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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for February 18, 2020:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Long-term multi-wavelength observations shed more light on blazar 1ES 1215+303An international team of astronomers has performed a decade-long, multi-wavelength monitoring campaign of the blazar 1ES 1215+303. Results of this extensive study provide more insights into the nature of emission from this source. The research is detailed in a paper published February 10 on arXiv.org. |
 | First Solar Orbiter instrument sends measurementsFirst measurements by a Solar Orbiter science instrument reached the ground on Thursday 13 February providing a confirmation to the international science teams that the magnetometer on board is in good health following a successful deployment of the spacecraft's instrument boom. |
 | LOFAR pioneers new way to study exoplanet environmentssing the Dutch-led Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope, astronomers have discovered unusual radio waves coming from the nearby red dwarf star GJ1151. The radio waves bear the tell-tale signature of aurorae caused by an interaction between a star and its planet. The radio emission from a star-planet interaction has been predicted for over thirty-years but this is the first time astronomers have been able to discern its signature. This method, only possible with a sensitive radio telescope like LOFAR, opens the door to a new way of discovering exoplanets in the habitable zone and studying the environment they exist in. |
 | SpaceX announces partnership to send four tourists into deep orbitSpaceX announced a new partnership Tuesday to send four tourists deeper into orbit than any private citizen before them, in a mission that could take place by 2022 and easily cost more than $100 million. |
 | New adventures in beds and baths for spaceflightESA is expanding its bedrest program that allows researchers to study how human bodies react to living in space—without leaving their bed. |
 | New space weather advisories serve aviationA new international advisory system is working to keep aircraft crew and passengers safe from space weather impacts, thanks in part to the efforts of a team of CIRES and NOAA developers, forecasters, and scientists in Boulder, Colorado. |
Technology news
 | A framework to evaluate and compare self-reconfigurable robotic systemsSelf-reconfigurable robots (SRRs) that can automatically change shape and adapt to their surrounding environment have recently attracted a lot of interest within the robotics research community. These robots could have several useful applications, as they can acquire a high level of autonomy in sensing their surrounding environment, as well as in planning and performing suitable actions. While past studies have introduced methods to classify these robots into subgroups, there is still no standard procedure to evaluate their performance. |
 | Researchers use grasshoppers to detect explosive chemical vaporsThe year was 2016 and the headlines talked about something called cyborg insects and reflected on a branch of technology called biorobotics. |
 | New chip brings ultra-low power Wi-Fi connectivity to IoT devicesMore portable, fully wireless smart home setups. Lower power wearables. Batteryless smart devices. These could all be made possible thanks to a new ultra-low power Wi-Fi radio developed by electrical engineers at the University of California San Diego. |
 | Better long-term forecasts can help the transition to renewable energyThe transition to renewable energy makes it more important for power producers to get accurate information about the weather that is to come. Climate scientists are currently investing considerable effort and resources to help them get better long-term forecasts. |
 | Meet Jaco and Baxter, machine learning robots who cook perfect hot dogsCraving a bite out of a freshly grilled ballpark frank? Two robots named Jaco and Baxter can serve one up. Boston University engineers have made a jump in using machine learning to teach robots to perform complex tasks, a framework that could be applied to a host of tasks, like identifying cancerous spots on mammograms or better understanding spoken commands to play music. But first, as a proof of concept—they've learned how to prepare the perfect hot dog. |
 | Researchers demonstrate new capability for cooling electronicsFor decades, researchers have considered the potential for cooling hot electronic devices by blowing on them with high-speed air jets. However, air jet cooling systems are not widely used today. Two of the biggest obstacles that prevent the use of these systems is their complexity and weight. Air jet systems must be made of metal to be able to handle the pressure associated with air jets whose speed can exceed 200 miles per hour. And the air handling system can be complex with many discrete components that manage the air flow and direct the air onto the hot spots where cooling is required. |
 | Simple, fuel-efficient rocket engine could enable cheaper, lighter spacecraftIt takes a lot of fuel to launch something into space. Sending NASA's Space Shuttle into orbit required more than 3.5 million pounds of fuel, which is about 15 times heavier than a blue whale. |
 | Researchers show advance in next-generation lithium metal batteriesA Washington State University research team has developed a way to address a major safety issue with lithium metal batteries—an innovation that could make high-energy batteries more viable for next-generation energy storage. |
 | Apple to miss revenue forecast as iPhone supply hit by coronavirusApple announced Monday it would miss its March quarter revenue forecast and global iPhone supplies would fall because of the deadly coronavirus epidemic, triggering a fall in Asian stock markets. |
 | Body work: Russia's 'biohackers' push boundariesGripping a scalpel, Vladislav Zaitsev makes an incision in the fold of skin between his client's thumb and index finger and pushes in a small glass cylinder. |
 | New bipolar plates from thin metal foils for fuel cellsAt the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU, researchers are developing advanced technology for manufacturing fuel cell engines with the aim of facilitating their fast and cost-effective serial production. To this end, the IWU researchers are initially focusing directly on the heart of these engines and are working on ways to manufacture bipolar plates from thin metal foils. At the Hannover Messe, Fraunhofer IWU will showcase these and other promising fuel cell engine research activities with the Silberhummel race car. |
 | How hydropower can help get more wind and solar on the gridA white paper from the International Energy Agency details how hydropower can help ease the global addition of wind and solar to the resource mix on power grids. Argonne's Audun Botterud offered his expertise as a co-author. |
 | Algorithm with 'human element' could create safer, more eco-friendly petrochemical plantsResearchers at Texas A&M University have recently developed a more comprehensive mathematical framework that can help engineers at petrochemical plants to not only reduce production costs and increase economic gain, but also make these factories safer and more environmentally friendly. The researchers said their new algorithm is a one-stop solution that can assist engineers in selecting the most optimal design for chemical processing units within their operating plants. |
 | Instagram's 'Latest Posts' prototype brings back beloved chronological timelineInstagram is internally testing a feature that would bring back its chronological timeline. |
 | Attention cord-cutters: Redbox rolled out a free online streaming service with live TVCord-cutters now have another website they can visit to catch up on TV shows for free. |
 | This cabin rental service is a game-changer for those who love natureSometimes it can seem impossible to disconnect for even a moment. Our phones are constantly buzzing and ringing, and our fingers tremble with the urge to Instagram our morning lattes. And we can't always make time in our day-to-day lives to escape all the noise. We live in a time when you just have to take it upon yourself to schedule some much-needed relaxation time. And I have just the way to do it. |
 | Amazon has 37,000 job listings—maybe its most ever—across the globeAt one point last week, Amazon had about 37,200 job listings around the world. |
 | Apple shares skid on worries over coronavirus impactApple shares slumped on Wall Street Tuesday after the US tech giant warned of a bigger-than-anticipated financial hit from the coronavirus epidemic, roiling financial markets. |
 | Neuroscience opens the black box of artificial intelligenceComputer scientists at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg are aiming to use the findings and established methods of brain research to better understand the way in which artificial intelligence works. |
 | Researchers develop efficient distributed deep learningA new algorithm is enabling deep learning that is more collaborative and communication-efficient than traditional methods. |
 | Europe resists mounting US pressure on Huawei 5G technologyThe Trump administration is stepping up pressure on European allies to ban Chinese tech firm Huawei from supplying next-generation mobile networks, with more officials visiting this week to press the case. |
Fukushima staff could use raincoats as virus threatens gear productionWorkers at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant may need to wear plastic raincoats as the coronavirus outbreak threatens production of protective suits in China, the operator warned on Tuesday. | |
 | Furious shareholders blast Nissan bossesShareholders livid about the performance of struggling Japanese car giant Nissan on Tuesday blasted bosses over dividends, executive pay, the stock price, and even the type of vehicle they use. |
 | Foreign firms struggle to resume operations in virus-hit ChinaForeign firms are struggling to resume work in virus-hit China as they face disrupted supply chains, rising inventory and quarantine rules meant to contain the deadly epidemic, the EU chamber of commerce said Tuesday. |
 | Spain looks to adopt digital tax that has angered the USSpain's government approved Tuesday the introduction of new taxes on digital business and stock market transactions, following similar steps by other European countries. |
 | MIT to caption online videos after discrimination lawsuitThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology has agreed to provide captions for more of its publicly available online videos as part of a settlement announced Tuesday in a case that accused the school of discriminating against people who are deaf or hard of hearing. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Mediterranean diet promotes gut bacteria linked to 'healthy ageing' in older peopleEating a Mediterranean diet for a year boosts the types of gut bacteria linked to 'healthy' ageing, while reducing those associated with harmful inflammation in older people, indicates a five-country study, published online in the journal Gut. |
 | Most coronavirus infections are mild, says Chinese studyMost people infected by the new coronavirus in China have mild symptoms, with older patients and those with underlying conditions most at risk from the disease, according to a study by Chinese researchers. |
 | Study to provide new insights into health impact of urban pollutionLondoners equipped with wearable sensors will help researchers understand the effects of air pollution on personal health in real time. |
 | Study reveals how too much fluoride causes defects in tooth enamelExposing teeth to excessive fluoride alters calcium signaling, mitochondrial function, and gene expression in the cells forming tooth enamel—a novel explanation for how dental fluorosis, a condition caused by overexposure to fluoride during childhood, arises. The study, led by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry, is published in Science Signaling. |
 | Scientists may have a way to let preemies breath easierThe continuing epidemic of pre-term births includes this stark reality: tiny, fragile babies are born with underdeveloped lungs and prone to lifelong respiratory infections and related chronic illnesses. |
 | Biomarker for Parkinson's disease may originate in the gutParkinson's disease (PD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder, impairing the motor functions of millions of elderly people worldwide. Often, people with PD will experience disturbances in gastrointestinal function, such as constipation, years before motor symptoms set in. |
 | Gut bacteria's interactions with immune system mappedThe first detailed cell atlas of the immune cells and gut bacteria within the human colon has been created by researchers. The study from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and collaborators revealed different immune niches, showing changes in the bacterial microbiome and immune cells throughout the colon. As part of the Human Cell Atlas initiative to map every human cell type, these results will enable new studies into diseases which affect specific regions of the colon, such as ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer. |
 | Neuroscientist links specific action to specific sounds in miceYou can't call it a dictionary just yet, but University of Delaware neuroscientist Joshua Neunuebel is starting to break the code mice use to communicate with each other. |
 | First glimpse of body's 'steering wheel' joint sparks hopeFor the first time, scientists have found a way to reveal the mechanics of the human body's 'steering wheel'—the subtalar joint. |
 | Traditional risk factors predict heart disease as well as genetic testTraditional cardiovascular risk factors often assessed in an annual physical, such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, diabetes, and smoking status, are at least as valuable in predicting who will develop coronary heart disease (CHD) as a sophisticated genetic test that surveys millions of different points in DNA, a study led by a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher suggests. The findings, published Feb. 18, 2020, in JAMA, support the utility of these tried-and-true methods. |
 | Predicting immunotherapy successOne of the frustrations with anti-cancer therapy is that no one drug fits all: Most work well in some people but have little effect in other patients with the same type of cancer. This is as true of the newer immunotherapy treatments as it is of older types of chemotherapy. Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have now identified new markers that can help predict which patients have a better chance for a positive response to immunotherapy treatments. Their findings were reported in Nature Communications. |
 | Study: Late fall may be best time of year to try to conceiveFirst-of-its-kind study accounts for when couples are most likely to start trying to conceive, finding couples conceive quicker in late fall and early winter, especially in southern states. |
 | Time of day affects global brain fluctuationsAs the day progresses, the strength of the brain's global signal fluctuation shows an unexpected decrease, according to a study published on February 18 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Csaba Orban and a multi-disciplinary team of scientists from the Faculty of Engineering, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and N.1 Institute of Health at the National University of Singapore. |
 | Study reveals how low oxygen levels in the heart predispose people to cardiac arrhythmiasLow oxygen levels in the heart have long been known to produce life-threatening arrhythmias, even sudden death. Until now, it was not clear how. |
 | BPA alternative, bisphenol S, could negatively affect mother's placenta and developing baby's brainUsing "BPA-free" plastic products could be as harmful to human health—including a developing brain—as those products that contain the controversial chemical, suggest scientists in a new study led by the University of Missouri and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. |
 | Study finds empathy can be detected in people whose brains are at restUCLA researchers have found that it is possible to assess a person's ability to feel empathy by studying their brain activity while they are resting rather than while they are engaged in specific tasks. |
 | Twenty four genetic variants linked to heightened womb cancer riskTwenty four common variations in genes coding for cell growth and death, the processing of oestrogen, and gene control factors may be linked to a heightened risk of developing womb (endometrial) cancer, indicates the most comprehensive review of the published evidence so far in the Journal of Medical Genetics. |
 | Exposure to cleaning products in first three months of life increases risk of childhood asthmaNew research from the CHILD Cohort Study shows that frequent exposure to common household cleaning products can increase a child's risk of developing asthma. |
 | Life-course-persistent antisocial behaviour may be associated with differences in brain structureMRI brain scans suggest there are characteristic differences in brain structure of individuals who exhibit life-course-persistent antisocial behaviour. |
 | People living with HIV diagnosed with COPD 12 years younger than HIV-negative peoplePeople in Ontario living with HIV had a 34 per cent higher incidence rate of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and were diagnosed with the disease about 12 years younger than HIV-negative individuals, according to a study led by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital of Unity Health Toronto and ICES. |
 | Shanghai virus hospital tries array of treatments in 'big test'In a sprawling medical compound an hour's drive from downtown Shanghai, doctors are employing a patchwork of coronavirus treatments in a race to save victims of an epidemic for which there is still no established cure. |
Hospital director at China virus epicentre diesA hospital director at the epicentre of China's virus epidemic died Tuesday, state media said, the latest medical worker to fall victim to the new coronavirus spreading across the country. | |
 | WHO urges calm as China virus death toll nears 1,900The death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak rose again on Tuesday but Chinese and international health officials sought to calm global nerves, citing a study showing most cases are mild and warning against excessive measures to contain the epidemic. |
 | IVF-conceived children have somewhat higher mortality risk in their first weeks of lifeChildren conceived with assisted reproductive techniques including in vitro fertilization (IVF) have a somewhat higher mortality risk during their first weeks of life than children conceived naturally, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal Fertility and Sterility. The researchers link the increased risk to a higher degree of premature births in IVF children and emphasize that the risk of infant mortality is still very small for both groups. Beyond one year of age, the risk of mortality was similar for all children regardless of conception method. |
 | Study designs novel approach for better understanding teens and technologyResearchers at UW have designed a scale, The Adolescents' Digital Technology Interactions and Importance, that measures the importance of social media interactions. This novel approach proposes a brand-new way to design future studies of adolescent health and social media. |
 | High rates of suicide continue among older NZ men, research revealsThere continues to be a high rate of suicide among older New Zealand men and an Otago psychogeriatrician says more needs to be done to understand why and to help prevent this occurring. |
 | Are ACL tears really more common in women?It may be hard to remember a time when it was uncommon for girls and women to play competitive sports, but it's not exactly ancient history. The 1972 passage of Title IX, which mandated equal access for women to participate in sports and other educational activities that receive federal funding, gets credit for dramatically increasing the number of girls and women playing sports. In 1974, fewer than 300,000 girls played high school sports. By 2018, that figure skyrocketed to 3.4 million. |
 | Thanks to backpacks, public school students may have better core strength than homeschoolersLugging a heavy backpack to school probably seems like a burden to most public school students, but it might explain a health advantage over home-schooled children: A heartier core. |
 | Robot toys could help detect early signs of autism or ADHD in infantsLauren Klein, a computer science Ph.D. candidate in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, has long been interested in tackling healthcare problems. Her latest approach: robot toys. |
 | Memory games: Eating well to rememberA healthy diet is essential to living well, but as we age, should we change what we eat? |
 | Virtual games help people stand and walk in rehabVirtual reality video games, activity monitors, and handheld computer devices can help people stand as well as walk, the largest trial worldwide into the effects of digital devices in rehabilitation has found. |
 | Fan of sci-fi? Psychologists have you in their sightsScience fiction has struggled to achieve the same credibility as highbrow literature. In 2019, the celebrated author Ian McEwan dismissed science fiction as the stuff of "anti-gravity boots" rather than "human dilemmas." According to McEwan, his own book about intelligent robots, Machines Like Me, provided the latter by examining the ethics of artificial life—as if this were not a staple of science fiction from Isaac Asimov's robot stories of the 1940s and 1950s to TV series such as Humans (2015-2018). |
 | Gene therapy can protect against ALS and SMA-related cell deathResearchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Milan in Italy have identified a gene in human neurons that protects against the degeneration of motor neurons in the deadly diseases ALS and SMA. Gene therapy in animal models of these diseases was shown to protect against cell death and increase life expectancy. The study is published in the eminent journal Acta Neuropathologica. |
 | Late bedtimes in preschool years could bring weight gainLittle ones who stay up late may have a higher risk of becoming overweight by the time they are school-age, a new study suggests. |
 | Women patients still missing in heart researchWomen remain underrepresented in heart disease research, even though it's the leading cause of death among women worldwide, researchers say. |
 | Coronavirus: Are U.S. hospitals prepared?Hospitals are bracing for the potential spread of coronavirus in the United States, trying to plan for a potential onslaught of sick patients combined with potential supply shortages. |
 | Insulin is being sold illegally on Craigslist for a fraction of its retail price, study findsCraigslist: a place to shop for used Ikea furniture, summer apartment sublets and ... insulin? |
 | Researchers identify novel protein to prevent neuropathy from chemotherapyA team of researchers from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine has identified a novel protein that would prevent the development of neuropathy in cancer patients who receive chemotherapy. |
 | A new way to monitor cancer radiation therapy dosesMore than half of all cancer patients undergo radiation therapy and the dose is critical. Too much and the surrounding tissue gets damaged, too little and the cancer cells survive. Subhadeep Dutta and Karthik Pushpavanam, graduate students working in the lab of Kaushal Rege, Professor at Arizona State University in Tempe, and collaborators at Banner-M.D. Anderson in Gilbert, Arizona, developed a new way to monitor radiation doses that is cost-effective and easy to read. Dutta will present their research on Tuesday, February 18 at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society in San Diego, California. |
 | Study links natural sugars in breastmilk to early childhood height and weightHuman milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) found in breastmilk may influence a child's growth from infancy through early childhood, according to a study supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study also suggested that maternal obesity may affect HMO composition in breastmilk. The study was led by Lars Bode, Ph.D., at the University of California, San Diego. It appears in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. |
 | The (un)usual suspect—novel coronavirus identifiedIn early December, a few people in the city of Wuhan in the Hubei province of China began falling sick after going to a local seafood market. They experienced symptoms like cough, fever, and shortness of breath, and even complications related to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The immediate diagnosis was pneumonia, but the exact cause was unexplained. What caused this new outbreak? Is it the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV? Is it the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV? |
 | MRI method provides unprecedented insight into the brain's wiring networkThoughts, sensations, and emotions zap across the brain via a meshwork of fine nerve fibers called axons. Axon size is crucially important for general brain function as well as in certain neurological conditions. Experts have been striving to establish a means to noninvasively measure these fibers for many years. An international team of researchers has now developed a novel MRI method that manages to do just that. |
 | Cancer immunotherapy target helps fight solid tumorsYvonne Chen engineers immune cells to target their most evasive enemy: cancer. New cancer immunotherapies generate immune cells that are effective killers of blood cancers, but they have a hard time with solid tumors. Chen, Associate Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, is designing ways for immune cells to "outsmart" solid tumors. She will present her research on Tuesday, February 18, at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society in San Diego, California. |
 | Researchers show how Ebola virus hijacks host lipidsRobert Stahelin studies some of the world's deadliest viruses. Filoviruses, including Ebola virus and Marburg virus, cause viral hemorrhagic fever with high fatality rates. Stahelin, professor at Purdue University, examines how these viruses take advantage of human host cells. His latest research, which he will present on Wednesday, February 19 at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society in San Diego, California, show how Ebola interacts with a human lipid and that FDA approved drugs that alter lipids block Ebola infection in cells. |
 | Parkinson's disease protein structure solved inside cells using novel techniqueThe top contributor to familial Parkinson's disease is mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), whose large and difficult structure has finally been solved, paving the way for targeted therapies. University of California, San Diego researchers Reika Watanabe, Robert Buschauer, Jan Böhning, Martina Audagnotto in the laboratory led by Elizabeth Villa used a pioneering technique to reveal the structure of pathogenic LRRK2 in action. Watanabe will present the team's research on Wednesday, February 19 at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society in San Diego, California. |
 | Scientists pinpoint brain coordinates for face blindnessFace blindness (prosopagnosia) is the inability to recognise faces. Much as people with dyslexia find it difficult to distinguish letters, people with face blindness are unable to "read" the special features that make faces unique, and which enable those without the condition to distinguish between people and recognise those we have met before. |
 | After free lunch from drug firms, doctors increase prescriptionsDoctors prescribe more branded medications after marketing visits by the makers of those drugs, new research co-authored by a Cornell University economist confirms. |
 | Tumor of the touch cells: A first-of-its-kind study in IndiaThe cause of a disease often affects its treatment plan. The need to fill this gap in our understanding of disease biology is further exaggerated in the case of 'rare' diseases. |
 | Gene tests for heart disease risk have limited benefitGenetic tests to predict a person's risk of heart disease and heart attack have limited benefit over conventional testing. |
 | Low folate levels can indicate malnutrition in hospital patientsAbout 10% of patients who come to complex care hospitals may have low levels of folate and other indicators of malnutrition, investigators say. |
 | Kidney patients benefit using organs from Hepatitis C-infected donorsA new medical approach recommended by University of Cincinnati physician-researchers may reduce organ wait times, save money, boost quality of life and prolong life expectancy for kidney patients. |
 | Heated tobacco devices making inroads among young adults, study findsMany younger Americans are aware of new products that heat tobacco to produce a breathable aerosol, and individuals who use other tobacco products are those most likely to use them, according to a new RAND Corporation study. |
 | Research suggests statins could lower ovarian cancer riskA genetic study has found evidence to suggest that women who take statins in the long term could be less likely to develop ovarian cancer, according to new research funded by Cancer Research UK published today. |
 | Hospitality, not medical care, drives patient satisfactionPatients' ratings of hospitals and willingness to recommend them have almost no correlation to the quality of medical care provided or to patient survival rates, according to new Cornell University research. |
 | Getting a grip: An innovative mechanical controller design for robot-assisted surgeryScientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology designed a new type of controller for the robotic arm used in robotic surgery. Their controller combines the two distinct types of gripping used in commercially available robotic systems to leverage the advantages of both, reducing the efforts of the surgeon and providing good precision. |
 | How malaria detects and shields itself from approaching immune cellsMalaria parasites can sense a molecule produced by approaching immune cells and then use it to protect themselves from destruction, according to new findings published today in eLife. |
 | Saliva can be used to predict excess body fat in teenagersIn addition to helping us chew and swallow, keeping the mouth moist and protecting us against germs, saliva can also be used for early detection of the risk of developing diseases associated with surplus body fat. |
 | Variety and consistency are essential to keep the mind healthyFor many adults, the mid-30's is a busy time. There's often career advancement, the start of a new family and associated responsibilities. It's also a critical time for how we diversify our days in order to stay up to speed. A new study from the University of South Florida (USF) finds a key piece to maintaining cognitive function throughout adulthood is to engage in diverse activities regularly. |
 | Masking the memory of fear: Treating anxiety disorders such as PTSD with an opioidAnxiety disorders such as phobias and PTSD are fairly common problems in society. One of the prime causes of anxiety disorders is the inability to overcome the fear for certain contexts when they no longer apply. Attempts to facilitate this process of overcoming fear, therefore, has been the focus of recent efforts to treat anxiety disorders. These efforts have culminated in the discovery that certain opioid compounds, called delta opioid receptor (DOP) agonists, assist in masking fear memory. Consequently, DOP agonists have been at the center of clinical explorations in this area over the last decade. |
 | 'Birth Settings' report explores medical disparities of childbirth in the USA report released earlier this month dives deep into the ongoing inequities surrounding childbirth in the U.S., with Oregon emerging as a leading example of how to do better. |
 | Testing during studying improves memory and inferenceResearch has shown that testing enhances memory. However, less is known on whether testing can improve a person's ability to make inferences. |
 | Amlodipine better BP drug for lower long-term risk for gout(HealthDay)—The antihypertensive medication amlodipine is associated with a lower risk for gout compared with other antihypertensive agents, according to a study published online Jan. 20 in the Journal of Hypertension. |
 | Mortality no different for no sedation versus light sedation in ICU patients(HealthDay)—For mechanically ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients, mortality at 90 days is no different for those randomly assigned to no sedation and those assigned to light sedation with daily interruption, according to a study published online Feb. 16 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the Society of Critical Care Medicine annual Critical Care Congress, held from Feb. 16 to 19 in Orlando, Florida. |
 | Hospitals with internationally trained nurses have more stable, educated nursing workforcesHaving more nurses trained outside of the United States working on a hospital unit does not hurt collaboration among healthcare professionals and may result in a more educated and stable nursing workforce, finds a new study by researchers at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing published in the journal Nursing Economic$. |
 | Study suggests later school start times reduce car crashes, improve teen safetyA study published online as an accepted paper in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that later school start times were associated with a significant drop in vehicle accidents involving teen drivers. |
 | Researchers create, test AI to improve EKG testing for hypertrophic cardiomyopathyAn approach based on artificial intelligence (AI) may allow EKGs to be used to screen for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the future. With hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the heart walls become thick and may interfere with the heart's ability to function properly. The disease also predisposes some patients to potentially fatal abnormal rhythms. Current EKG technology has limited diagnostic yield for this disease. |
Elder-friendly care after emergency surgery greatly improves outcomes for older patientsTailoring care for older patients who have had emergency surgery can reduce complications and deaths, decrease the length of hospital stays and cut down on the need for alternate care at discharge, according to a new study led a University of Alberta researcher. | |
 | Study supports new approach for treating cerebral malariaResearchers at the National Institutes of Health found evidence that specific immune cells may play a key role in the devastating effects of cerebral malaria, a severe form of malaria that mainly affects young children. The results, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, suggest that drugs targeting T cells may be effective in treating the disease. The study was supported by the NIH Intramural Research Program. |
 | Why treat people exposed to virus in Omaha? Why not?Of all places, why are 13 people potentially exposed to a viral outbreak being treated and observed in Omaha, Nebraska? |
 | Experts ponder why cruise ship quarantine failed in JapanAs an extraordinary two-week quarantine of a cruise ship ends Wednesday in Japan, many scientists say it was a failed experiment: The ship seemed to serve as an incubator for the new virus from China instead of an isolation facility meant to prevent the worsening of an outbreak. |
 | Singapore announces $4.6 bn boost to fight virusSingapore unveiled US$4.6 billion in financial packages on Tuesday to deal with the impact of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, which has battered the city-state's economy and sparked fears of a recession. |
 | Is Australia's health system failing kids with autism?Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are calling for changes to mainstream health services as new research from the University of South Australia shows significant gaps in health practitioners' knowledge, understanding and treatment practices for children with ASD. |
 | Interview: UN chief says new virus poses 'enormous' risksThe U.N. secretary general said Tuesday that the virus outbreak that began in China poses "a very dangerous situation" for the world, but "is not out of control." |
 | First Swedish transplant of uterus from deceased donorThe Swedish team responsible for uterine transplantation research has, for the first time, transplanted a uterus from a deceased donor. The operation proceeded without complications and the recipient is doing well. |
 | How language proficiency correlates with cognitive skillsAn international team of researchers carried out an experiment at HSE University demonstrating that knowledge of several languages can improve the performance of the human brain. In their study, they registered a correlation between participants' cognitive control and their proficiency in a second language. |
 | Hippocampal avoidance during WBRT reduces risks in oncology trialResults from the NRG Oncology clinical study NRG-CC001 concluded that lowering radiotherapy dose to hippocampal stem cells improves cognitive and patient-reported outcomes for patients with brain metastases. These findings were presented at Plenary Sessions at the 2018 Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) and the 2019 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meetings and are now published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. |
 | Number of people with dementia is set to double by 2050, according to new reportToday, at a European Parliament lunch debate hosted by Christophe Hansen MEP (Luxembourg), Alzheimer Europe launched a new report presenting the findings of its collaborative analysis of recent prevalence studies and setting out updated prevalence rates for dementia in Europe. |
 | Readmission risk increases for elderly patients with geriatric-specific characteristicsResearchers have examined new geriatric-specific characteristics that appear to raise the risk of elderly surgical patients having an unplanned hospital readmission within a month of initially leaving the hospital. The new study is published online as an "article in press" on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website in advance of print publication. |
 | Community LGBTQ supportiveness may reduce substance use among sexual minority adolescentsA new research study provides novel insights into community-level predictors of lifetime substance use among a sample of 2678 sexual minority adolescents. Community LGBTQ supportiveness was found to be associated with lower odds of lifetime illegal drug use for sexual minority boys and girls and lower odds of lifetime marijuana use and smoking for girls. Living in a large population center was related to lower odds of lifetime alcohol use for boys. However, a progressive political climate was related to higher odds of lifetime marijuana use for girls. The importance of community contexts for substance use among sexual minority adolescents is investigated in an article published in LGBT Health. |
 | Russia bans Chinese citizens over virus concerns: agenciesRussia on Tuesday said it would ban all Chinese citizens from entering its territory from February 20, in a drastic measure against the spread of the new coronavirus, local news agencies said. |
 | Tulane math professor leads effort to map spread of coronavirusJames "Mac" Hyman, the Evelyn and John G. Phillips Distinguished Professor in Mathematics at Tulane University, is using mathematical models to better understand and predict the spread of COVID-19 and to quantify the effectiveness of various efforts to stop it. |
Health coaching shown to improve inhaler use among low-income COPD patientsOver 14 million U.S. adults have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and many face barriers to using inhaled medications regularly and effectively. Although inhaled medications can improve daily life and long-term outcomes, only 25 to 43% of people with COPD use them regularly. In addition, inhalers can be complex to use—requiring users to master a series of six to eight steps that differ across devices. Physicians and health teams have not yet found a solution to bring COPD medication adherence to the level of other chronic diseases. | |
 | When the best treatment for hypertension is to waitA new study from the University of Missouri concluded that a physician's decision not to intensify hypertension treatment is often a contextually appropriate choice. In two-thirds of cases where physicians did not change treatment for patients with hypertension, patients' blood pressure returned to normal in follow-up readings taken at home. |
Biology news
 | Researchers discover how cells clear misfolded proteins from tissuesResearchers in Japan have identified a new quality control system that allows cells to remove damaged and potentially toxic proteins from their surroundings. The study, which will be published February 18 in the Journal of Cell Biology, finds that the Clusterin protein and heparan sulfate proteoglycans combine to bring misfolded proteins into cells for degradation. The findings may lead to new therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. |
 | Meet the insects that are defying the plunge in biodiversityIn 2019, there were 44 million fewer breeding birds in the UK than there were in the 1970s. There are thought to be fewer than one million hedgehogs, compared to 35 million in the 1950s. Two-thirds of British butterflies have also been on a downward trend since the 1970s, adding to a grim picture for biodiversity in the UK. |
 | Adolescent male chimps still need their mamasEven kids who are nearly grown still need a parental figure to help them navigate the long path to adulthood—and our closest animal relatives are no exception. |
 | Scientists make fresh call for policy makers to protect pollinatorsPollinating insects could thrive if improvements are made to agri-environment schemes across Europe, according to a new collaborative study involving scientists from Trinity. |
 | North Island robins found to have long term memoryA pair of researchers at Victoria University of Wellington has found that North Island robins have long-term memory. In their paper published in the journal Biology Letters, Rachael Shaw and Annette Harvey describe experiments they conducted with the birds and what they learned from them. |
 | Marmots need not worry about being an 'older mum'Having an older mother works out better for future generations of marmot daughters. |
 | Bacteria get free lunch with butterflies and dragonfliesFor humans, trade is second nature and civilizations have flourished and fallen with the fate of their trade. In fact, the mutual scratching of backs is a cornerstone of many animal societies. On the other hand, deep and sustained mutualisms across species were long thought to be quirks of evolution, where radically different players managed to stick together and trade for mutual benefit. Famous examples include mitochondria (ex-bacterial cells), which are embedded in and power animal and plant cells. These ancient mutualisms are incredibly fascinating; for how could such delicate relationships survive the travails of time and evolution? |
 | Study reveals origin of endangered Colombian poison frog hybridsThe origin of an understudied hybrid population of poisonous frogs—highly endangered colorful animals that live deep in the Colombian jungle—is the result of natural breeding and not caused by wildlife traffickers moving them, a University of Saskatchewan (USask) study shows. |
 | Road salt harmful to native amphibians, new research showsThe combined effects of chemical contamination by road salt and invasive species can harm native amphibians, according to researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York. |
 | Amazon forest disturbance is changing how plants are dispersedThe study looked at areas in the Brazilian Amazon with varying levels of disturbance from activities like logging or burning. The researchers found that not only did human disturbance reduce overall tree diversity, it increased the proportion of trees with seeds dispersed by animals as opposed to other mechanisms like wind. |
 | The wicked risks of biosecurity: Invasive species in AustraliaInvasive species have the potential to damage our economy, change our way of life and impact our wellbeing. |
 | These plants and animals are now flourishing as life creeps back after bushfiresAs the east coast bushfire crisis finally abates, it's easy to see nothing but loss: more than 11 million hectares of charcoal and ash, and more than a billion dead animals. |
 | Video: Deep-sea footage helps researchers understand octopod real estateBiologists are using footage from remotely operated vehicles to better understand where deep-sea octopuses prefer to live. |
 | Mating squid don't stop for loud noisesLoud hammering noises like pile driving disrupt the mating behavior of longfin squid, but the cephalopods seem to get acclimated to the incessant noise, according to new research presented at the Ocean Sciences Meeting this week. |
 | Giving good bacteria an edge in making cheeseWhen unpasteurized milk is used to make cheese, the result is a product with more complex flavors, meaning many consumers seek out cheese made from "raw" milk. However, if the milk was contaminated, the cheese it's used for can harbor pathogens that make people sick. This is where "protective cultures" can help. |
 | Fish-passage project could open upper Green River to salmon and steelheadSalmon and steelhead could once again inhabit more than 100 miles of the upper Green River watershed now that the entire Washington congressional delegation has backed restarting a federal project to allow fish to pass the Howard Hanson Dam. |
 | Technique can label many specific DNAs, RNAs, or proteins in a single tissue sampleA new technique can label diverse molecules and amplify the signal to help researchers spot those that are especially rare. Called SABER (signal amplification by exchange reaction), Peng Yin's lab at Harvard's Wyss Institute first introduced this method last year and since have found ways to apply it to proteins, DNA and RNA. Yin will explain how engineered DNA nanotechnology, including SABER, can help scientists analyze the molecular landscape on Tuesday, February 18 at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society in San Diego, California. |
 | Insects' ability to smell is phenomenally diverse, a new protein structure hints at howEven though they don't have conventional noses, insects have adapted to smell odors in nearly every imaginable niche. Mosquitoes find us by our odor molecules binding to odor receptors on their antennae, bees are drawn to flowers the same way, whereas ticks detect an approaching host using receptors on their forelegs. Insects' ability to smell is uniquely adapted to their needs and habitats and Vanessa Ruta, Associate Professor at Rockefeller University, reveals a key to this versatility in research presented on Monday, February 17 at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society in San Diego, California. |
 | Crops provide chimpanzees with more energy than wild foodsA University of Kent study has found that cultivated foods offer chimpanzees in West Africa more energetic benefits than wild foods available in the region. |
 | What induces sleep? For fruit flies it's stress at the cellular levelSleep-deprived fruit flies helped reveal what induces sleep. University of Oxford researchers Anissa Kempf, Gero Miesenböck, and colleagues reveal that fruit fly sleep is driven by oxidative stress, the imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in the body. Kempf will present their research on Monday, February 17 at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society in San Diego, California. |
 | New high-throughput method to study gene splicing at an unprecedented scaleGenes are like instructions, but with options for building more than one thing. Daniel Larson, senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute, studies this gene "splicing" process, which happens in normal cells and goes awry in blood cancers like leukemia. Larson, postdoctoral associate Yihan Wan, and colleagues developed a new technique to study gene splicing at an unprecedented scale, revealing new details into the process. Larson will present the team's work on Sunday, February 16, at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society in San Diego, California. |
 | The functional diversity in a noxious heat and chemical sensor among mosquito speciesResearchers at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences compared functional properties of TRPA1 which serves as a receptor for noxious heat and chemicals among mosquito species. Thermal and chemical responses of TRPA1 were different among several mosquito species. In addition, avoidance from warmth was also different between two mosquito species inhabiting tropical or temperate zones, respectively. These findings partly suggest that sensory perception to noxious stimuli varies among mosquito species. |
 | Uncovering the plastic brain of a fruitfly—new studyGenetic mechanisms that govern brain plasticity—the brain's ability to change and adapt—have been uncovered by researchers at the University of Birmingham. |
 | A real global player: Previously unrecognised bacteria as a key group in marine sedimentsMarine sediments cover more than two thirds of our planet's surface. Nevertheless, they are scarcely explored, especially in the deeper regions of the oceans. For their nutrition, the bacteria in the deep ocean are almost entirely dependent on remnants of organisms that trickle down from the upper water layers. Depending on how they process this material, it either remains in the depths of the ocean for a long time or moves back to the surface as carbon dioxide. Thus, sea-floor bacteria play an important role in the global carbon cycle, which makes them an exciting and important research object. |
 | Unexpected insights into the dynamic structure of mitochondriaAs power plants and energy stores, mitochondria are essential components of almost all cells in plants, fungi and animals. Until now, it has been assumed that these functions underlie a static structure of mitochondrial membranes. Researchers at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), supported also by the Center for Advanced Imaging (CAi) of HHU, and have now discovered that the inner membranes of mitochondria are by no means static, but rather constantly change their structure every few seconds in living cells. This dynamic adaptation process further increases the performance of our cellular power plants. "In our opinion, this finding fundamentally changes the way our cellular power plants work and will probably change the textbooks," says Prof. Dr. Andreas Reichert, Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I at the HHU. The results are described in a publication in EMBO Reports. |
 | Fifteen years and 20 million insects: Sweden documents its insect fauna in a changing worldThe Swedish Malaise Trap Project (SMTP) was launched in 2003 with the aim of making a complete list of the insect diversity of Sweden. Over the past fifteen years, an estimated total of 20 million insects, collected during the project, have been processed for scientific study. Recently, the team behind this effort published the resulting inventory in the open-access journal Biodiversity Data Journal. In their paper, they also document the project all the way from its inception to its current status by reporting on its background, organisation, methodology and logistics. |
 | How gliding animals fine-tuned the rules of evolutionA study of gliding animals has challenged the idea that evolutionary innovations—adaptations that bring new abilities and advantages—spur the origin of other new body types and other characteristics in descendent species. The research, undertaken by evolutionary biologists at UNSW Sydney and universities in the US and Spain, examined the key innovation of gliding in two types of gliding animals: 'flying' dragons (family Agamidae) and 'flying' squirrels (family Sciuridae), both common to forests in Southeast Asia. "Gliding Dragons and Flying Squirrels: Diversifying versus Stabilizing Selection on Morphology following the Evolution of an Innovation," published in The American Naturalist 195, no. 2 (February 2020), confirms previous assumptions that gliding animals originated from arboreal ancestors and likely arose as a means of escaping predators some 25-30 million years ago. |
 | Backyard gardeners can act to help bee populationsChemicals are routinely applied around residential landscapes to kill insect pests and troublesome weeds, but many are indiscriminate and devastate pollinators in the process. |
 | Enigmatic small primate finally caught on film in Taita, KenyaGood news from the Kenyan Taita Hills: the Taita mountain dwarf galago still survives. This was confirmed by researchers working at the University of Helsinki Taita Research Station. |
 | Fruit flies have a radical strategy for dealing with free radicalsOxidative stress affects all living organisms, and the damage it causes is believed to play a part in cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and a number of other health conditions. Some animals have developed remarkable, even radical strategies for combating its effects. Researchers at EPFL observed that, under acute oxidative stress, flies belonging to the genus Drosophila, commonly known as fruit flies, remove and excrete damage-causing lipids, or fats, from their blood. The team has published its findings in the journal Immunity. |
 | Oversight of fishing vessels lacking, new analysis showsPolicies regulating fishing in international waters do not sufficiently protect officials who monitor illegal fishing, the prohibited dumping of equipment, or human trafficking or other human rights abuses, finds a new analysis by a team of environmental researchers. |
 | Warming oceans are getting louderOne of the ocean's loudest creatures is smaller than you'd expect—and will get even louder and more troublesome to humans and sea life as the ocean warms, according to new research presented here at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020. |
 | Fish farmers seek new weapons to fight thriving parasitesSalmon farmers battling large numbers of parasites that flourish on fish farms are seeking—and finding—new ways to cut their losses and protect marine wildlife. |
 | Locust swarms arrive in South Sudan, threatening more miserySwarms of locusts which are wreaking havoc across East Africa have now arrived in South Sudan, the government said Tuesday, threatening more misery in one of the world's most vulnerable nations. |
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