Science X Newsletter Monday, Mar 2

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for March 2, 2020:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

A model to design logic gates inspired by a single-cell organism

Exploring neural mechanisms behind the perception of control in stressful situations

Two stars merged to form massive white dwarf

Carbon chains adopt fusilli or spaghetti shapes if they have odd or even numbers

Early Earth may have been a 'waterworld'

Fish school by randomly copying each other, rather than following the group

Potassium metal battery emerges as a rival to lithium-ion technology

X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions detected in the galaxy RX J1301.9+2747

Sinking sea mountains make and muffle earthquakes

The 'Monday effect' is real—and it's impacting your Amazon package delivery

Artificial intelligence could enhance diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders

Not a 'math person'? You may be better at learning to code than you think

Researchers study role culture plays in feeling sick

NASA images show fall in China pollution over virus shutdown

New tools show a way forward for large-scale storage of renewable energy

Astronomy & Space news

	Two stars merged to form massive white dwarf A massive white dwarf star with a bizarre carbon-rich atmosphere could be two white dwarfs merged together according to an international team led by University of Warwick astronomers, and only narrowly avoided destruction.
	X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions detected in the galaxy RX J1301.9+2747 Astronomers have performed observations of a galaxy known as RX J1301.9+2747 using ESA's XMM-Newton spacecraft. The study unveiled three strong and rapid X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) in the nucleus of this galaxy. The finding is reported in a paper published February 20 on arXiv.org.
	Scientists seize rare chance to watch faraway star system evolve At only 1% the age of the sun, the DS Tuc binary system shows us how a planet might naturally develop before its orbit is disturbed by external forces.
	Image: Hubble spots a spiral with a past This image of an archetypal spiral galaxy was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
	OSIRIS-REx students catch unexpected glimpse of black hole University students and researchers working on a NASA mission orbiting a near-Earth asteroid have made an unexpected detection of a phenomenon 30 thousand light years away. Last fall, the student-built Regolith X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) onboard NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft detected a newly flaring black hole in the constellation Columba while making observations off the limb of asteroid Bennu.
	Space weather model gives earlier warning of satellite-killing radiation storms A new machine-learning computer model accurately predicts damaging radiation storms caused by the Van Allen belts two days prior to the storm, the most advanced notice to date, according to a new paper in the journal Space Weather.
	What if mysterious 'cotton candy' planets actually sport rings? Some of the extremely low-density, "cotton candy like" exoplanets called super-puffs may actually have rings, according to new research published in The Astronomical Journal by Carnegie's Anthony Piro and Caltech's Shreyas Vissapragada
	Meteorite observation network sets out to catch a falling star British scientists are turning their eyes to the skies to track meteorites before they land on UK soil—and they're looking for volunteers to help them recover the space rocks whenever and wherever they fall.
	Ultrared, dusty star-forming galaxies in the early universe Star formation takes place within natal clouds of dust and gas that absorb much of the emitted ultraviolet and optical radiation but which also block these regions from optical view. In recent decades, however, infrared space-based observatories like Herschel and Spitzer have revolutionized our understanding of obscured star formation in dusty galaxies because infrared light can penetrate the dust clouds to reveal the stars being formed. Herschel and Spitzer have discovered large numbers of very dusty, very red star-forming galaxies that are immensely luminous in the infrared (exceeding one trillion solar-luminosities) yet are not seen at shorter wavelengths. In fact, these dusty galaxies are responsible for most of the infrared background light in the cosmos. Some of these objects display the most extreme kinds of starbursts known, with star formation rates exceeding a thousand per year, but which are also exceedingly rare with on average only one of them in a volume of a few hundred thousand million cubic light-years.
	Riding the wave of a supernova to go interstellar When it comes to the challenges posed by interstellar travel, there are no easy answers. The distances are immense, the amount of energy needed to make the journey is tremendous, and the time scales involved are (no pun!) astronomical. But what if there was a way to travel between stars using ships that take advantage of natural phenomena to reach relativistic velocities (a fraction of the speed of light)?
	First direct observation of elusive waves reveals energy channels in solar atmosphere For the first time, torsional Alfvén waves have been directly observed in the solar corona by a team of researchers from the University of Oslo and the University of Warwick. The discovery sheds light on the origin of magnetic waves and their role in the heating of the sun's corona.
	Improving shoes, showers, 3-D printing: Research launching to the space station A variety of science investigations, along with supplies and equipment, launch to the International Space Station on the 20th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission. The Dragon cargo spacecraft is scheduled to leave Earth March 6 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Its cargo includes research on particle foam manufacturing, water droplet formation, the human intestine and other cutting-edge investigations.

Technology news

	A model to design logic gates inspired by a single-cell organism Natural phenomena and biological mechanisms can be great sources of inspiration for scientists developing mathematical approaches, computer systems and robots. Over the past few decades, research has repeatedly proved the value of replicating behaviors observed in nature through the introduction of many fascinating bio-inspired computational techniques and systems.
	Potassium metal battery emerges as a rival to lithium-ion technology From cell phones, to solar power, to electric cars, humanity is increasingly dependent on batteries. As demand for safe, efficient, and powerful energy storage continues to rise, so too does the call for promising alternatives to rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which have been the dominant technology in this space.
	New tools show a way forward for large-scale storage of renewable energy A technique based on the principles of MRI has allowed researchers to observe not only how next-generation batteries for large-scale energy storage work, but also how they fail, which will assist in the development of strategies to extend battery lifetimes in support of the transition to a zero-carbon future.
	Why deep networks generalize despite going against statistical intuition Introductory statistics courses teach us that, when fitting a model to some data, we should have more data than free parameters to avoid the danger of overfitting—fitting noisy data too closely, and thereby failing to fit new data. It is surprising, then, that in modern deep learning the practice is to have orders of magnitude more parameters than data. Despite this, deep networks show good predictive performance, and in fact do better the more parameters they have. Why would that be?
	Deep learning rethink overcomes major obstacle in AI industry Rice University computer scientists have overcome a major obstacle in the burgeoning artificial intelligence industry by showing it is possible to speed up deep learning technology without specialized acceleration hardware like graphics processing units (GPUs).
	AT&T launches new online TV service as video customers fall AT&T is launching a new internet-delivered TV service Monday as it struggles with a shrinking DirecTV satellite business.
	Satellite design applied to superyacht Dutch shipbuilder Royal Huisman applied the same concurrent engineering process developed by ESA for space missions to the design of superyacht Sea Eagle II, due to become the world's largest aluminum sailing yacht when delivered to its owner this spring.
	A current map for improving circuit design A practical method for mapping the flow of a current in devices with complex geometries that could be used to optimize circuit design has been developed at KAUST.
	Airlines take no chances with our safety—neither should artificial intelligence You'd thinking flying in a plane would be more dangerous than driving a car. In reality it's much safer, partly because the aviation industry is heavily regulated.
	Coronavirus: How Twitter could more effectively ease its impact In the wake of a disaster or crisis, people turn to trusted sources for information.
	Home genealogy kit sales plummet over data privacy concerns Surprising news recently emerged from the personal genetics business. The two leading direct-to-consumer companies in North America, 23andMe and Ancestry.com, announced within a week of each other that they were laying off a significant proportion of their workforce as a result of a steep drop in sales.
	Study sheds light on new IEEE standard categories, showing power system impact In 2003, when the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) first drafted standards around distributed energy resources (DERs) connecting with the grid, solar power capacity was less than 1% of its current capacity. The standards document, IEEE 1547-2003, could not anticipate the technical challenges that solar and other DERs would present more than a decade later as a growing share of generation. These challenges were addressed in 2018 through a comprehensive revision of the standard.
	Bifacial solar advances with the times—and the sun Traditional solar modules convert light to electricity using photovoltaic (PV) cells on the top side of the panels. Now, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers are shining a light on what lies beneath.
	Father, son bond over engineering a record-smashing roadster Sandia National Laboratories manager Joel Wirth, a mechanical engineer by training, studied a problem with his car. The weight was too far back, making the car fishtail whenever he drove it faster than 200 mph.
	Wireless signals from ceiling lighting for connected manufacturing WLAN and Bluetooth have limited bandwidth, making conventional wireless communication problematic in the production environment. Nevertheless, numerous components such as sensors and robots need to be wirelessly connected. To overcome this challenge, a team of researchers at Fraunhofer IOSB-INA in Lemgo is working on solutions with help from the Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL) University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Soon, it is hoped that machines in factory buildings will communicate with one another using light pulses. This technology is not new, but now it needs to be adapted for use in industry.
	Light, efficient, affordable – the shape of things to come in components Lightweight technology has long been and is sure to remain a mainstay of automotive and aerospace engineering, shipbuilding and a host of other industries. Lighter materials and components could also help cut emissions that drive climate change. But lighter options are pricier, and the relatively steep cost has impeded their adoption. That is about to change thanks to the efforts of a consortium of automakers, suppliers and research institutes. Called ALLIANCE and coordinated by Daimler and the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF, this project has some good news for designers: As it turns out, it is entirely possible to build components that are up to 33 percent lighter at an added cost of less than three euros per kilogram-saved.
	Lack of polish, missing content mar AT&T's new cord-cutter service You already needed a scorecard to tell all the players in this convoluted streaming, cord-cutting era. Monday's nationwide launch of AT&T TV not only ushers in a new player, but it invites even more confusion.
	Before Nintendo and Atari: The black engineer who changed video gaming forever Atari. Magnavox. Intellivision.
	Tackling 5G-based mobile computing and cloud computing security concerns head-on In a June 2019 report, telecommunications equipment provider Ericsson predicted that there will be 8.3 billion mobile broadband subscriptions by the end of 2024, which translates to 95 percent of all subscriptions by then. Total mobile data traffic will reach 131 exabytes per month (1 exabyte = 1 billion gigabytes), with 35 percent carried by 5G networks.
	VW ditches natural gas to focus on e-cars Volkswagen on Monday said it will stop developing natural gas-fuelled cars as the German auto giant bets on electric engines in the battle to woo climate-conscious drivers.
	Americans wary of Facebook 'power,' survey shows A large majority of Americans believe Facebook has "too much power" but many would be disappointed if the social networking giant disappeared, a survey showed Monday.
	Abu Dhabi, Wizz Air to launch new low-cost carrier New low-cost airline Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is to launch operations from the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi in the second half of 2020, the partners in the venture announced Monday.
	Businesses at risk for cyberattack but take few precautions Although businesses are increasingly at risk for cyberattacks on their mobile devices, many aren't taking steps to protect smartphones and tablets.
	Apple agrees to $500 mn deal in iPhone-slowing suit Apple has agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over claims it covertly slowed older iPhones to get users to upgrade.
	Top airlines axe flights as coronavirus saps demand British Airways and Ireland's Ryanair on Monday announced major flight cancellations particularly to Italy, in response to the worsening novel coronavirus outbreak, while Germany's Lufthansa extended cutbacks.
2 Chinese nationals charged in $100M cryptocurrency scheme Two Chinese nationals were charged Monday with laundering over $100 million in cryptocurrency that had been stolen by North Korean hackers, U.S. prosecutors said.
	Coder charged in massive CIA leak portrayed as vindictive A software engineer on trial for the largest leak of classified information in CIA history was "prepared to do anything" to betray the agency, federal prosecutors said Monday as a defense attorney argued the man had been scapegoated for a breach that exposed secret cyberweapons and spying techniques.
	Twitter shares rise on reports of activist investor stake Twitter shares rose Monday following reports an activist investor took a stake in the social media service and plans to push for changes.
	Lufthansa further slashes flight plan over virus German airline group Lufthansa said Monday it was extending flight cancellations on Iran and China routes until late April, part of a broader rollback because of the novel coronavirus.
	Nokia CEO Suri steps down, Lundmark named successor The CEO of wireless networks company Nokia is stepping down from the post and will be succeeded by an energy executive.
	New virus hits Mideast airlines with $100M loss, group says Major travel disruptions due to the new coronavirus have already caused the equivalent of a roughly $100 million loss to airlines in the Middle East, which serves as a connection hub for east-west travel, the industry's main trade association said Monday.
	AI and machine learning help scientists understand human face recognition Scientists from Salk Institute (U.S.), Skoltech (Russia), and the Riken Center for Brain Science (Japan) investigated a theoretical model of how populations of neurons in the visual cortex of the brain may recognize and process faces and their expressions, and how they are organized. The research was recently published in Neural Computation and highlighted on its cover.
	Solar energy solutions for facades Photovoltaic elements are usually found on rooftops—after all, that's where solar irradiation is highest. However, as researchers at the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP have discovered, PV elements on facades can be a useful way to supplement the power supply. If appropriately designed, they can be attractively integrated and deliver 50 percent more energy than existing types of wall-mounted PV elements. Even concrete walls are suitable.
	Keeping up with the conversation Most people find it difficult to concentrate on a specific voice in a busy environment, but for those who are hard of hearing it's especially challenging. Now, however, a new type of hearing aid, developed with the assistance of Fraunhofer researchers, is designed to render speech more intelligible against a background of noise, thereby making it easier to follow a single speaker.
	Engendering trust in an AI world Can you imagine a world without personalised Spotify playlists, curated social media feeds, or recommended cat videos on the sidebars of YouTube? These modern-day conveniences, which were made possible by artificial intelligence (AI), also present a scary proposition—that the machines could end up knowing more about us than we ourselves do.

Medicine & Health news

	Exploring neural mechanisms behind the perception of control in stressful situations Findings collected during several decades of research in the fields of psychology and neuroscience suggest that the perception of control during stressful events can have striking and long-lasting effects on the behavior of humans and some animals, including rodents. These behavioral consequences sometimes also become apparent when a person or animal is no longer in a stressful or threatening situation, resulting in uncomfortable thoughts or feelings and maladaptive behaviors.
	Artificial intelligence could enhance diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve efficiencies and precision in sleep medicine, resulting in more patient-centered care and better outcomes, according to a new position statement from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
	Researchers study role culture plays in feeling sick The physical and mental sensations we associate with feeling sick are a natural biological response to inflammation within the body. However, the strength and severity of these sensations go beyond biology and may be affected by gender, ethnicity and various social norms we've all internalized. These are the latest research findings, according to social scientists at UTSA, who have discovered a link between a person's culture and how one classifies being ill.
	Memory concerns? Blood test may put mind at ease or pave way to promising treatments A blood test that may eventually be done in a doctor's office can swiftly reveal if a patient with memory issues has Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment and can also distinguish both conditions from frontotemporal dementia. If approved, the blood test could lead to a jump in the number of Alzheimer's patients enrolling in clinical trials and be used to monitor response to those investigational treatments.
	New study may explain why people with autism are often highly sensitive to light and noise Many people with autism spectrum disorders are highly sensitive to light, noise, and other sensory input. A new study in mice reveals a neural circuit that appears to underlie this hypersensitivity, offering a possible strategy for developing new treatments.
	Could targeting an Alzheimer's-associated protein prevent autism? Autism manifests in myriad forms. Symptoms and severity vary from person to person, but all autism spectrum disorders share three core symptoms: impaired social interactions, communication deficits, and excessive repetitive behaviors.
	Quarantine can have long-lasting psychological impacts Quarantine produces negative psychological effects including post-traumatic stress symptoms, confusion and anger, according to researchers from King's College London.
	Length of pregnancy alters the child's DNA Researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have, together with an international team, mapped the relationship between length of pregnancy and chemical DNA changes in more than 6,000 newborn babies. For each week's longer pregnancy, DNA methylation changes in thousands of genes were detected in umbilical cord blood. The study is published in Genome Medicine.
	Study finds irregular sleep patterns double the risk of cardiovascular disease in older adults Older adults with irregular sleep patterns—meaning they have no regular bedtime and wakeup schedule, or they get different amounts of sleep each night—are nearly twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease as those with more regular sleep patterns, according to a new study funded in part by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health.
	Earliest look at newborns' visual cortex reveals the minds babies start with Within hours of birth, a baby's gaze is drawn to faces. Now, brain scans of newborns reveal the neurobiology underlying this behavior, showing that as young as six days old a baby's brain appears hardwired for the specialized tasks of seeing faces and seeing places.
	'Start low, go slow' still applies for pain management, especially for older patients Chronic pain affects a large proportion of older adults and most long-term care residents. Managing chronic pain effectively is essential but challenging, and it has been complicated by concerns about opioid abuse.
	Promising drug could treat debilitating movement problems in people with Parkinson's Results from a study looking at an experimental drug to tackle the debilitating side effect of dyskinesia, have offered hope that it may have potential as a future treatment for people with Parkinson's.
	Repeat antibiotic prescribing linked to higher risk of hospital admissions Epidemiologists at The University of Manchester have discovered an association between the number of prescriptions for antibiotics and a higher risk of hospital admissions.
	Are grandma, grandpa sleepy during the day? They may be at risk for diabetes, cancer, more Older people who experience daytime sleepiness may be at risk of developing new medical conditions, including diabetes, cancer and high blood pressure, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 72nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, April 25 to May 1, 2020.
	Number of cancer cases in Canada will increase in 2020 as population ages As Canada's population grows and ages, the cancer burden will remain high and even increase in 2020, according to a study on projected cancer rates published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
	Talking about a menstrual revolution: Asia's period problems Olivia Cotes-James wants us to talk about menstrual health.
	Authorities announce 2nd coronavirus death in US Health officials in Washington state said Sunday night that a second person had died from the coronavirus—a man in his 70s from a nursing facility near Seattle where dozens of people were sick and had been tested for the virus.
	Global virus death toll tops 3,000 as second man dies in US The global death toll from the new coronavirus epidemic surpassed 3,000 on Monday after dozens more died at its epicentre in China and cases soared around the world, with a second fatality on US soil.
	Indonesia confirms first coronavirus cases Indonesia on Monday reported its first confirmed cases of coronavirus, after health officials in the world's fourth-most populous country hit back at questions over its apparent lack of infected patients.
	Patients fill hospitals in more places as new virus expands Virus cases in South Korea surged and millions of children in Japan stayed home from school Monday as officials struggled to contain the epidemic in more than 60 countries, including the United States, where two people have died and signs of a bigger outbreak loomed.
	Egypt detects second coronavirus case Egypt on Monday reported its second case of novel coronavirus, more than two weeks after announcing the first confirmed infection in Africa.
	Italy's health system at limit in virus-struck Lombardy The coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy has so overwhelmed the public health system there that officials are taking extraordinary measures to care for the sick, seeking to bring doctors out of retirement and accelerate graduation dates for nursing students.
	Virus fuels dread and angst even as China sees signs of hope The number of new virus cases in China dropped to its lowest level in six weeks Monday and hundreds of patients at the outbreak's epicenter were being released, while a grimmer reality set in elsewhere, with swelling infection numbers and growing dread that no area could fend off the illness.
	Women paid less than men even at highest levels of academic medicine, study finds Women who chair clinical departments at public medical schools are paid an average of 88 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts, or about $70,000 to $80,000 less per year, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and UC San Francisco report.
	Child access prevention laws spare gun deaths in children U.S. states with laws regulating the storage of firearms in households with minors had a 13 percent reduction in firearm fatalities in children under 15 compared to states with no such regulations, finds a study from Boston Children's Hospital. States with the most restrictive laws had the greatest reduction: 59 percent reduction as compared to states with no laws. Results of this analysis, spanning 26 years, were published in a paper on March 2, 2020 in JAMA Pediatrics.
Research team updates online tool for extremely preterm infant outcomes A research team funded by the National Institutes of Health has updated an online tool to provide information for clinicians and parents on outcomes for extremely preterm infants. The key change in the update was the incorporation of data from the hospital where the infant was born, which the researchers found was as important as gestational age in determining infant outcome. The original web-based outcome tool was developed in 2008 by the Neonatal Research Network, a group of clinical sites supported by NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
	App detecting jaundice may prevent deaths in newborns A smartphone app that allows users to check for jaundice in newborn babies simply by taking a picture of the eye may be an effective, low-cost way to screen for the condition, according to a pilot study led by UCL and UCLH.
	Can light therapy help improve mood in people with concussion? People with mild traumatic brain injury who are exposed to early morning blue light therapy may experience a decrease in depression and other concussion symptoms, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 72nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, April 25 to May 1, 2020.
	Frequent tooth brushing linked to lower risk of diabetes; Dental disease, missing teeth associated with increased risk Brushing teeth three times a day or more is linked to an 8% lower risk of developing diabetes, while presence of dental disease is associated with a 9% increased risk and many missing teeth (15 or more) is linked to a 21% increased risk. These findings underline the importance of good dental hygiene and are reported in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).
	UK MPs with extra work roles may be nearly three times as likely to be 'risky' drinkers UK parliamentarians with additional work roles may be nearly three times as likely to be 'risky' drinkers as MPs without these extra obligations, suggest the results of a small survey, published in the online journal BMJ Open.
Study finds 'far-reaching' impact from Affordable Care Act By 2008, when President Obama was first elected, the rate of uninsurance in the U.S. had been steadily deteriorating: nearly 56 million Americans reported they had no health insurance for at least part of the prior year. Despite a long-lasting economic boom, a substantial expansion of public coverage for children, federal tax subsidies for people buying high-deductible health plans, and many state efforts, the nation's rate of uninsured had been climbing since 1999, and 10 million more Americans were projected to join the ranks of uninsured by 2019. Even those with middle and higher incomes were worried about being financially devastated by a serious illness.
	ACA helped make health insurance access more equal, but racial and ethnic gaps remain As the Affordable Care Act turns 10 years old, a new study shows it has narrowed racial and ethnic gaps in access to health insurance and health care—but definitely not eliminated them.
	Quarantine on cruise ship resulted in more coronavirus patients: study The cruise ship Diamond Princess was quarantined for over two weeks, resulting in more coronavirus-infected passengers than if they would have disembarked immediately, the opposite of what was intended. This is the conclusion of a study conducted at Umeå University in Sweden.
	Virus death toll tops 3,000 as airlines cut flights The global death toll from the new coronavirus topped 3,000 on Monday, as airlines cancelled or reduced flights and stock markets swung wildly.
	Are electronic health records useful yet? On Friday, July 19, 1907, a grand experiment began at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. As the first patients of the day arrived, doctors assigned each of them a unique number and started a medical chart, noting the chief complaint, symptoms, any diagnosis, and occasionally a treatment plan.
	The problem with healthcare price transparency: We don't have cost transparency US$2.4 million. $1.5 million. $2.28 million. These are the amounts of money the health system where I work, teach and receive health care spent purchasing a PET scanner, a CT scanner and a three-month supply of pembrolizumab, a drug that treats a variety of solid-organ cancers.
	Calculating the beginnings of the coronavirus epidemic Analyses of publicly available genome data provide clues to the beginnings of the coronavirus epidemic in China. Researchers from the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Basel used a statistical model they had developed in recent years.
	Expert discusses global response to coronavirus Earlier this month, experts from around the world convened at the World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to strategize how to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
	Measuring the injury risks of football, cycling and other sports Sporting injuries make a mark every year, with almost one-third of the 60,000 Australians admitted to hospital connected to one of the football codes.
	What are the novel coronavirus health risks? The novel coronavirus that first broke out in Wuhan, China in late 2019 has now spread to 48 countries, and the first case of possible community spread has been reported in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring the public health risks from the coronavirus, recently named SARS-CoV2, and the respiratory disease it causes, COVID-19. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign microbiology professor Christopher Brooke, an expert in viruses and how they spread, discussed with News Bureau biomedical sciences editor Liz Ahlberg Touchstone what makes the novel coronavirus a public health concern.
	Squaring up to silent tumors: The research burden of pancreatic cancer By the time a pancreatic tumor begins to cause symptoms, it is usually pretty advanced, since many of the tumors are 'silent."
	3 ways public health has saved lives from history to the modern day The coronovirus outbreak has reminded us of the importance of public health responses in managing the spread of disease.
	Prompt colonoscopy should follow up positive bowel cancer tests A prompt colonoscopy should be provided to all patients with positive fecal immunochemical test (FIT) results, regardless of whether the test was offered through the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, or via a community-based source, according to research published online today by the Medical Journal of Australia.
	Understanding infection risks in patients with myasthenia gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a serious autoimmune neuromuscular disease. Immunosuppression or immunomodulating therapies are used to treat patients with MG but have the potential to suppress or alter the immune system, with infections being one major risk.
	Face masks may not protect against coronavirus University of Cincinnati scientist Sergey Grinshpun has tested the performance of respiratory protective devices against biological agents for nearly three decades.
	Researchers develop app to determine risk of preterm birth An improved mobile phone app will help identify women who need special treatments at the right time and reduce emotional and financial burden on families and the NHS.
	How we can add five healthy years to UK life expectancy By 2050, the world's over-65s will outnumber the under-15s for the first time in history. The root cause of this is simple: infant mortality has decreased. In 1910, about 15% of British babies died shortly after being born. By 1950, this had dropped to about 3%, and last year it was about 0.3%. This reduction is a global trend that only grouches fail to hail as a triumph.
	NY governor anticipates coronavirus spread Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday he expects the new coronavirus is spreading in New York, a global hub of commerce and finance, as it deals with its first confirmed case.
	US Supreme Court to review Obamacare law The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to once again review former president Barack Obama's signature health care law, the target of repeated political and legal challenges over the past decade.
	Coronavirus unites a divided China in fear, grief and anger at government The coronavirus known as COVID-19 has killed more than 3,000 people and spread into Europe and Latin America, raising fears of a global pandemic.
	People with severe mental illness live shorter lives—but the solution isn't simple People with severe mental illness, such as psychosis or bipolar disorder, live on average 15-20 years less than the average person—which is one of the key health inequalities people face in the UK and worldwide. But although programmes and initiatives have been created that aim to help people with severe mental illnesses take control of their health, these targeted interventions often fall short.
	Battle with the cancer: New avenues from childhood vaccines A new study from the University of Helsinki shows for the first time how the pre-immunization acquired through common childhood vaccines can be used to enhance therapeutic cancer treatment.
	Scientists show drug may greatly improve cancer immunotherapy success A study led by the University of Southampton, funded by Cancer Research UK, has shown a new drug—originally developed to tackle the scarring of organ tissue—could help to significantly improve the success rate of cancer immunotherapy treatment.
	Professor simplifies exercise advice for spinal cord injury A team of researchers has developed an online platform of tried and true resources to help people living with spinal cord injury (SCI) lead a more active life.
	Looking to quit smoking? A visit to the pharmacy could save your life Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death.
	Age of onset may affect clinical outcomes for multiple sclerosis patients on disease-modifying therapy Age of onset for disease is an important factor affecting clinical outcomes across the life span in patients receiving disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study published online Feb. 25 in the European Journal of Neurology.
	Study shows rising age of first drug use in teens, young adults The average age at which teens and young adults start using drugs has been rising, according to a study published today in JAMA Pediatrics.
	Harvard spearheads international effort to understand, fight new coronavirus A Harvard/China collaboration has entered the coronavirus COVID-19 fray, with researchers on both sides of the globe working to expand understanding of the potentially pandemic virus.
	Pulmonary fibrosis: A lung disease many don't recognize More than 200,000 people in the United States have pulmonary fibrosis, but more than eight in 10 Americans don't know the symptoms of the lung disease, a new survey finds.
	World Health Organization joins TikTok to share 'reliable' coronavirus information Social media is being flooded with misinformation about coronavirus, and the World Health Organization joined TikTok on Friday in an effort to stop some of it.
	Coping strategies, a matter of neurons In response to stressors, individuals exhibit different coping styles, each characterized by a set of behavioural, physiological, and psychological responses. The active behavioural style refers to efforts to blunt the impact of stressors and is related to resilience to stress, whereas the passive behavioural style refers to efforts to avoid confronting stressors and is associated with vulnerability to psychopathology. This is a well-known scientific question, shortly called the "fight or flight." However, the biological basis of the brain has not been fully understood.
	Youth exposure to tobacco outlets and cigarette smoking A new study led by researchers at the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation explores these questions using real time data from 100 youth participants from 16-20 years old to assess the effect of exposure to tobacco outlets on same-day smoking and the number of cigarettes consumed.
	Surgeons cut opioid prescriptions by 64 percent using a new multipronged program Opioid prescriptions have been a known driver of the opioid epidemic, and it's now known that opioid prescriptions that last longer than five days are a risk factor for longer-term opioid use. As some surgeons' prescribing patterns have been found to be part of the problem, the surgical community is now working hard to address it. A recent solution has been enacted by a large health-care system in central Texas, where surgeons implemented a pain management program that reduced longer-term prescriptions by two-thirds, according to a study published as an "article in press" on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website ahead of print.
	Bye-bye handshakes: how coronavirus is changing global habits Say no to a handshake, refuse kisses on the cheeks and definitely avoid hugging. Instead, a direct gaze or maybe a gesture with the hands.
	Nine times more new virus cases outside China than in: WHO The World Health Organization said Monday that the number of new coronavirus cases registered in the past day in China was far lower than in the rest of the world.
	New US guidelines urge a hepatitis C check for most adults Most American adults need to be checked for hepatitis C, say guidelines released Monday that urge millions more people to get screened for the liver-damaging virus that can fester for decades it's spotted.
	Pediatrician use of developmental screening tools increasing (HealthDay)—From 2002 to 2016, there was an increase in pediatricians' reported use of developmental screening tools and in referral of at-risk patients for early intervention (EI), according to a study published online March 2 in Pediatrics.
	Despite best intentions, researchers don't always share findings with study participants Researchers and the participants who enroll in their clinical trials do not always speak the same language, making it difficult to share trial results with study participants.
	Novel use of robotics for neuroendovascular procedures Surgeons at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University are pioneering the use of robotics in neuroendovascular procedures, which are performed via the blood vessels of the neck and brain.
	Navigating the potential pitfalls of tracking college athletes Fitness trackers like Fitbit and Garmin watches make it easy for anyone to collect data about health and performance.
	Study maps landmarks of peripheral artery disease to guide treatment development Novel biomedical advances that show promise in the lab often fall short in clinical trials. For researchers studying peripheral artery disease, this is made more difficult by a lack of standardized metrics for what recovery looks like. A new study from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers identifies major landmarks of PAD recovery, creating signposts for researchers seeking to understand the disease and develop treatments.
	Researchers recommend all women with breast cancer diagnosis under age 66 A study by researchers at Mayo Clinic published this week in the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggests that all women with a breast cancer diagnosis under the age of 66 be offered germline genetic testing to determine if they have a gene mutation known to increase the risk of developing other cancers and cancers among blood relatives. Current guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommend germline testing for all women diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 46 regardless of their family history and breast cancer subtype.
	Researchers identify protein critical for wound healing after spinal cord injury Plexin-B2, an axon guidance protein in the central nervous system (CNS), plays an important role in wound healing and neural repair following spinal cord injury (SCI), according to research conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published today in Nature Neuroscience. The study's findings could aid the development of therapies that target axon guidance pathways for more effective treatment of SCI patients.
Tool for identifying frail patients to reduce surgical risk works in health system setting Frail patients in private-sector, multi-hospital health systems may benefit from a tool that can quickly predict their risk for poor outcomes following surgery, including postoperative mortality, readmission and extended hospital stays.
	US coronavirus death toll rises to six, all in Washington state The number of US deaths from the novel coronavirus rose to six on Monday, all in the state of Washington, officials said, signaling the contagion has taken root in the Pacific Northwest.
	More testing sheds light on how virus is spreading in US An increase in testing for the coronavirus began shedding light Monday on how the illness has spread in the United States, including among nursing home residents in one Washington state facility.
	Authorities confirm New Hampshire's 1st case of coronavirus A hospital employee who recently traveled to Italy is the first person in New Hampshire to test positive for the new coronavirus, state officials said Monday.
	FDA OKs first generic version of daraprim, best known as the 'pharma bro' drug (HealthDay)—The first generic version of Daraprim (pyrimethamine) tablets for the treatment of toxoplasmosis has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
	Stroke at 39 left college professor unable to speak A few months before her 39th birthday, Sherry Pinkstaff challenged herself to run for at least 15 minutes every morning and she did, often jogging along the ocean near her home and sometimes pushing a stroller carrying her two young children.
	More than 10,000 uninsured Texas patients seek dialysis in ED annually (HealthDay)—More than 10,000 uninsured patients in Texas sought hemodialysis in emergency departments in 2017, according to a research letter published online Feb. 19 in JAMA Network Open.
	Treatment for hereditary breast cancer not always guideline-concordant (HealthDay)—Many women with early-stage breast cancer who test positive for an inherited genetic variant are receiving cancer treatment that does not follow current guidelines, according to a study published online Feb. 6 in JAMA Oncology.
	Drug interactions with cannabinoids: Five things to know A practice article provides 5 things to know on how drugs can interact with cannabinoids in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Indigenous-led health care partnerships flourishing in Canada Innovative, Indigenous-led health care partnerships and cultural healing practices have shown improved health outcomes and access to care, and have become important features of the medical landscape in Canada, according to a new analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Thai man dies from coronavirus infection complications A Thai man has died from complications doctors say were due to the deadly coronavirus, though health officials were reluctant Monday to conclusively confirm the cause of his death.
	New virus: More than 89,000 infected, over 3,000 dead A new virus first detected in China has infected more than 89,000 people globally and caused over 3,000 deaths. The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it.
	Sleeping sheep may offer clues to human brain disease People may count sheep when they cannot sleep, but when they do finally drift off their brains generate the same type of brain wave as their ovine counterparts, according to new research published in eNeuro. Monitoring how a sheep's sleep changes during the progression of a brain disease may one day translate to sleep-based diagnosis in humans.
Gilead Sciences buying Forty Seven for $4.9 billion Gilead Sciences is buying the cancer treatment company Forty Seven in a deal valued at approximately $4.9 billion.
58 quarantined in Nigeria over coronavirus contacts Nigeria is monitoring 58 people who had contact with an Italian man infected with the new coronavirus, the health minister said Monday, as officials scrambled to stop the disease spreading.
	Iran reports 12 more coronavirus deaths, raising total to 66 Iran said Monday that novel coronavirus had killed 12 more people in the Islamic republic, raising the country's overall death toll to 66.
	First coronavirus case confirmed in Moscow Russian authorities on Monday confirmed the first case of coronavirus in Moscow, saying the patient had recently returned from Italy.
	Updated figures on the number of infected with coronavirus in Norway So far, 15 people have tested positive for COVID-19 infection in Norway. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) has clarified advice to health professionals who have been in areas with widespread infection.
No handshake for Merkel as Germany coronavirus cases reach 150 Germany's interior minister rebuffed Chancellor Angela Merkel's attempt to shake hands with him on Monday as the number of novel coronavirus cases in the country rose to 150 with Berlin reporting its first infection.
Swedish health officials urge Iran air travel ban Swedish health officials on Monday urged transport authorities to ban flights from Iran over coronavirus fears, saying Tehran was "not in control" of the outbreak on its soil.
	Paris's Louvre museum shut for second day over staff coronavirus fears The Louvre in Paris, the world's most visited museum, was closed for a second day running on Monday after staff again refused to work due to coronavirus fears, a union said.
	Portugal confirms first coronavirus Portugal on Monday confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus, a 60-year-old man who had travelled back from northern Italy, which is the European hotspot for the virus.
	Scientists find functioning amyloid in healthy brain Scientists from St Petersburg University worked with their colleagues from the St Petersburg branch of the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics. They conducted experiments on laboratory rats and showed that the FRX1 protein in the brains of young and healthy animals functions in an amyloid form. The previously published reports indicate that this protein controls long term memory and emotions: mice that have the FRX1 gene "off" quickly remember even complex mazes, and animals that have too much of this protein do not suffer from depression even after severe stress. In addition, in humans, a failure in the gene encoding FRX1 is linked to autism and schizophrenia.
	Implementing microbiome diagnostics in personalized medicine: Rise of pharmacomicrobiomics A new Commentary identifies three actionable challenges for translating pharmacomicrobiomics to personalized medicine in 2020. Pharmacomicrobiomics is the study of how microbiome variations within and between individuals affect drug action, efficacy, and toxicity. This personalized medicine horizon scanning is featured in OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology.
Italy coronavirus death toll jumps to 52 Italy reported Monday a jump in the death toll from the coronavirus to 52, with more than 2,000 people infected, most in the country's northern Lombardy region.
New York governor says coronavirus spread 'inevitable' New York's governor warned Monday the coronavirus would spread in the global financial hub as President Donald Trump prepared to meet pharmaceutical executives on the response to the outbreak that has claimed two lives in America.
Saudi Arabia announces first case of coronavirus Saudi Arabia on Monday confirmed its first case of coronavirus after one its citizens who had returned from COVID-19 hotspot Iran tested positive.
	Senegal confirms first coronavirus case Senegal confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus on Monday, marking just the second infection in sub-Saharan Africa amid concerns over the continent's vulnerability to outbreaks of contagious diseases.
	Improved work environments enhance patient and nurse satisfaction Healthcare provider burnout is a mounting public health crisis with up to half of all physicians and one in three nurses reporting high burnout, data show. Burnout rates among nurses also correlate with lower patient satisfaction. While both factors are recognized, little is known about how effective interventions in nurse working conditions, managerial support, or resource enhancement can lessen burnout and improve patient satisfaction.

Biology news

	Egg stem cells do not exist, new study shows Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have analyzed all cell types in the human ovary and found that the hotly debated "egg stem cells" do not exist. The results, published in Nature Communications, open the way for research on improved methods of treating involuntary childlessness.
	Rethinking 'tipping points' in ecosystems and beyond When a grassland becomes a desert, or a clearwater lake shifts to turbid, the consequences can be devastating for the species that inhabit them. These abrupt environmental changes, known as regime shifts, are the subject of new research in Nature Ecology & Evolution which shows how small environmental changes trigger slow evolutionary processes that eventually precipitate collapse.
	When rocks lay the groundwork for the origin of life Mineral catalysts found in deep-sea vents convert CO2 and H2 to biomolecules, showing striking parallels to known biological pathways.
	New 'organ-on-a-chip' system holds promise for drug toxicity screening Researchers in the US have developed a new multi-organ-on-a-chip to test how new drugs affect the human body's vital organs.
	Whether horseradish flea beetles deter predators depends on their food plant and their life stage Horseradish flea beetles use plant defense compounds, so-called glucosinolates, from their host food plants for their own defense. Like their hosts, they have an enzyme which converts the glucosinolates into toxic mustard oils. A research team at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, has now found that these glucosinolates are present in all life stages of the horseradish flea beetle; however, the enzyme required to convert these into toxic substances is not always active. Although larvae are able to successfully fend off attack from a predator, such as the harlequin ladybird, pupae are predated because they lack enzyme activity. These findings have been published in Functional Ecology, in February 2020.
	Swamp wallabies conceive new embryo before birth—a unique reproductive strategy Marsupials such as kangaroos or wallabies are known for their very different reproductive strategies compared to other mammals. They give birth to their young at a very early stage and significant development occurs during a lengthy lactation period in which the offspring spends most of its time in a pouch. Although in some marsupials new ovulation happens only a few hours after giving birth, the regular consecutive stages of ovulation, fertilization, pregnancy and lactation are respected—with one exception: Reproduction specialists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW), Germany, and the University of Melbourne, Australia, recently demonstrated that swamp wallabies ovulate, mate and form a new embryo before the birth of the previous offspring. They thereby continuously support embryos and young at different development stages before and after birth. These findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
	Widely used weed killer harming biodiversity One of the world's most widely used glyphosate-based herbicides, Roundup, can trigger loss of biodiversity, making ecosystems more vulnerable to pollution and climate change, say researchers from McGill University.
	CRISPR-HOT: A new tool to 'color' specific genes and cells Researchers from the group of Hans Clevers at the Hubrecht Institute have developed a new genetic tool to label specific genes in human organoids, or mini organs. They used this new method, called CRISPR-HOT, to investigate how hepatocytes divide and how abnormal cells with too much DNA appear. By disabling the cancer gene TP53, they showed that unstructured divisions of abnormal hepatocytes were more frequent, which may contribute to cancer development. Their results were described and published in the scientific journal Nature Cell Biology.
	Biologists capture fleeting interactions between regulatory proteins and their genome-wide targets New York University biologists captured highly transient interactions between transcription factors—proteins that control gene expression—and target genes in the genome and showed that these typically missed interactions have important practical implications. In a new study published in Nature Communications, the researchers developed a method to capture transient interactions of NLP7, a master transcription factor involved in nitrogen use in plants, revealing that the majority of a plant's response to nitrogen is controlled by these short-lived regulatory interactions.
	How three genes rule plant symbioses For billions of years life on Earth was restricted to aquatic environments, the oceans, seas, rivers and lakes. Then 450 million years ago the first plants colonized land, evolving in the process multiple types of beneficial relationships with microbes in the soil.
	What can you learn by peering into a fruit fly's gut? It turns out a lot! They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. But what about a real-time window into the complexity of the gastrointestinal system?
	Technology provides a new way to probe single molecules Biology can be murky, and medicine involves dealing with very complex mixtures of molecules. A new technology developed at Northwestern University now offers some clarity to scientists with precision measurements of proteins down to their atoms.
	To predict an epidemic, evolution can't be ignored When scientists try to predict the spread of something across populations—anything from a coronavirus to misinformation—they use complex mathematical models to do so. Typically, they'll study the first few steps in which the subject spreads, and use that rate to project how far and wide the spread will go.
	Study finds 'silent' genetic variations can alter protein folding Proteins, the workhorse of the human cell, help digest our food, carry oxygen through the body, fight off invading microbes, and so much more—but they only function when folded properly into specific, three dimensional structures.
	To bee, or not to bee, a question for almond growers Pollination by bees is vital even when crops are assumed to be pollinator independent. That's according to a study co-authored by Ethel Villalobos, a researcher in the University of Hawaii at Manoa's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences and lead of the UH Honeybee Project.
	Coronavirus: Domestic livestock strains are commonplace Many people are hearing about coronavirus for the first time as COVID-19 affecting humans causes concern all across the world. But coronaviruses are not new to livestock and poultry producers, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife veterinary epidemiologist.
	New eggplant varieties resistant to extreme conditions The Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), through the Institute of Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), leads EggPreBreed II, an international project that will help in developing new varieties of eggplants more resistant to extreme drought conditions, and to two of the most serious pathologies that affect this crop, such as the Fusarium fungus and nematodes. These phytopathological enemies of eggplant can cause significant crop losses and their incidence is expected to be even greater due to climate change.
	Logging to start in bushfire-ravaged New Zealand forests this week New South Wales' Forestry Corporation will this week start "selective timber harvesting" from two state forests ravaged by bushfire on the state's south coast.
	The mysterious Asian longhorned tick invades Virginia When seven cattle mysteriously died on a farm in Albemarle County, Virginia, in 2017, veterinary anatomic pathologist Kevin Lahmers had no reason to suspect the culprit: a tiny pest carrying a disease commonly confined to the Eastern Hemisphere.
	Disturbance is an important determinant on successful invasion of P. corethrurus in tropics Pontoscolex corethrurus, a widespread, peregrine earthworm species, is one of the most ubiquitous exotic species and the dominant species in tropical croplands and plantations. However, the mechanisms by which the exotic earthworms invade new habitats are largely unknown.
	Opinion: Emotional support dogs make life harder for people who rely on service dogs In 2017, Marlin Jackson boarded a cross-country flight. When he got to his row, another passenger was already in the middle seat with an emotional support dog in his lap.
	It's OK to feed wild birds: Here are some tips for doing it the right way Millions of Americans enjoy feeding and watching backyard birds. Many people make a point of putting food out in winter, when birds needs extra energy, and spring, when many species build nests and raise young.
	Weaving insect wildlife back into the tapestry of life Insects are fundamental to the functioning of land and freshwater ecosystems. They permeate all aspects of these ecosystems, chewing and pooing, pollinating, seed spreading and affecting each other's population levels through predation and parasitism. They also provide ecological processes of vital importance for frogs, lizards, birds and mammals, especially as food items for these vertebrates.
	Federally protected lands reduce habitat loss and protect endangered species, study finds Using more than 30 years of earth satellite images, scientists at Tufts University and the non-profit conservation organization Defenders of Wildlife have discovered that habitat loss for imperiled species in the U.S. over this period was more than twice as great on non-protected private lands than on federally protected lands. As wildlife face a host of survival threats ranging from habitat destruction to global climate change, the study, published today in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, provides evidence that federal land protection and listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act are effective tools for stemming losses in species habitat.
	Quantifying objects: Bees recognize that six is more than four Writing in iScience, zoologists have shown that insects have the cognitive abilities to perform so called numerosity estimation, allowing them to solve simple mathematical problems. Zoologist Professor Dr. Martin Paul Nawrot and doctoral student Hannes Rapp from the "Computational Systems Neuroscience' research group at the University of Cologne demonstrated these abilities in a computational model inspired by the honeybee.
	How quickly do flower strips in cities help the local bees? Insects rely on a mix of floral resources for survival. Populations of bees, butterflies, and flies are currently rapidly decreasing due to the loss of flower-rich meadows. In order to deal with the widespread loss of fauna, the European Union supports "greening" measures, for example, the creation of flower strips.
	Directed species loss from species-rich forests strongly decreases productivity At high species richness, directed loss, but not random loss, of tree species strongly decreases forest productivity. This is shown by data from a big forest project in China in which the University of Zurich is involved. Previous studies based on random species loss could therefore bias the predictions of how more realistic extinction scenarios are likely to affect ecosystem functioning.

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