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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for November 1, 2019:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Ancient gas cloud shows that the first stars must have formed very quicklyAstronomers led by Eduardo Bañados of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy have discovered a gas cloud that contains information about an early phase of galaxy and star formation, merely 850 million years after the Big Bang. The cloud was found serendipitously during observations of a distant quasar, and it has the properties that astronomers expect from the precursors of modern-day dwarf galaxies. When it comes to relative abundances, the cloud's chemistry is surprisingly modern, showing that the first stars in the universe must have formed very quickly after the Big Bang. The results have been published in the Astrophysical Journal. |
 | Worldwide observations confirm nearby 'lensing' exoplanetResearchers using telescopes around the world confirmed and characterized an exoplanet orbiting a nearby star through a rare phenomenon known as gravitational microlensing. The exoplanet has a mass similar to Neptune, but it orbits a star lighter (cooler) than the Sun at an orbital radius similar to Earth's orbital radius. Around cool stars, this orbital region is thought to be the birth place of gas-giant planets. The results of this research suggest that Neptune-sized planets could be common around this orbital region. Because the exoplanet discovered this time is closer than other exoplanets discovered by the same method, it is a good target for follow-up observations by world-class telescopes like the Subaru Telescope. |
 | Jupiter-sized exoplanet discovered through microlensingThe path of a light beam is bent by the presence of mass, and a massive body can therefore act like a lens (a "gravitational lens") to distort the image of an object seen behind it. Scientists first confirmed Einstein's prediction quantitatively during the now famous total eclipse of 29 May 1919 by observing starlight bent by the mass of the Sun. Microlensing is the name given to a related phenomenon: the brightening of light from a star as a cosmic body, acting as a gravitational lens, passing fortuitously in front of it, the light then dimming to normal as the body moves beyond the line-of sight. About one hundred exoplanets have been discovered to date by the microlensing technique, ranging in masses from about fifty Jupiter-masses to less than a few Earth-masses. |
 | An astronaut smart glove to explore the moon, Mars and beyondThe NASA Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) and collaborating organizations SETI Institute, Mars Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, Collins Aerospace, and Ntention are announcing the successful field test of an "astronaut smart glove" for future human exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The smart glove is a prototype for a human-machine interface (HuMI) that would allow astronauts to wirelessly operate a wide array of robotic assets, including drones, via simple single-hand gestures. |
 | Mobile app to provide the latest on black hole collisions and merging neutron starsPhD students from the Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy have released a new app to encourage members of the public to stay up to date with new gravitational wave events in near real time. |
Technology news
 | Using deep learning to localize human eyes in imagesA team of researchers at China University of Geosciences and Wuhan WXYZ Technologies in China has recently proposed a new machine learning-based technique to locate people's eyes in images of their faces. This technique, presented in a paper published in Elsevier's journal Neurocomputing, could have several useful applications. For example, it could be used to detect drowsiness in people who are driving a car or performing tasks that require a certain degree of alertness and attention. |
 | 'Transformative electronics systems' to broaden wearable applicationsImagine a handheld electronic gadget that can soften and deform when attached to our skin. This will be the future of electronics we all dreamed of. A research team at KAIST says their new platform called 'Transformative Electronics Systems' will open a new class of electronics, allowing reconfigurable electronic interfaces to be optimized for a variety of applications. |
 | New York goes big on storage battery plans, gets green light for Queens facilityNew York authorities have given a 316-megawatt battery storage project the green light. The project number, 316 MW / 2528 MWh, packs enough power to provide over 250,000 households with electricity for up to eight hours. |
 | Dubai displays tech reputation with global robotics contestSeeking to bolster its image as a forward-looking metropolis, Dubai hosted the largest-ever international robotics contest this week, challenging young people from 190 countries to find solutions to global ocean pollution. |
 | Apple TV+ seeks stardom on streaming service stageApple moved into new territory Friday with a streaming television service that features a budding library of original shows starring big-name celebrities, aimed at winning over its gadget lovers at home and on the go. |
 | Pentagon awaits possible Amazon challenge over cloud dealAmazon must decide soon if it will protest the Pentagon's awarding of a $10 billion cloud computing contract to rival Microsoft, with one possible grievance being the unusual attention given the project by President Donald Trump. |
 | Virtual reality: game-changing revolution in eSportsEncased in headsets and carrying electronic replicas of weapons in their hands, the players prowl around the arena, ducking behind virtual obstacles before emerging to shoot at the enemy. |
 | Lawsuit accuses Facebook ad targeting of abetting biasA lawsuit filed on Thursday accuses Facebook of letting ad targeting tools be used to exclude women and older people from offers regarding loans, investments and other financial services. |
 | Image: Driving into the futureA highly autonomous self-driving shuttle has entered service at ESA's technical heart. Its official inauguration took place on Tuesday, when it was assigned a suitably spacey name – "Orbiter' – chosen through an employee competition. |
 | Will hiding 'like' counts and other numbers improve social media?With social media companies under scrutiny for contributing to negative social pressure, Facebook announced in late September that it was starting a test in Australia to hide "like" counts and other metrics on posts. Instagram (owned by Facebook) began a similar experiment in seven countries earlier this year, and Twitter developed an experimental app that also hides some metrics. University of Illinois art professor Ben Grosser, also the co-founder of the Critical Technology Studies Lab at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, has been looking at the effects of those numbers on users for seven years. In 2012, he created Facebook Demetricator, a browser extension to hide all metrics on Facebook, and he followed that with Twitter Demetricator in 2018 and Instagram Demetricator in 2019. Grosser spoke with News Bureau arts and humanities editor Jodi Heckel. |
 | Would you notice if your calculator lied to you? The research says probably notThese days, it's hard to know whom to trust online, and how to discern genuine content from fakery. |
 | Does unmanned civil aviation have a place in current international legislation?It is projected that in ten years time, ten percent of global civil aviation operations will be unmanned. Are the current international aviation laws and regulations up to these technological developments? Fernando Fiallos will defend his dissertation on 14 November 2019. |
 | Can't find time for the people who matter most? There's an app for thatIt's hard to make time for the people who matter. |
 | Listening to engine blades to stop failures, disastersThe roar of a jet or race car engine can nearly take one's breath away. Now imagine trying to hear through all that noise to pinpoint a problem with the engine—and stop a potentially disastrous failure. |
 | Google buys Fitbit for $2.1B, stepping back into wearablesGoogle is buying Fitbit for about $2.1 billion, enabling the internet company to step back into the hotly contested market for smartwatches and health trackers. |
 | Engineers develop new way to know liars' intentDartmouth engineering researchers have developed a new approach for detecting a speaker's intent to mislead. The approach's framework, which could be developed to extract opinion from "fake news," among other uses, was recently published as part of a paper in Journal of Experimental & Theoretical Artificial Intelligence. |
 | Uber facing ban in Geneva: authoritiesThe Swiss canton of Geneva said Friday it had classified ride-hailing giant Uber as an employer, ordering a halt to its activities unless it pays the social charges for its drivers. |
 | Canada credit union data breach bigger than first thought: DesjardinsA massive data breach last year at Desjardins credit union has turned out to be bigger than originally thought, affecting all 4.2 million of its customers, Canada's largest banking co-operative said Friday. |
 | Controversial Russian law to control internet enters forceA controversial law that would allow Russia to cut internet traffic from international servers came into force Friday, prompting fears from rights activists of online isolation. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Three-drug combo improves lung function in most common genetic form of cystic fibrosisA phase three clinical trial that UT Southwestern participated in determined that a three-drug combination improved lung function and reduced symptoms in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients who have a single copy of the most common genetic mutation for the disease. |
 | Brain stimulation headset for treating depression at home now for sale in U.K.Representatives for Flow Neuroscience have announced on the company's website that a headset device that they call simply Flow is now available for sale—they claim the device can reduce chronic depression symptoms. The British government recently gave the go-ahead to such devices (as did the EU), citing research showing such devices can be useful for treating long-term, chronic depression. The device is now available to purchase for £399, and includes an app the company claims was created by a team of psychologists. They also note that they are offering a 30-day trial period. |
 | Living skin can now be 3-D-printed with blood vessels includedResearchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a way to 3-D print living skin, complete with blood vessels. The advancement, published online today in Tissue Engineering Part A, is a significant step toward creating grafts that are more like the skin our bodies produce naturally. |
 | ADHD rates doubled among U.S. adults over 10 years(HealthDay)—If the latest statistics are any indication, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is no longer an issue for children only. |
Deaths from liver cancer have tripled in past 20 years in EnglandMore people are being diagnosed with and dying from liver cancer in England than ever before, according to new research to be presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference on Monday. | |
 | High levels of two hormones in the blood raise prostate cancer riskMen with higher levels of 'free' testosterone and a growth hormone in their blood are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to research presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference. |
| Rare mutations drive cystic fibrosis in CaribbeanCystic Fibrosis (CF) in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic is dominated by unusual gene mutations not often observed in previously studied CF populations, according to comprehensive genome sequencing led by physician-scientists at UC San Francisco and Centro de Neumología Pediátrica in San Juan. Remarkably, a majority of Dominican patients had none of the known functional mutations in the CF gene that that are seen in 95 percent of CF cases, leading researchers to launch a search for alternative genetic drivers of their disease. |
Emotional trauma and fear most likely cause of 'Havana Syndrome'The cause of the mystery illness among US and Canadian diplomats in Havana is most likely to be emotional trauma and fear according to a leading sociologist and an expert in neurodegenerative diseases, writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. | |
 | Liver cancer deaths climb by around 50% in the last decadeLiver cancer deaths have increased by around 50% in the last decade and have tripled since records began, according to the latest calculations by Cancer Research UK. |
 | Study shows media overlook best practices when reporting a celebrity suicide deathResearch shows media coverage of a celebrity suicide has the potential to increase the risk for contagion, especially among vulnerable individuals. To reduce possible harmful effects, suicide reporting guidelines for media were developed with input from journalists, suicide prevention researchers, and those impacted by suicide. Research suggests that when guidelines are followed and resources for suicide prevention and stories of recovery are shared, risk for suicide decreases. |
 | Smoking ban takes effect in Austrian bars, restaurantsA ban on smoking in Austrian bars and restaurants took effect Friday, making it one of the last European countries to stub out the habit in indoor public places after years of protracted debate and protests. |
 | Tiny cancer tracers could lift survival ratesNanoparticles that can detect complex cancer cells and potentially improve five-year survival rates are headed for human trials. |
 | Neurosteroid antidepressants on horizonMore than 14 million Americans suffer from clinical depression, yet one in three doesn't experience relief from approved antidepressant drugs. A new treatment approach involving drugs called neurosteroids is on the horizon, however. |
 | Teen self-harm rates: What other countries can learn from DenmarkConcern has been growing over rising rates of self-harm in teenagers. In the UK and Ireland, increases began around the time of the 2008 economic crash and show no sign of slowing. One study of the UK found rates among teenage girls rose by two-thirds between 2011 and 2014. |
 | Study says the right running stride for you is the one you naturally useU.S. Track and Field consultant Iain Hunter and U.S. Olympian Jared Ward have a message for runners: Don't mess with your stride. |
 | What time of day should I take my medicine?Whether you need to take a drug at a specific time of day depends on the medication and the condition you are treating. For some medicines, it doesn't matter what time you take it. And for others, the pharmacist may recommend you take it at the same time each day. |
 | Is your lover insecure? A simple question could transform your romantic relationshipLoving an insecure person can be frustrating. You always feel like you have to offer praise or reassurance. Not only can that be exhausting, but in trying to do what you think is helpful, you might actually be making matters worse. |
 | What really causes home field advantage—and why it's on the declineNever before has the away team won every single game in the World Series, but that's exactly what happened this year. |
 | Vitamin D and skin color revisited: Student exchange opens doors to researchA recent review on vitamin D and evolution questions the traditional view of vitamin D as a driver of skin lightening in Europe and tracks down the development of its multiple functions. Authored by exchange student Andrea Hanel and Professor Carsten Carlberg, the review was published in Biochemical Pharmacology. |
 | Zooming in on neuronal behaviorThere are more than 86 billion neurons in the brain. These cells communicate by sending electrical and chemical signals across pathways and are responsible for controlling everything from simple movement to the processing and storing of complex thoughts and memories. The sheer enormity of this neural network makes the brain a difficult frontier for exploration, but Michael Tadross and Yiyang Gong, two faculty in Duke University's Department of Biomedical Engineering and recipients of the NIH Young Innovator Award, are using distinct approaches to decipher the body's most complex organ. |
 | Pain experts say fear of needles partly to blame for Canada's relatively low immunization ratesHelping both adults and children overcome their fear of needles could have a significant personal and public health benefit, according to a University of Alberta pain expert. |
 | Banning hitting in youth hockey reduces injuries but not concussions, study findsEliminating bodychecking from non-elite bantam ice hockey leagues lowered injuries but didn't do away with concussions, according to a University of Alberta concussion expert. |
 | CDC: Prevalence of diabetes has plateaued since 2012 for seniorsSince 2012, the prevalence of diabetes has plateaued among adults aged ≥68 years, according to research published in the Nov. 1 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. |
 | Acute kidney injury often seen with checkpoint inhibitor usePatients receiving checkpoint inhibitor therapy often have acute kidney injury (AKI), according to a study published online Oct. 31 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. |
 | Health disparities: Why do women live longer than men?On average, men's lives are less healthy—and shorter—than women's. This health disparity exists in part because women take better care of themselves than men do. But several recent studies have found that in many cases, a man and a woman with the exact same condition may respond to it quite differently. Logic would dictate that they would require different treatments, but we tend to have a unisex approach to medicine (except, of course, to sex-specific conditions such as cervical and prostate cancers). Unfortunately, that approach can be deadly. Here are just a few examples. |
 | Here's something that will raise your blood pressureMany questions remain about the mechanisms that control blood pressure, particularly in relation to hypertension. Among the factors involved in regulation of blood vessel behavior, the apelin receptor (APJ) has been presumed to play an important role in the contraction of blood vessels; however, this was not verified in vivo until now. |
 | One in four oncologists fails to mention cost when discussing genomic testingNearly one in four oncologists discussing genomic testing with their patients rarely or never discusses the costs of testing, according to a new study led by American Cancer Society investigators. The study, appearing in JNCI: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, finds oncologists trained in genomic testing or working in practices with electronic medical record (EMR) alerts for genomic tests were more likely to have cost discussions. |
 | Link with synesthesia offers new insight into autismPeople with autism often have enhanced sensory sensitivity. They are, for example, much more likely to be affected by bright light and loud noises. They also have a better eye for detail. In a new paper, which was published earlier this week in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, researchers at Radboud University show that synesthetes also often have enhanced sensory sensitivity and that they have similar social skills to individuals with autism. |
 | Face processing tools aid development in children and provide coping strategies for those with conditionsResearchers have created a series of tools to support face processing development and to provide coping strategies for people with face blindness. |
 | Can science explain consciousness?Explaining how something as complex as consciousness can emerge from a grey, jelly-like lump of tissue in the head is arguably the greatest scientific challenge of our time. The brain is an extraordinarily complex organ, consisting of almost 100 billion cells—known as neurons—each connected to 10,000 others, yielding some ten trillion nerve connections. |
 | New research explains why people with Down syndrome have spatial memory problemsProfessor Juan Lerma's group, from the UMH-CSIC Institute of Neurosciences, in Alicante (Spain), has identified the gene called GRIK1, fundamental in the balance between excitation and inhibition in the brain, as one of the causes for people with Down syndrome having spatial orientation problems. |
 | Quality over quantity: Interval walking training improves fitness and health in elderly individualsIn Japan, health-conscious folks have been known to carry around pedometers to track the number of steps they walk everyday. The target number: 10,000 steps, as a foundation for a healthy lifestyle. Conscientious walkers can now update their device from a pedometer to a smartphone and forget about ten thousand steps with the latest study from Dr. Shizue Masuki of Shinshu University who found an effective way to increase overall fitness and decrease lifestyle-related disease (LSD) through Interval Walking Training (IWT). It's not how much you walk, but how intensely you do so for a minimum amount of time to get positive results. This finding may be welcome news for those who want to save time and get the most out of their workout. |
 | Researchers identify a mechanism controlling tumor cell recognition by immune cellsImmunotherapy has become a standard treatment approach for several types of cancer, including melanoma. However, tumors can escape immune cell detection even with the use of immunotherapies. In a new study published in Cancer Immunology Research, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers, in collaboration with the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine, describe a cellular mechanism that controls tumor cell recognition by immune cells. |
 | Researchers partner in vaccine project to tackle major killer of African childrenA team of University of Otago researchers is part of a major new international vaccine research project to help tackle devastating Salmonella bloodstream infections which are killing thousands of people in sub-Saharan Africa each year. |
 | Being physically active can lower older adults' risk for dyingFor older adults, being physically active is an important part of overall good health. In fact, experts say that nine percent of all premature deaths are caused by not getting enough physical activity. Physical activity is known to reduce deaths from heart disease, diabetes, chronic lung disease, and mental illness. |
 | Increase seen in opioid-, synthetic opioid-involved OD deaths(HealthDay)—From 2015 to 2017, there were increases in opioid-involved and synthetic opioid-involved overdose drug rates in nearly all racial/ethnic groups, according to research published in the Nov. 1 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. |
 | Equivalence seen between drug classes for hypertension monotherapy(HealthDay)—Most estimates show no differences in effectiveness between classes of antihypertensive agents, according to a systematic, multinational, large-scale analysis published online Oct. 24 in The Lancet. |
 | Risk for birth defects not increased with adalimumab(HealthDay)—Adalimumab exposure in pregnancy does not increase the risk for birth defects, according to a study published online Oct. 18 in PLOS ONE. |
 | Risk for second primary malignancy up in CLL survivors(HealthDay)—Survivors of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have an increased risk for second primary malignancy (SPM), according to a study published online Sept. 30 in Blood Cancer Journal. |
 | Study confirms correlates of risk associated with decrease in HIV transmissionImmune responses that are associated with a decreased risk of infection are called correlates of protection (CoP). Clinical trials that measure vaccine-induced antibody and cell-mediated immune responses help to define CoP to HIV, which are necessary to assess the efficacy of a promising HIV vaccine candidate.A pilot study led by senior authors Georgia Tomaras and Peter Gilbert and first authors Scott Neidich, Youyi Fong and Shuying Li of the NIAID-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) demonstrated that an increase in three antibody-mediated immune responses (antibody-mediated Fcƴ receptor [FcƴR] recruitment, antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis [ADCP], and anti-Env IgG3) correlated with a decrease in HIV transmission. |
 | Simple fix freed this boy's tongue trapped in bottle(HealthDay)— When a 7-year-old's tongue got stuck in a juice bottle, one savvy doctor used an old trick to release it. |
 | Unique market ensures St. Louis gets its 'Medicine' – healthy foodEvery other Thursday, Kathryn McNary watches out the window of her apartment in St. Louis for the mail truck to arrive. |
 | When you eat may matter more than what you eat: study(HealthDay)—There's evidence that the old expression "eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper" could use some tweaking. With one important revision, this approach could help not just for better health, but also for losing weight. |
 | Chemotherapy sometimes set the stage for drug-resistant leukemia at relapseChemotherapy has helped make the most common childhood cancer one of the most curable, but researchers have evidence that the treatment may also prime some patients for relapse. Results published in the journal Blood reported that treatment-induced mutations cause drug resistance in some patients whose acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) returns. |
 | Black and elderly patients less likely to receive lung cancer treatmentsOnly about 6 in 10 lung cancer patients in the United States receive the minimal lung cancer treatments recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, according to new research published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. |
 | Profits jab higher at insulin maker Novo NordiskNovo Nordisk said Friday that its new treatment for adults who suffer from diabetes drove sales and profits higher, but the world's top manufacturer of insulin still faced difficulties in the key US market. |
 | Health officials disclose another romaine outbreak, now overU.S. health officials disclosed another food poisoning outbreak linked to romaine lettuce, but they said it appears to be over. |
 | Reversed halo signs manifest in septic pulmonary embolism due to IV drug useAccording to an article published ahead-of-print in the January 2020 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), the reversed halo sign was frequently observed on the chest CT scans of patients with IV substance use disorder-related septic pulmonary embolism (PE). |
 | The secret to shapelier, stronger calves(HealthDay)—When it comes to sculpting muscles, it's easy to overlook your calves. But toning and strengthening your lower legs will make them look and feel great. |
Biology news
 | Cytoplasm of ruptured frog eggs organizes into cell-like structures that retain the ability to divideCan scrambled eggs unscramble themselves? Well, sort of. |
 | The science of zombies: Will the undead rise?Hordes of brain-munching undead terrorizing neighborhoods make for fun television and movies, but zombies could never be real... or could they? |
 | Online tool speeds response to elephant poaching by tracing ivory to sourceA new tool uses an interactive database of geographic and genetic information to help authorities quickly identify where the confiscated tusks of African elephants were originally poached. |
 | Researchers find new signaling systems in human cellsOne-third of all approved drugs target the same family of receptors: the G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Now, researchers from the University of Copenhagen, along with two American labs, have expanded the known network of peptides that activate GPCRs by 19 percent. |
 | What drives circadian rhythms in the polar regions?In temperate latitudes, the right timing is crucial for almost all living things: Plants sprout with the advent of spring, bees know the best times to visit flowers, people get tired in the evening and wake up again in the morning. The constant change between light and dark is the rhythm to which all living beings must adapt if they want to survive and reproduce. Circadian clocks regulate the timekeeping mechanism in each organism and adjust it to changes. |
 | Echolocation found to be cheap for deep-diving whalesA new international study led by Aarhus University in Denmark, in collaboration with the Universities of St Andrews and La Laguna, Tenerife, reveals how whales have evolved to live in the world's deepest oceans. |
 | Soil bacteria found to use several approaches in 'suppressive soils' to protect plantsA team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in The Netherlands and two in Brazil has discovered how some soil bacteria protect crops against a fungal disease. In their paper published in the journal Science, they describe their transcriptional analysis of several types of soil bacteria. Susannah Tringe with the U.S. DOE's Joint Genome Institute, has published a Perspective piece in the same journal issue outlining the work done by the team. |
 | Artificial cell division a step closer to realityResearchers at TU Delft have succeeded in replicating a biological mechanism that is essential for cell division in bacteria in the lab. The research is an important step within a larger project with the ultimate goal of creating a fully artificial cell that can sustain and divide itself. The researchers have published their findings in Nature Communications. |
 | The largest seabirds in the North Atlantic travel hundreds of miles just to catch foodGannets, the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, can travel hundreds of miles from their homes just to catch food for their chicks. However, with around a million square miles of ocean to choose from, it has always been a mystery how they decide where is best to search for fish. |
 | Variability in the molecules of lifeHow variable are gene transcripts and proteins, the molecules of life, across the tissues and organs of the human body? Furthermore, how variable are they within the same tissue type from different people? Understanding this variability will be key for the realization of personalized medicine. These questions are the focus of a new study led by researchers from Uppsala University, which is published in NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics. |
 | Harvesting genes to improve watermelonsWhen many people think of watermelon, they likely think of Citrullus lanatus, the cultivated watermelon with sweet, juicy red fruit enjoyed around the world as a dessert. Indeed, watermelon is one of the world's most popular fruits, second only to tomato—which many consider a vegetable. But there are six other wild species of watermelon, all of which have pale, hard and bitter fruits. |
 | Use of neonicotinoids on rice paddies linked to fishery collapse in JapanA team of researchers with members affiliated with several institutions in Japan has found what they describe as compelling evidence of two fisheries collapsing due to use of neonicotinoid pesticides by nearby rice farmers. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes their study of fishery water quality data over two decades and what they learned from it. Olaf Jensen with Rutgers University has published a Perspective piece discussing the work by the team in the same journal issue. |
 | A new ranavirus threatens US amphibian diversityKudzu and emerald ash borer are widely known examples of an invasive plant and an invasive insect, respectively, that cause harm to our native plants. Their impacts are obvious in our landscapes. Not so well known are the invasive pathogens that are quietly decimating small, little noticed but ecologically important amphibians. |
 | Genetic patterns associated with plant immunityGenomic information from plants can be used to enhance agricultural production and improve food security in a sustainable manner. Through better understanding of the relationship between a plant's genetic information and the resulting behavior, improved crops with better traits (resistance to diseases, tolerance to drought, etc.) can be developed. This can be achieved through cross pollinating plants with selected traits to produce a hybrid with the desired characteristics. |
 | Delving deeper into the response of plants to droughtDrought has plagued agriculture for centuries. Scientists suspect the reason plants survive under drought may have something to do with the plant's genetic programming and metabolic activities. A recent study delved deeper into the metabolic underpinnings of plants to understand what happens when they undergo prolonged drought stress to the point of mortality. |
It's not 'wild dog' management—we are just killing dingoesDingo or just wild dog? A new study busts the misconception that pure dingoes are extinct in NSW—and finds several 'dingo hotspots' around the state. | |
 | New monitoring technque lets your remotely operated vehicle do the snorkellingThey have been trialling their new method, which involves using Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) as a monitoring tool, at Macquarie's Marine Conservation and Management, and Advanced Marine Conservation and Management Master's degree courses, run at Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef. |
 | Quarter of all pigs worldwide could die from swine fever, animal health organization saysAt least a quarter of the world's pig population could die as a mass outbreak of African swine fever spreads, a global animal health organization says. |
Evidence of cross-species filovirus transmission from bats to humansVirus spillover—the transmission of viruses from one species to another—may be occurring between bats and humans in Nagaland, India, according to a new collaborative study by the National Centre of Biological Sciences (NCBS) in India, Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in the U.S.. The study published in the scientific journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, reaffirms the importance of virus surveillance at wildlife and human interfaces where the risk of virus spillover (transmission) may be highest. | |
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