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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for October 15, 2010:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Introducing Japan's new singing robot (w/ Video)- Bland-tasting food? It could be the background noise
- Chest compression-only CPR improves survival in cardiac arrest patients
- NRL scientists unravel complex quantum dot-dopamine interactions
- Study confirms: Whatever doesn't kill us can make us stronger
- How to weigh a star using a moon
- Images shed new light on inflammation (w/ Video)
- The noise about graphene
- Insight into volcanic eruptions, courtesy of space
- Imaging the planet-sized companion of a nearby star
- Study shows how variations of same protein affect immune response
- Squid studies provide valuable insights into hearing mechanisms
- New genus of tree discovered
- Humidity makes gecko feet stickier
- World's longest tunnel breaks down Swiss Alpine barrier (Update 2, Pictures)
Space & Earth news
Discovery on the prowl for the ocean's vital nutrients
Normally we think of metals in our water supply as a bad thing, but when it comes to trace amounts of metals welling-up from the ocean’s depths we should count ourselves lucky that they appear.
Image: Hubble's lagoon
Like brush strokes on a canvas, ridges of color seem to flow across the Lagoon Nebula, a canvas nearly 3 light-years wide.
Dead animals are Exhibit A in Gulf investigation
(AP) -- Dead birds are wrapped in foil or paper, then sealed in plastic bags to avoid cross contamination. Dolphin tissue samples and dead sea turtles are kept in locked freezers. Field notebooks are collected and secured.
Researchers at NASA work to solve forecasting's toughest problems
Late January 2010. Powerful storms blow into Huntsville, Ala. Forecasters at the National Weather Service move to monitor nearly 20 storms developing over the land that stretches from northern Alabama to southern Tennessee. Data floods their computer screens -- radar, satellite, ground observations, balloon observations. As the storm worsens, NASA scientists Dr. Geoffrey Stano and Dr. Kevin Fuell rush to join their fellow meteorologists.
Harmful algal blooms in Monterey Bay found by multi-institutional experiment
A small fleet of ships and robotic submersibles are performing a kind of water ballet in northern Monterey Bay this month, observing and following the evolution and consequences of algal blooms as part of MBARI’s CANON (Controlled, Agile, and Novel Observing Network) project and the multi-institutional BloomEx field trials. The timing was fortuitous! A significant bloom of the toxic algae Pseudo-nitzschia australis with its associated toxin, domoic acid, was detected and tracked by the array of instruments deployed for the experiment. This finding has been accompanied by reports from the California Department of Fish and Game of sick and dying marine mammals.
Refining the search for what's 'out there'
Gregory Benford, his brother James and his nephew Dominic decided to combine their knowledge of astrophysics, space, microwaves and economics to look at the search for extraterrestrial life from a money perspective. They posed a simple question: What would beacon transmitters be like if built by civilizations that cared about cost?
Team completes world-first ocean observatory
More than two kilometres down in the inky depths of the Pacific Ocean and 300 km off the coast of Vancouver Island, Canada has just made scientific and technological history. The installation of NEPTUNE Canada—the world's largest and most advanced cabled ocean observatory—has been completed.
Mekong countries should delay dam projects for decade: study
Countries in the lower Mekong River region should delay any decisions about building hydropower dams for 10 years, an influential new study said Friday, warning of the many risks involved.
How to weigh a star using a moon
How do astronomers weigh a star that's trillions of miles away and way too big to fit on a bathroom scale? In most cases they can't, although they can get a best estimate using computer models of stellar structure.
Insight into volcanic eruptions, courtesy of space
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists are crediting satellite imagery with helping to predict where volcanic eruptions could strike. It is well known that earthquakes can stress Earth’s crust and trigger subsequent quakes, but there has been no proof of this for volcanoes until now.
Imaging the planet-sized companion of a nearby star
(PhysOrg.com) -- Of the nearly 500 extra-solar planets that have been confirmed to date, only about a dozen have actually been seen in images. Because planets are so much fainter than their host stars, special techniques are needed to obtain such images, and even these work only when circumstances are optimum, for example, when the stellar system is viewed face-on and the planet is far enough away from the star.
Technology news
Ohio leaders rally for GE jet engine project
(AP) -- Ohio's Democratic governor and U.S. House members from both parties joined a rally at GE Aviation on Thursday to support a jet fighter engine project.
3 Questions: ARPA-E chief on the energy challenge
During a visit on Wednesday to MIT, Arun Majumdar, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), discussed the global energy challenge and the role his agency plays in trying to foster transformational energy research and development. Majumdar’s presentation to a standing-room-only crowd in Bartos Theater served as both a wake-up call (the U.S. spends more on dog-food R&D than it does on electrical-power R&D, he noted) and a source of inspiration (Majumdar discussed some of the very real and exciting energy projects his agency is funding, including several here at MIT).
Researcher receives federal boost to develop natural gas fuel injection prototype
The University of British Columbia welcomed the announcement of federal support for research and development of natural gas engine technology.
Facebook works to remove anti-gay hate speech
(AP) -- Facebook is working with a gay-advocacy group to reduce the amount of hate speech and bullying on the online social hub.
Google shares surge on strong earnings
Google shares surged on Wall Street on Friday after the Internet search giant reported strong quarterly earnings.
AMD narrows loss, but spinoff weighs on chip maker
(AP) -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. narrowed its third-quarter loss slightly, as the chip maker's remaining stake in factories it spun off last year dragged down the results.
Seagate in talks with party about going private
(AP) -- Disk drive and storage maker Seagate Technology PLC says it is in discussions with an unnamed party that is interested in taking the company private.
Venture-cap investments decline 7 percent in 3Q
(AP) -- Venture capitalists poured less money into U.S. startups in the third quarter and split this among more companies, signaling that investors are trying to be more economical with their funds.
Investment vultures increase pressure on Yahoo CEO
(AP) -- With buyout vultures circling the Internet company, Yahoo Inc. CEO Carol Bartz may have to accelerate her timetable for engineering a turnaround if she wants to save her job.
NPD: September video game sales drop 8 percent
(AP) -- In grim news for video game companies, market researcher NPD Group said Thursday U.S. retail sales of game hardware, software and accessories fell 8 percent in September to $1.2 billion.
India's Infosys reports profits jump on improved tech spend
Infosys Technologies, India's second-largest software firm, reported a rise in second-quarter profit on Friday as firms raised spending on technology.
Texting tops with US teens
Market tracker Nielsen Co. on Thursday released a study confirming what many US parents already knew: teens love to use mobile phones to swap text messages.
India seeks 'cool jacket' design to help hot labourers
A state in southern India is running a competition for designers to produce an "air-conditioned" jacket for outdoor labourers with prize money of more than 20,000 dollars up for grabs.
Russian firms say not responsible for web piracy
Five of Russia's Internet giants have said they cannot be held responsible for copyright violations on their sites and urged rapid changes to outdated laws, in an unprecedented joint statement on Friday.
Solar-powered disaster relief
As water and fuel remained scarce in the weeks following the earthquake in Haiti earlier this year, one resource that relief teams could have used to help prevent dehydration literally surrounds the Caribbean island: the ocean. Although systems that remove salt from saltwater, or desalination systems, have existed for decades, they are typically large-scale installations that require lots of energy to operate. As bottled water was given the highest priority in terms of airborne relief supplies in Haiti, what relief teams needed were small, portable, self-contained desalination systems that could turn seawater into drinking water without using exterior electrical power.
Cablevision, Fox dispute may affect baseball fans
(AP) -- Cablevision customers missed part of the Oscars this year because of a broadcasting fee dispute. Are the baseball playoffs next?
Preview of what's to see on Google TV
Google revealed new details about its Google TV system last week with the launch of a new Web site, and Logitech showed off the first piece of hardware running the Internet-TV system, a gadget called the Revue.
Hopes high for Microsoft's new smartphone platform
Microsoft took the wraps off of its Windows Phone 7 line of smartphones Monday, beginning a push that the software giant hopes will maintain its relevance in an increasingly mobile world.
Swedish Pirate Bay appeals trial wraps up
Defence lawyers wrapped up an appeals trial Friday of three founders and a financier of Swedish filesharing site The Pirate Bay, demanding that their clients' earlier guilty verdicts be overturned.
New York Times releases free -- for now -- iPad app
The New York Times unveiled a new application for Apple's iPad on Friday, offering it for free, for now, but with plans to start charging for it early next year.
US to probe China's green-tech trade policies
US authorities on Friday announced a probe into allegations that China is handing out hundreds of billions of dollars in illegal subsidies in a bid to dominate the green-energy sector.
More cities turn to sun to power up signs
Growing numbers of cities and towns are turning to solar-powered road warning and school safety signs to inform the public and save money and energy.
Electrical engineering professor working to make solar power more affordable
With the growing need for alternative energy sources, one professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University has developed a way for the average household to install solar power.
World's longest tunnel breaks down Swiss Alpine barrier (Update 2, Pictures)
A giant drilling machine punched its way through a final section of Alpine rock on Friday to complete the world's longest tunnel, after 15 years of sometimes lethal construction work.
As food safety challenges pile up, technology strives to offer solution
Inside a Silicon Valley company's windowless vault, massive servers silently monitor millions of heads of lettuce, from the time they are plucked from the dirt to the moment the bagged salad is scanned at the grocery checkout counter.
C++ celebrates its 25th anniversary
(PhysOrg.com) -- Oct. 14 marked the 25th anniversary of the commercial release of the programming language C++, which was designed and implemented by Dr. Bjarne Stroustrup, Distinguished Professor and College of Engineering Chair in Computer Science.
Medicine & Health news
Flexing their muscles helps kidney disease patients live longer
Kidney disease patients are healthier and live longer if they've beefed up their muscles, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). The results suggest that patients may benefit from pumping iron or taking medications to boost their lean body mass.
Rabies claims 100th fatality in Indonesia's Bali
(AP) -- A rabies outbreak on Indonesia's resort island of Bali has now killed 100 people.
Disfiguring tropical disease surges in Afghanistan
(AP) -- An outbreak of a tropical disease caused by sand fly bites that leaves disfiguring skin sores has hit Afghanistan, with tens of thousands of people infected, health officials said Friday.
States linking prescription databases, fight abuse
(AP) -- Starting next year, dozens of states will begin knitting together databases to watch prescription drug abuse, from powerful painkillers to diet pills.
Busy FDA keeps watch against marketing of modern snake-oil cures
Weight loss, muscle building, and sexual enhancement supplements are today’s snake-oil cures, sometimes spiked with known and unknown drugs that could have potentially deadly consequences, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official said Wednesday (Oct. 13).
NASA technology could aid in interpretation of mamograms, ultrasounds, other medical imagery
NASA software used to enhance Earth Science Imagery could one day aid in the interpretation of mammograms, ultrasounds and other medical imagery.
More people get health screenings when deductibles are waived
When they don’t have to pay a health insurance deductible, people are more likely to get screened for conditions like cancer and high cholesterol. But the increase is modest, and in high-deductible plans, it is quite small, according to a new study in the journal Health Services Research.
Small BMI change in overweight children could have big blood pressure impact
Small changes in weight can make bigger differences in the blood pressure for overweight children, compared to those at normal weight, according to a new study.
Gene identified that prevents stem cells from turning cancerous
Stem cells, the prodigious precursors of all the tissues in our body, can make almost anything, given the right circumstances. Including, unfortunately, cancer. Now research from Rockefeller University shows that having too many stem cells, or stem cells that live for too long, can increase the odds of developing cancer. By identifying a mechanism that regulates programmed cell death in precursor cells for blood, or hematopoietic stem cells, the work is the first to connect the death of such cells to a later susceptibility to tumors in mice. It also provides evidence of the potentially carcinogenic downside to stem cell treatments, and suggests that nature has sought to balance stem cells' regenerative power against their potentially lethal potency.
Study finds a high rate of restless legs syndrome in adults with fibromyalgia
A study in the Oct. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that adults with fibromyalgia had a much higher prevalence and risk of restless legs syndrome than healthy controls. The study suggests that treating RLS may improve sleep and quality of life in people with fibromyalgia.
Booze cheaper than water in New Zealand: study
Alcohol has become cheaper than bottled water in New Zealand, a study showed Friday, with researchers warning there could be major implications for public health.
How to know if a head injury is a concussion, when to call a doctor
Concussion has become a high-profile injury, with weekly media reports of star athletes knocked out of action for anywhere from a few moments to the remainder of their careers.
Roses not only beautiful, but healing
A rose not just romances, it heals.
Pregnant women urged to get flu vaccine
The Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS), a nonprofit organization based at the University of California, San Diego, with affiliates across North America, urges pregnant women to receive the influenza vaccine as soon as possible. The recommendation comes shortly after the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Obstetric Practice issued new guidelines regarding the influenza vaccine during pregnancy.
Two studies present new data on effects of alcohol during pregnancy
Scientific data continue to indicate that higher intake of alcohol during pregnancy adversely affects the fetus, and could lead to very severe developmental or other problems in the child. However, most recent publications show little or no effects of occasional or light drinking by the mother during pregnancy. The studies also demonstrate how socio-economic, education, and other lifestyle factors of the mother may have large effects on the health of the fetus and child; these must be considered when evaluating the potential effects of alcohol during pregnancy.
Right foods aid memory and protect against disease
For the first time researchers have found out what effect multiple, rather than just single, foods with anti-inflammatory effects have on healthy individuals.
Columbia engineer designs handheld device used to diagnose illness
(PhysOrg.com) -- Bioengineer Samuel Sia has designed a handheld device which uses a microchip to perform intricate medical tests for illnesses such as sexually transmitted diseases or prostate cancer. It needs just a drop of blood to diagnose a patient, and results come back in 12 to 15 minutes. This lab-on-a-chip method miniaturizes and simplifies the once time-consuming system of analyzing diagnostic tests results.
Dental surgeon engineers tissue replacement
(PhysOrg.com) -- Earlier this year in a report in The Lancet, Columbia professor Jeremy Mao and his team showed that a joint could be grown with a host’s own stem cells, presenting a potential alternative for the 400,000 people who receive an artificial knee or hip each year. He has also demonstrated that it is possible to regenerate a new tooth from stem cells, which offers hope that one day dentures and implants may become a thing of the past.
Professor uses ultrasound to treat Alzheimer's
(PhysOrg.com) -- Biomedical engineer Elisa Konofagou and her team are on the brink of uncovering a new, potentially groundbreaking use for ultrasound: the ability to temporarily open up the natural barrier that separates blood vessels from brain tissue in mice. If the technique works in humans, she says, doctors could use ultrasound to deliver intravenous drugs directly into the brain cells of patients suffering from diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Gynecologist disputes findings
An internationally-recognized gynecologic oncologist at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona is warning that the results from a long-awaited global study of ovarian cancer should be viewed cautiously.
Chest compression-only CPR improves survival in cardiac arrest patients
Heart attack patients whose hearts have stopped beating and who receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from bystanders fare better if their resuscitators skip the rescue breaths and do only chest compression, according to a study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
First babies born from genetic screening study
Two women taking part in the world's first controlled study of a comprehensive genetic screening test before IVF have given birth to healthy babies. The babies, twin girls born in Germany in June and a singleton boy born in Italy in September, are the first deliveries in a pilot study of comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) by microarray, a new method of screening oocytes for IVF for a full range of chromosomal disorders.
Researchers find nonprofit weight loss program beats obesity
In the battle against obesity, new research has found that it may not be necessary to spend a lot on a weight loss program when cheaper, nonprofit alternatives may work just as well.
Study confirms: Whatever doesn't kill us can make us stronger
We've all heard the adage that whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger, but until now the preponderance of scientific evidence has offered little support for it.
Images shed new light on inflammation (w/ Video)
Researchers at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine are using an innovative new imaging technique to study how white blood cells (called neutrophils) respond to inflammation, and have revealed new targets to inhibit the response.
Study shows how variations of same protein affect immune response
(PhysOrg.com) -- How a T cell decides to make protein X, Y, or Z can have profound effects for fighting foreign invaders or staving off dire autoimmune reactions. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified the steps that control how different forms of an immune cell protein called CD45, which is critical for activating the immune system when faced with pathogens, are controlled in the arc of a body’s immune response.
Biology news
Election unlikely to change US farm subsidies
(AP) -- Republicans might take control of Congress as they ride a wave of voter anger over deficit spending and big government, but experts who follow agriculture say they don't expect deep cuts in subsidies to farmers who grow crops such as corn and soybeans.
Using tempeh for an upset stomach
Tempeh, the eastern soya product well liked by vegetarians, could also be good for preventing the runs. It stops pathogens from nestling in the intestines.
Denver Zoo hatches 4 Komodo dragons
(AP) -- The Denver Zoo says it's become the only zoo in the world to hatch endangered Komodo dragons for a third time.
New tool to map malaria developed
Malaria kills an estimated 1 million people each year, but humans aren't the only animals under attack. Birds also contract the disease through mosquito bites. SF State biologists have been studying malaria among birds in Africa in an effort to understand the geography of the disease, and their work has culminated in the creation of a new model, capable of predicting where malaria is present now and where future outbreaks could occur.
Humidity makes gecko feet stickier
Geckos have amazingly sticky feet. Their stickability comes from billions of dry microscopic hairs that coat the soles of their feet. However, when humidity increases, gecko feet stick even tighter to smooth surfaces, so how do they do it? Kellar Autumn and his colleagues have found that increased humidity softens the keratin that makes up the sticky foot-hairs, allowing them to deform and stick tighter to surfaces than hairs in dry conditions.
Pollinators can drive evolution of flower traits: study
(PhysOrg.com) -- Pretty flowers aren't produced so we can show them off in vases -- they serve the purpose of attracting such pollinators as bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, which enable them to produce seeds for the next generation.
New genus of tree discovered
An article published in the October issue of the Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden describes a new genus of tree of the Aptandraceae family, a group that is related to the sandalwoods (order Sanatalales). The genus, which has been given the name Hondurodendron, is endemic to Honduras and means "tree of Honduras."
Squid studies provide valuable insights into hearing mechanisms
The ordinary squid, Loligo pealii -- best known until now as a kind of floating buffet for just about any fish in the sea -- may be on the verge of becoming a scientific superstar, providing clues about the origin and evolution of the sense of hearing.
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