |
 | 'Flamenco dancing' molecule could lead to better-protecting sunscreenA molecule that protects plants from overexposure to harmful sunlight thanks to its flamenco-style twist could form the basis for a new longer-lasting sunscreen, chemists at the University of Warwick have found, in collaboration with colleagues in France and Spain.Research on the green molecule by the scientists has revealed that it absorbs ultraviolet light and then disperses it in a 'flamenco-style' dance, making it ideal for use as a UV filter in sunscreens. |
 | Rural practice linked to junior doctors being more satisfiedA comprehensive study has found junior doctors in regional and rural Australia are more likely to be satisfied than their metropolitan counterparts. |
 | Study explores why Caribbean adults have higher hypertension ratesAdult populations in the Caribbean, mirroring black populations in the U.S., experience higher rates of hypertension, stroke, and heart disease, and researchers want to know why. |
 | Designing a diet app with a human-centered approachMobile health apps for managing chronic diseases and for overall health and wellness are increasing in popularity. These apps have the potential to guide behavior change through education, diet and activity tracking, and personalized health advice. |
 | What is perimenopause and how does it affect women's health in midlife?All women know to expect the time in life when their periods finish and they reach menopause. Many might even look forward to it. What many women don't know, however, is they will also experience symptoms in the time leading up to menopause. This is known as perimenopause. |
 | Is using cannabis in front of children harmful or not?Public health agencies are warning parents about using cannabis in the presence of their children. However, parents who use cannabis say that it makes them more empathetic, more patient and more caring towards their young ones. |
 | Fatty build-up in lungs of overweight and obeseStudy co-author Associate Professor Peter Noble from UWA's School of Human Sciences said the research team had studied the structure of airways within our lungs and how these changed in people with respiratory disease. |
 | Reversing polycystic kidney diseaseHereditary and relatively common, polycystic kidney disease (PKD) has long been thought to be progressive and irreversible, condemning its sufferers to a long, slow and often painful decline as fluid filled cysts develop in the kidneys, grow and eventually rob the organs of their function. |
 | Chemical used in BPA-free plastics may play role in inflammation, obesityA compound used to reduce public exposure to possible toxic effects of the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) may cause impairment to fat cells, which could lead to widespread inflammation and obesity. The first-of-its-kind study is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Cell Physiology. |
 | Singapore completes whole genome sequencing analysis of multi-ethnic Asian populationsA new genetic databank has been established containing the completed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data of close to 5,000 Singaporeans. Worldwide, WGS is increasingly used in research and healthcare to identify genetic variations using cutting-edge technologies that allow large numbers of individuals to be sequenced rapidly—This new study is the world's largest WGS analysis of Asian populations, particularly of Indian and Malay populations in the world, and provides valuable insights on the unique genetic diversity of Asian populations that could enable more accurate diagnosis of genetic diseases, empower the research of chronic diseases and guide prevention and targeted therapies. The study was published in Cell on 17 October 2019. |
 | Easy at-home assessment of sleep bruxismSleep bruxism, commonly known as clenching or grinding of the teeth during sleep, affects approximately eight to 15 percent of the population. It can lead to various negative health consequences like tooth wear, facial pain and headaches. Sometimes, teeth grinding can be so loud that it disturbs the sleep of others in the same room. |
 | Recalling good memories togetherRecalling positive memories can help you feel better about yourself. Charlotte van Schie is aiming to use this fact to help people with a borderline personality disorder become stronger. She has written about her research for Human Brain Mapping, and at the LIBC open day on 11 October she gave a "flash talk" titled "Coloured memories in the brain." |
 | World Bank pandemic financing scheme serves private sector interests over global health security, analysis suggestsThe World Bank's Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) – set up to ensure swift funding to countries and agencies responding to pandemic outbreaks of disease—does not deliver on this promise, new research from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has shown. |
 | Where is my Xanax? Why your doctor may be concerned about prescribing benzodiazepinesAs an academic psychiatrist who treats people with anxiety and trauma, I often hear questions about a specific class of medications called benzodiazepines. I also often receive referrals for patients who are on these medications and reluctant to discontinue them. |
 | This overdose-reversal medicine could reduce opioid deaths – so why don't more people carry it?Forty-seven thousand Americans died of opioid-related overdoses in 2017—similar to the number of deaths from car accidents and gun violence. |
 | Nothing clinically 'wrong' with obsessive gamers, new study findsResearch by Oxford University, carried out in partnership with Cardiff University, and published today in Clinical Psychological Science, has found little evidence to suggest an unhealthy passion for gaming amongst adolescents, often referred to as "gaming addiction," requires clinical intervention by medical professionals. |
 | CDC: vaccination coverage generally high for those born in 2015-16For children born in 2015 to 2016, vaccination coverage is generally high, although coverage can be improved with increased access to providers and health insurance, according to research published in the Oct. 18 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. |
 | Ebola vaccine moves closer to market licence: European regulatorA vaccine against Ebola, not yet licensed but used to stem an outbreak in DR Congo, moved a step closer to the market Friday after obtaining a green light from Europe's medicines watchdog. |
 | Five key things about fentanyl and America's opioids crisisJury selection has begun in a landmark federal case on Ohio on whether drug companies can be held responsible for the opioids epidemic that is raging across America. |
 | Potato as effective as carbohydrate gels for boosting athletic performance, study findsConsuming potato puree during prolonged exercise works just as well as a commercial carbohydrate gel in sustaining blood glucose levels and boosting performance in trained athletes, scientists report. |
 | Lifestyle is a threat to gut bacteria: Ötzi proves itThe intestinal microbiome is a delicate ecosystem made up of billions and billions of microorganisms, bacteria in particular, that support our immune system, protect us from viruses and pathogens, and help us absorb nutrients and produce energy. The industrialization process in Western countries had a huge impact on its content. This was confirmed by a study on the bacteria found in the intestine of Ötzi, the Iceman who, in 1991, emerged from the ice of the Ötztal Alps, where Italy borders with Austria. Scientists of Eurac Research examined samples of the mummy's bacteria, confirming the findings of the researchers at the University of Trento who had analyzed the genome of intestinal microorganisms of over 6500 individuals from all continents. |
 | Development and analytical validation of a next-generation sequencing based microsatellite instabiliThe referenced article describes an assay that has a clinically relevant five-day turnaround time and can be conducted on as little as 20 ng genomic DNA with a batch size of up to forty samples in a single run. |
 | A higher resolution image of human lung developmentThe invention of interactive map applications has revolutionized wayfinding, providing an unprecedented level of information far beyond what printed road maps can offer. Researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles are giving us a similar look into the anatomy of the human lung, and their findings could help babies breathe easier. |
 | A partnership to tackle childhood cancers in developing countriesThe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are joining forces to combat childhood cancers in developing countries, where children are four times more likely to die of the disease than in high-income countries due to a lack of affordable treatment and quality care options. |
 | Mayo Clinic Q&A: Eating disorders can affect people of all agesDear Mayo Clinic: Is it common for someone in their 50s to develop an eating disorder? |
 | Patients eligible for charity care instead get big billsWhen Ashley Pintos went to the emergency room of St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash., in 2016, with a sharp pain in her abdomen and no insurance, a representative demanded a $500 deposit before treating her. |
 | Humans' 'inner salamander' capacity could regrow cartilageHumans have the ability to regrow cartilage, a new study has found. |
 | Shortage of vital children's cancer drug stirs fear and outrageA critical shortage of a chemotherapy used to treat most childhood cancers has galvanized oncologists and parents of sick children. |
 | Mercury in creams, feces in cosmetics: beware bargain beauty products(HealthDay)—Stocking up on the latest beauty products can be costly. Is it possible to save money and still put your best face forward? |
 | Retired? Hardly: At 99, this pioneering heart doctor still leading the wayAt 99 years old, most people are not engaging in complex research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Jeremiah Stamler is no ordinary person. |
 | The wellness boost of a purposeful life(HealthDay)—Research has long shown how psychological disorders lead to poor physical health. Now scientists are learning more about the flip side of emotions, how living a purposeful life may have as many physical benefits as inspirational ones. |
 | Cooking with greens(HealthDay)—It's time to go beyond spinach and kale. To really power up your meals with greens, you want to explore the taste and texture of watercress and dandelions. And the following recipes will get from the fridge to your table in minutes. |
 | Patient cost responsibility up for guideline-discordant care(HealthDay)—For patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), receipt of National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guideline-discordant care is associated with higher patient cost responsibility, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. |
 | Exposure to secondhand smoke linked to choroidal thinning in children(HealthDay)—Exposure to secondhand smoking is associated with choroidal thinning among children aged 6 to 8 years, according to a study published online Oct. 17 in JAMA Ophthalmology. |
 | Creatine powers T cells' fight against cancerCreatine, the organic acid that is popularly taken as a supplement by athletes and bodybuilders, serves as a molecular battery for immune cells by storing and distributing energy to power their fight against cancer, according to new UCLA research. |
 | Candidate Ebola vaccine still effective when highly diluted, macaque study findsA single dose of a highly diluted VSV-Ebola virus (EBOV) vaccine—approximately one-millionth of what is in the vaccine being used to help control the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—remains fully protective against disease in experimentally infected monkeys, according to National Institutes of Health scientists. The NIH investigators completed the vaccine dosage study using cynomolgus macaques and an updated vaccine component to match the EBOV Makona strain that circulated in West Africa from 2014-16. The study appears in Lancet's EBioMedicine. |
NIH pairs cutting-edge neuroethics with ground-breaking neurotechnologiesWith support from the National Institutes of Health's Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, scientists are developing powerful new devices and technologies to monitor and regulate brain activity. To ensure NIH keeps pace with rapid technological development and help clinicians and researchers ethically fit these new tools into practice, a paper recently published in JAMA Neurology highlights potential issues around and offers recommendations about clinical research with both invasive and noninvasive neural devices. | |
Young people treated in general emergency departments more likely to be prescribed opioidsChildren, adolescents and young adults treated in pediatric emergency departments associated with children's hospitals are much less likely to be prescribed opioids compared to young patients treated for similar ailments at general emergency departments. | |
Rapid increase in naloxone distribution after kits became available at Ontario pharmaciesThe distribution of naloxone kits in Ontario increased rapidly after they were made available free of charge through community pharmacies and reached almost 68,000 people in a two-year period, according to a study led by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital of Unity Health Toronto and ICES. | |
 | Confessions of a cannabis farmer: The Vietnamese getting Brits highHoled up alone in a suburban British house thousands of miles from home, cannabis farmer Cuong Nguyen spent months carefully nurturing his plants, one of thousands of Vietnamese migrants working in the UK's multi-billion dollar weed industry. |
How Purdue's aggressive sales of a painkiller blew up in its faceIn 2002, Andrew Kolodny, a resident in psychiatry, attended a training session on pain treatment in Philadelphia. | |
 | Healthy Men: Men and belly fat: A bad combinationCall it what you will: beer belly, love handles, gut, spare tire, or anything else. Whatever the words, they're all referring to the same thing: belly fat, which is one of the most common types of fat for men. As you've no doubt noticed, as we gain weight, our thighs, legs, and arms usually don't change much. Instead, our fat tends to accumulate around the chest, neck, and stomach. Women, on the other hand, tend to store their fat a little lower, around the butt and thighs. Fat, no matter where it's stored, is a pretty clear indicator that you're out of shape, and it can negatively affect your self-esteem. But that's just the beginning. Unlike fat in other areas, having belly fat increases your risk of developing a number of serious health conditions—in particular, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and colorectal cancer—any of which are perfectly capable of killing you. |
 | Quinn on Nutrition: Mediterranean cooking classHer opening statement caught our attention: "We start with a glass of wine...and then we start the lesson." With that, Chef Anna and her assistant proceeded with our cooking (and wine-tasting) class at the historic Villa Casagrande in the Tuscany region of Italy. |
 | J&J recalls baby powder after trace asbestos found in bottleJohnson & Johnson is recalling a single lot of its baby powder as a precaution after government testing found trace amounts of asbestos in one bottle bought online. |
 | UN says Ebola in Congo still qualifies as global emergencyThe World Health Organization says the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Congo still warrants being classified as a global emergency, even though the number of confirmed cases has slowed in recent weeks. |
Ebola still an 'urgent' global health emergency: WHOThe deadly Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains an "urgent" global health emergency, The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday at its Emergency Committee meeting. | |
J&J recalls baby powder after trace asbestos found in bottleJohnson & Johnson on Friday recalled a single batch of its baby powder as a precaution after government testing found trace amounts of asbestos in one bottle bought online. | |
Over-the-counter heartburn drug Zantac pulled in US, CanadaDrugmaker Sanofi is recalling its over-the-counter heartburn drug Zantac in the U.S. and Canada because of possible contamination. | |
Biology news
 | Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA may have helped early Melanesian people surviveA team of researchers from the U.S., Italy and France has found evidence that suggests DNA inherited from Neanderthals and Denisovans may have helped early Melanesian people survive in their island environment. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their genetic study of Melanesian people and what they found. |
 | New study uncovers 'magnetic' memory of European glass eelsA new study led by researchers at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway found that European glass eels use their magnetic sense to "imprint" a memory of the direction of water currents in the estuary where they become juveniles. This is the first direct evidence that a species of fish uses its internal magnetic compass to form a memory of current direction. |
 | Whole genome sequencing could help save pumas from inbreedingWhen students at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) found a dead mule deer on campus, they figured it had been killed by coyotes. Wildlife biologist Chris Wilmers rigged up a video camera to spy on the carcass at night. But the animal that crept out of the shadows to dine on the deer was no coyote—it was a mountain lion. |
 | Imaging combined with genetic screening of cells enhances genomic discoveriesScientists routinely use genetic screens to perturb, or change the activity of, genes in mammalian cells, one at a time, to learn what those genes do. Pooled screens take this same approach but typically involve many more genetic perturbations across the whole genome. However, with pooled screens, scientists could only track cell survival and other simple whole-cell measurements. |
 | Reforesting is a good idea, but it is necessary to know where and howAn article recently published in Science, titled "The global tree restoration potential," presented what it called "the most effective solution at our disposal to mitigate climate change." The lead author is Jean-François Bastin, an ecologist affiliated with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). The article reports the results of a study in which Bastin and collaborators used remote sensing and modeling techniques to estimate that forest restoration in areas totaling 900 million hectares worldwide could store 205 gigatons of carbon. |
 | Glowing to the bottomIn the dark depths of the ocean, pretty much the only sources of light are the animals that live there. Whether flashing, glimmering, or emitting glowing liquids, many deep-sea animals are able to produce light (bioluminesce). MBARI researchers recently found that animals that live on the seafloor are much less likely to produce light than those swimming or drifting in the "midwater." |
 | Discovery raises hopes of preventing streptococci infectionsResearchers at the University of Dundee have discovered an enzyme they believe could be key to preventing Group A Streptococcus infections that cause more than 500,000 deaths worldwide each year. |
 | Genes linked to sex ratio and male fertility in miceOne of the more recent trends among parents-to-be is the so-called gender reveal, a party complete with pink or blue cake to answer the burning question, "Is it a boy or girl?" After all, it's presumed that there's a 50-50 chance you'd have one or the other. In a new article published in Current Biology, Michigan Medicine researchers studying the sex chromosomes have discovered genes that, at least in mice, skew that assumed ratio to favor one sex and that could have major implications for male infertility. |
 | Tennessee researchers join call for responsible development of synthetic biologyEngineering biology is already transforming technology and science, and a consortium of researchers across many disciplines in the international Genome Project-write is calling for more discussion among scientists, policy makers and the general public to shepherd future development. In a policy forum article published in the October 18 issue of Science, the authors outline the technological advances needed to secure the transformative future of synthetic biology and express their concerns that the implementation of the relatively new discipline remains safe and responsible. |
 | Cod or haddock? Study looks at 'name bias' and fisheries sustainabilityCould you taste the difference between cod and other whitefish, such as haddock or hake, if you didn't know what you were eating? The answer may have implications for supporting local fisheries and food sustainability in New England, says UMass Amherst environmental conservation graduate student Amanda Davis. |
A new approach to reconstructing protein evolutionThere are an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 proteins at work in cells, where they carry out numerable functions, says computational molecular biologist Roman Sloutsky at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. "One of the central questions in all of biochemistry and molecular biology," he adds, is how their precisely-tuned functions are determined. | |
 | Newly discovered virus infects bald eagles across AmericaResearchers have discovered a previously unknown virus infecting nearly a third of America's bald eagle population. |
 | Stress test separates tough bacteria from the tenderBacteria. Sometimes we can't live with 'em, but there's a growing appreciation that we can't live without 'em. Whether it's disease-causing pathogens or beneficial species that live in communities known as microbiomes, scientists agree on one thing—we need to know more about bacteria, particularly how they are built and how they live together. |
 | A better way to screen cats for heart diseaseCats are very good at hiding their health problems, a survival instinct from their wild ancestors, when showing weakness made them easier prey. One health problem they hide is heart disease, meaning it can progress to become life-threatening before it's noticed. |
 | An evolution in the understanding of evolutionRemember domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species and Charles Darwin's "tree of life" metaphor we learned about in high school biology? That way of describing living-things lineages is just science's best guess about how genes have mutated and split over time to change things into what they are today. |
 | Is your horse normal? Now there's an app for thatSince ancient times, horse behavior, and the bond between horses and humans, has been a source of intrigue and fascination. |
 | Evolution tells us we might be the only intelligent life in the universeAre we alone in the universe? It comes down to whether intelligence is a probable outcome of natural selection, or an improbable fluke. By definition, probable events occur frequently, improbable events occur rarely—or once. Our evolutionary history shows that many key adaptations—not just intelligence, but complex animals, complex cells, photosynthesis, and life itself—were unique, one-off events, and therefore highly improbable. Our evolution may have been like winning the lottery … only far less likely. |
 | New device to be tested off Outer Banks could help save sharks from commercial fishing all over the worldAn Outer Banks fisherman next summer will test a device about the size of a spark plug that could save rare sharks. |
This email is a free service of Science X Network
You received this email because you subscribed to our list.
If you do not wish to receive such emails in the future, please unsubscribe here.
You are subscribed as jmabs1@gmail.com. You may manage your subscription options from your Science X profile
No comments:
Post a Comment