Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for December 5, 2011:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Researchers hope to build universal human age estimator- Astronomers discover biggest black holes ever (Update)
- Kepler confirms its first planet in habitable zone of sun-like star
- Samsung tablet concept shows a see-through, bendable future (w/ video)
- Voyager 1 hits new region at solar system edge
- Researchers find way to observe, control the way electrons spin on the surface of exotic new materials
- Harvard group takes complexity out of video face replacement (w/ video)
- Lessons learned from yeast about human leukemia
- Study shows people can guess personality via body odor
- Plasma-based treatment goes viral
- S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g electrical conductance to the limit
- Maltreated children show same pattern of brain activity as combat soldiers
- Giant super-earths made of diamond are possible
- Chemists become molecular sculptors, synthesizing tiny, molecular traps
- 'Label-free' imaging tool tracks nanotubes in cells, blood for biomedical research
Space & Earth news
India's uranium mines cast a health shadow
Gudiya Das whines as flies settle on her face, waiting for her mother to swat them while she lies on a cot in Ichra, one in a cluster of villages around India's only functioning uranium mines.
China lays out conditions for legally binding climate deal
China's top climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua on Sunday laid out conditions under which Beijing would accept a legally-binding climate deal that would go into force after 2020, when current voluntary pledges run out.
First J-2X combustion stability test a success
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA conducted a key stability test firing of the J-2X rocket engine Dec. 1, marking another step forward in development of the upper-stage engine that will carry humans farther into space than ever before.
The Habitable Exoplanets Catalog, a new online database of habitable worlds
Scientists are now starting to identify potential habitable exoplanets after nearly twenty years of the detection of the first planets around other stars. Over 700 exoplanets have been detected and confirmed with thousands more still waiting further confirmation by missions such as NASA Kepler. Most of these are gas giants, similar to Jupiter and Neptune, but orbiting very dangerously close to their stars. Only a few have the right size and orbit to be considered suitable for any life.
People matter in climate change models
Climate change does not discriminate among regions or their inhabitants, but the continued growth of the human population will most likely contribute to the ill-effects of climate change. US researchers writing in the International Journal of System of Systems Engineering suggest an interdisciplinary approach, recruiting expertise from the social sciences, is best for conducting the needed research and model development to move forward in the study of climate change.
Back-room negotiations begin on climate intentions
(AP) -- Back-room negotiations began in earnest Monday on a deal to rescue the only treaty governing greenhouse gas reductions and to launch talks on a broader agreement to include the world's largest polluters: China and other emerging economies, the United States and Europe.
Experts call on governments, industries and the water and trade research communities
With greater water scarcity in some regions and increasing global demand for high quality water, international trade agreements need to help save water globally. This was the main conclusion of a special report, published by the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education.
Benefits abound with recently patented system that reduces phosphorus in wastewater
A team of bioprocessing engineers with Kansas State University's Advanced Manufacturing Institute has been issued a patent for a system that removes phosphorus from wastewater and addresses environmental regulations.
NASA sees birth of first Southern Indian Ocean season tropical storm
The Southern Indian Ocean cyclone season is off and running and NASA's Aqua satellite saw the birth of Tropical Cyclone 01S.
Mozambique's new forests may not be as green as they seem
Foreign companies are spending billions of dollars to plant forests in Mozambique, but conservationists fear the investments aren't as good for the environment as they might initially seem.
Hundreds of flights cancelled due to Beijing smog
Beijing authorities cancelled hundreds of flights and shut motorways on Monday as thick smog descended on the Chinese capital, reducing visibility at one of the world's busiest airports.
Danube's near-record lows strangle shipping
Severe drought has hit Europe's second largest river, the Danube, turning it into a navigation nightmare for shipping companies all the way from Germany to Bulgaria.
Scientists confirm Himalayan glacial melting
Glaciers in the Himalayas have shrunk by as much as a fifth in just 30 years, scientists have claimed in the first authoritative confirmation of the effects of climate change on the region.
Fresh radioactive runoff at Japan plant
A fresh leak of radioactive water into the open ocean has been discovered at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear complex, its operator said Monday as cleanup efforts continued.
Mountains and buried ice on Mars
(PhysOrg.com) -- New images from Mars Express show the Phlegra Montes mountain range, in a region where radar probing indicates large volumes of water ice are hiding below. This could be a source of water for future astronauts.
ESA's space weather station Proba-2 tracks stormy sun
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers gathered for European Space Weather Week have been presented with the latest results from ESA’s own space weather station: the Proba-2 microsatellite.
Could natural nuclear reactors have boosted life on this and other planets?
While modern-day humans use the most advanced engineering to build nuclear reactors, Nature sometimes makes them by accident.
NSV 11749 - born again and grown old
In 1996, a Japanese amateur astronomer discovered a new star in the constellation Sagittarius. Dubbed V4334 Sgr, astronomers initially expected it to be a typical novae, but closer examination revealed it to be a previously predicted but unseen event known as a “Very Late Thermal Pulse” (VLTP), the last hurrah of a white dwarf as hydrogen from the exterior of the star is carried to lower depths where one last gasp of fusion occurs. Astronomers then identified a second star, V605 Aql, that had been caught undergoing a VLTP in 1919. Recently, astronomers from the National University of La Plata, in Argentina, have claimed to have uncovered a third star undergoing this rare event.
Bacteria convert wastewater chemicals into toxic form
(PhysOrg.com) -- While traces of pharmaceutical compounds are commonly present in wastewater, interactions with bacteria during the treatment process could transform them from non-toxic to toxic forms, a new study suggests.
Could dark matter not matter?
You probably want to put on your skeptical goggles and set them to maximum for this one. An Italian mathematician has come up with some complex formulae that can, with remarkable similarity, mimic the rotation curves of spiral galaxies without the need for dark matter.
Ground-level ozone pollution helped to recover normal ozone levels over the Iberian Peninsula
The reconstruction of ozone levels over the Iberian Peninsula between 1979 and 2008 reveals that positive trends began eight years after the ratification of the Montreal Protocol. Furthermore, results show that Spain quickly recovered part of its lost ozone thanks to tropospheric ozone, a secondary pollutant derived from industrial emissions.
A study of strong ground motion may show need to modify building codes
New testing conducted in a steep, mountainous region of Utah, using mining induced events, is providing a new set of data necessary for better predictions.
Ancient dry spells offer clues about the future of drought
As parts of Central America and the U.S. Southwest endure some of the worst droughts to hit those areas in decades, scientists have unearthed new evidence about ancient dry spells that suggest the future could bring even more serious water shortages. Three researchers speaking at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco on Dec. 5, 2011, presented new findings about the past and future of drought.
'Double tsunami' doubled Japan destruction
Researchers have discovered that the destructive tsunami generated by the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake was a long-hypothesized "merging tsunami" that doubled in intensity over rugged ocean ridges, amplifying its destructive power before reaching shore.
Fossil-fuel emissions unbraked by financial crisis
Emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuels and the cement industry scaled a record high in 2010, rocketing by 5.9 percent over 2009 in a surge led by developing countries, scientists reported on Sunday.
New Horizons becomes closest spacecraft to approach Pluto
NASA’s New Horizons mission reached a special milestone yesterday, Dec. 2, 2011, on its way to reconnoiter the Pluto system, coming closer to Pluto than any other spacecraft.
Total eclipse of the moon
Waking up before sunrise can be tough to do, especially on a weekend. On Saturday, Dec. 10th, you might be glad you did. A total eclipse of the Moon will be visible in the early morning skies of western Northern America.
When the heat's on, fish can cope
Australian scientists have discovered that some tropical fish have a greater capacity to cope with rising sea temperatures than previously thought – by adjusting over several generations.
Giant super-earths made of diamond are possible
A planet made of diamonds may sound lovely, but you wouldn't want to live there.
VLT finds fastest rotating star
(PhysOrg.com) -- ESO's Very Large Telescope has picked up the fastest rotating star found so far. This massive bright young star lies in our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, about 160 000 light-years from Earth. Astronomers think that it may have had a violent past and has been ejected from a double star system by its exploding companion.
Early Earth may have been prone to deep freezes: study
Two University of Colorado Boulder researchers who have adapted a three-dimensional, general circulation model of Earth's climate to a time some 2.8 billion years ago when the sun was significantly fainter than present think the planet may have been more prone to catastrophic glaciation than previously believed.
Global winds could explain record rains, tornadoes
Two talks at a scientific conference this week will propose a common root for an enormous deluge in western Tennessee in May 2010, and a historic outbreak of tornadoes centered on Alabama in April 2011.
Astronomers discover biggest black holes ever (Update)
University of California, Berkeley, astronomers have discovered the largest black holes to date two monsters with masses equivalent to 10 billion suns that are threatening to consume anything, even light, within a region five times the size of our solar system.
Kepler confirms its first planet in habitable zone of sun-like star
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed its first planet in the "habitable zone," the region where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. Kepler also has discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously known count. Ten of these candidates are near-Earth-size and orbit in the habitable zone of their host star. Candidates require follow-up observations to verify they are actual planets.
Voyager 1 hits new region at solar system edge
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered a new region between our solar system and interstellar space. Data obtained from Voyager over the last year reveal this new region to be a kind of cosmic purgatory. In it, the wind of charged particles streaming out from our sun has calmed, our solar system's magnetic field has piled up, and higher-energy particles from inside our solar system appear to be leaking out into interstellar space.
Technology news
RIM Indonesia boss suspect in Blackberry chaos
(AP) -- Police say a senior executive of Canada's Research In Motion is a suspect in last month's stampede at a BlackBerry promotion in Indonesia.
Cyber Monday sales reach record levels
American consumers spent more than a billion dollars a day last week during a three-day online sales period, which started with "Cyber Monday," a monitoring firm reported.
New videogames give civil uprising tips
The Arab Spring uprisings and Occupy-style US protests have inspired a new genre of serious videogames designed to help activists develop strategy -- all in the safety of cyberspace.
WikiLeaks' Assange can continue extradition fight
(AP) -- A British court Monday gave WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange permission to continue his legal battle to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex crimes allegations.
Paris revs up for electric car rentals
Four years after transforming Paris's two-wheeled transport habits with an easy-to-rent bicycle system, officials on Monday launched a similar project for the electric car.
A new, more versatile type of control for autonomous systems
Spanish scientists at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid are applying a type of algorithms that allow them to obtain a greater number of design specifications, and which will have numerous industrial applications.
RIM execs fired over drunken behavior on flight
The Canadian maker of BlackBerry smartphones announced Monday the firing of two senior executives over reckless drunkenness that forced the diversion of a trans-Pacific flight last week.
Optimism on solar energy: Energy secretary suggests ways domestic firms can prosper
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu struck an optimistic note about the future of solar energy Thursday but said the economic benefits of the emerging clean-energy industry will be reaped elsewhere if the business is not encouraged at home.
IBM to produce Micron's hybrid memory cube in debut of first commercial, 3D chip-making capability
IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Micron Technology, Inc. announced today that Micron will begin production of a new memory device built using the first commercial CMOS manufacturing technology to employ through-silicon vias (TSVs). IBM's advanced TSV chip-making process enables Micron's Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) to achieve speeds 15 times faster than today's technology.
Shredder Challenge solved
Almost 9,000 teams registered to participate in DARPA's Shredder Challenge. Thirty-three days after the challenge was announced, one small San Francisco-based team correctly reconstructed each of the five challenge documents and solved their associated puzzles. The ‘All Your Shreds Are Belong to U.S.’ team, which won the $50,000 prize, used custom-coded, computer-vision algorithms to suggest fragment pairings to human assemblers for verification. In total, the winning team spent nearly 600 man-hours developing algorithms and piecing together documents that were shredded into more than 10,000 pieces.
Autonomous deployment demonstration program completes flight testing
The Naval Research Laboratory Vehicle Research Section has successfully completed flight tests for the Autonomous Deployment Demonstration (ADD) program. The final demonstration took place Sept. 1 at the Yuma Proving Grounds, Yuma, Ariz., and consisted of a series of eight balloon-drops at altitudes of up to 57,000 ft, delivering sensor-emplacement Close-In Covert Autonomous Disposable Aircraft (CICADA) vehicles within 15 feet of their intended landing locations.
Siemens makes US acquisition in smart grid sector
German engineering giant Siemens said Monday it has agreed to buy eMeter, a US-based data management specialist, in a bid to enhance its position in the field of so-called smart grids.
Gowalla team checks into Facebook
The founders of Gowalla said Monday that they are winding down the location-sharing service and joining Facebook.
Microsoft adds voice search to Xbox Live
Microsoft on Monday began adding voice search to Xbox Live as it continues to transform its videogame consoles into hubs for online entertainment in digital age living rooms.
IBM buys Irish software company
US computer giant IBM said Monday that it has bought Curam Software, an Irish company that makes programs used by government agencies to deliver social services to citizens.
Design could help Facebook members limit security leaks
A sign-up interface created by Penn State researchers for Facebook apps could help members prevent personal information -- and their friends' information -- from leaking out through third-party games and apps to hackers and identity thieves.
With changes, the grid can take it
Over the next two decades, the U.S. electric grid will face unprecedented technological challenges stemming from the growth of distributed and intermittent new energy sources such as solar and wind power, as well as an expected influx of electric and hybrid vehicles that require frequent recharging. But a new MIT study concludes that — as long as some specific policy changes are made — the grid is most likely up to the challenge.
Sony hints at holodeck future with captivating videos
(PhysOrg.com) -- You have to hand it to the imaginative people at Sony, or at least those they partnered with at Studio Output and the Marshmallow Laser Factory; together the three have produced three videos that are likely to evoke feelings of nostalgia, even as they stir yearnings for more. The three videos, commercials, essentially for Sony’s Playstation Video store, show what the future may soon hold even as they remind us of what our collective imagination can inspire, the awe-inspiring holodeck of Star Trek fame.
Microsoft rolls out Xbox TV platform
Microsoft Corp. is rolling out a new interface for its Xbox game console users - one that allows you to navigate through music, movies, TV shows and games with the wave of your hand or the sound of your voice.
Harvard group takes complexity out of video face replacement (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- From Facebook to YouTube to on the fly film projects, the presentation of content that entertains or instructs or both draws on visual tools, ranging from simple to complex. Novice as well as expert creatives are being increasingly equipped with technologies to help them make something creative. Out to prove that point even further, a computer scientist from Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and colleagues have come up with face-transplant software.
Samsung tablet concept shows a see-through, bendable future (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- A Samsung smartphone-ish, tablet-ish sized device is see-through, bends at will, and changes size according to what kind of app you want to use. Lest we forget, the device translates, explores, and locates, among other things. It shows images on either side, at the same time. Really? Yes, but. Samsung has released a concept video of a transparent, flexible 3D AMOLED display based tablet of the future, not anywhere near now. The video shows a user walking around the streets brandishing his wafer-thin see through rubbery device that is sized somewhere between smartphone and tablet, performing a range of tasks that connects him to people and places.
Researchers hope to build universal human age estimator
(PhysOrg.com) -- As humans, we have a knack for estimating another person’s age quite accurately just by glancing at their face. Although age estimation may seem relatively simple to us, computers have a much more difficult time performing the task. In one of the latest attempts to build a computer that can accurately estimate a person’s age, researchers have taken a bottom-up approach to the challenge, collecting hundreds of thousands of images and videos from the Internet to train the system. Their goal is to build a universal human age estimator that is applicable to all ethnic groups and various image qualities.
Medicine & Health news
New trials show land mine technology can give women fast, accurate breast cancer screening
A safe, low-cost system that would allow women of all ages to be screened for breast cancer in GP surgeries, or alternative high street locations, has come a step closer following a third clinical trial.
Australia: Helmets off to legislation
Cycling levels in Sydney could more than double if laws forcing cyclists to wear helmets were repealed, according to new research published today in the Health Promotion Journal of Australia.
Patient receives first prescription for FDA-approved brain tumor treatment
(Medical Xpress) -- The University of Illinois Hospital is the first center in North America to prescribe a new FDA-approved treatment for patients with the most common and aggressive type of brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM.
Alcoholic liver problems soar among young adults
(Medical Xpress) -- The number of hospital admissions for people in their early 30s with alcoholic liver disease has increased by more than 400% in the North East – the national increase stands at 61%.
Repetitive behaviors in adults with Autism Spectrum disorders significantly lessen with antidepressant treatment
(Medical Xpress) -- Restricted, repetitive behavior, such as compulsive arranging and rigid adherence to routines, is a defining symptom of autism spectrum disorders.
Poorly contracting uterus in diabetic women increases risk of caesarean birth
(Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at the University of Liverpool have found that the strength of uterine contractions in diabetic pregnant women is significantly weaker than in non-diabetic women, increasing the risk of emergency caesarean birth.
Snakebite victims absent in health system as most consult traditional healers
Fatal snakebites are a bigger-than-acknowledged global health problem that has been vastly under-reported, according to research presented today at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's (ASTMH) annual meeting.
American first: A patient treated with a disappearing heart device
The interventional cardiology team at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) used the world's first drug eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold to successfully treat a woman suffering from coronary artery disease. This landmark procedure was performed by Dr. Jean-François Tanguay, interventional cardiologist and coordinator of the Coronary Unit, as part of the ABSORB EXTEND clinical trial. This successful intervention was a first in North America.
Assisted suicide _ Canada revisits an old debate
(AP) -- Confined to a wheelchair, in constant pain and unable to bathe without help, a 63-year-old grandmother has forced the issue of assisted suicide into Canadian courts for the third time in two decades.
Funding models not associated with better preventive care delivery
Female physicians, smaller patient loads and electronic reminders are associated with better delivery of preventive health care to patients, rather than the way in which primary care practices are funded, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
C. difficile lengthens hospital stays by 6 days
A new study published in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) reports that hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infection increases length of stay in hospital by an average of six days.
A more ethical way to compare epilepsy treatments
For the first time, a new research methodology recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration has been used to demonstrate that converting patients from one anti-epileptic drug to another - in this case, lamotrigine extended-release (LTG XR) - is well-tolerated, effective and safe. The work by Jacqueline French and her team, from New York University in the US, illustrates how the new methodology addresses ethical issues inherent in more traditional study designs. It is published online in Springer's journal, Neurotherapeutics.
New map shows malaria strain -- impervious to interventions -- holding steady in Asia, Latin America
With signs of declining malaria deaths in Africa raising hopes of eradicating the disease worldwide, researchers unveiled today at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) a new malaria map that is the first to identify on a global scale where the long-lasting and potentially deadly form of malaria—a parasite known as Plasmodium vivax—has a firm foothold in large swaths of South Asia and parts of Latin America.
Feds to allow use of Medicare data to rate doctors
(AP) -- Trying to find a top specialist to assess potentially troubling findings on a routine mammogram? That nerve-wracking process may soon get easier.
Major report identifies significant gaps and weaknesses
Children and young people who have chronic health conditions or need operations don't always have access to the high-quality, child-friendly information they need to understand what is happening to them. That is the key finding of a three-year study funded by the National Institute for Health Research Service Delivery and Organisation (NIHR SDO) programme and led by Bangor and Cardiff Universities.
Follow-up study finds prolonged fatigue for those who had chemotherapy for breast cancer
In a follow-up study, researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues have found that patients who receive chemotherapy for breast cancer might experience prolonged fatigue years after their therapy. The new study, published in the American Cancer Society's current issue of CANCER, is a follow-up to a study on fatigue and chemotherapy and radiotherapy for breast cancer Moffitt researchers published in CANCER in 2007.
Preoperative aspirin therapy can benefit cardiac surgery patients
Aspirin taken within five days of cardiac surgery is associated with a significant decrease in the risk of major postoperative complications, including renal failure, a lengthy intensive care unit stay and even early death (30-day mortality), according to a study by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and UC Davis Medical Center set to appear in the journal Annals of Surgery.
Improving depression in nursing home rehab patients through telemedicine
A new pilot study is getting underway in Rhode Island aimed at improving depression in nursing home rehabilitation patients, all through telemedicine. Geriatric mental health specialists from Rhode Island and The Miriam hospitals will work with patients in the Evergreen House Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in East Providence to test the program.
Study finds nursing shortage may be easing
The number of young people becoming registered nurses has grown sharply since 2002, a trend that should ease some of the concern about a looming nursing shortage in the United States, according to a new study.
American Society of Clinical Oncology issues annual report on progress against cancer
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) today released Clinical Cancer Advances 2011: ASCO's Annual Report on Progress Against Cancer, an independent review of the advances in cancer research that have had the greatest impact on patient care this year. The report also identifies the most promising trends in oncology and provides insights from experts on where the future of cancer care is heading.
Chinese health coverage increases with new government efforts
Health care coverage increased dramatically in parts of China between 1997 and 2006, a period when government interventions were implemented to improve access to health care, with particularly striking upswings in rural areas, according to new research by Brown University sociologist Susan E. Short and Hongwei Xu of the University of Michigan. The findings appear in the December issue of Health Affairs.
Study examines prevalence of conduct disorder among families of Mexican migrants in the US
The prevalence of conduct disorder (CD) appears to have increased substantially across generations of the Mexican-origin population after migration to the United States, however this increase was observed more for nonaggressive than aggressive symptoms of CD, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.
Study examines trends in quality of care and health care spending for depression
Over a 10-year period, spending for Medicaid-enrolled patients with depression increased substantially but only minimal improvements in quality of care were observed, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.
Concerns about teen sexting overblown, according to new research
Two new studies from the University of New Hampshire Crimes against Children Research Center suggest that concerns about teen sexting may be overblown. One study found the percentage of youth who send nude pictures of themselves that would qualify as child pornography is very low. The other found that when teen sexting images do come to police attention, few youth are being arrested or treated like sex offenders.
Sugar is good for a sweet heart: new study
(Medical Xpress) -- A new type of sugar could help prevent heart disease, according to latest research by Dr Corin Storkey and Professor Carl Schiesser from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology at The University of Melbourne.
Low vitamin D levels may contribute to development of Type 2 diabetes
A recent study of obese and non-obese children found that low vitamin D levels are significantly more prevalent in obese children and are associated with risk factors for type 2 diabetes. This study was accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Nervous system activity may predict successful weight loss
A recent study of obese volunteers participating in a 12-week dietary weight-loss program found that successful weight losers had significantly higher resting nerve activity compared to weight-loss resistant individuals. The study was accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Anti-inflammatory chemical could prevent stroke damage
(Medical Xpress) -- Drugs that block inflammation in the brain could help patients who have a stroke or a brain haemorrhage, Manchester scientists said today (5 December) at the British Society for Immunology Congress in Liverpool.
Phantom limb formation relates to how sensory contact is lost
The phantom limbs perceived by many amputees and others who lose sensory connection with their bodies, do not form in “default” postures as often thought, but instead coalesce into positions that are dependent on experiences the limbs undergo while sensation is lost.
New study identifies the cause of diabetes misdiagnosis among Asian Americans
Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have determined key differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in the Asian American population. This study, published today in PLoS ONE, identified ways to differentiate the types of diabetes, which can be clinically similar in young Asian Americans.
Scientists perform first Asian genome-wide association study on spine disease
Singapore and China scientists, headed by Dr Liu Jianjun, Senior Group Leader and Associate Director of Human Genetics at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and Dr Gu Jieruo, a rheumatologist at the 3rd Affiliated Hospital of the Sun Yat-Sen University, have identified new genes that are associated with the spine disease ankylosing spondylitis (AS). This discovery, reported in the advanced online issue of Nature Genetics on 4 December 2011, brings scientists closer to understanding the disease and work towards its cure.
How muscle fatigue originates in the head
The extent to which we are able to activate our muscles voluntarily depends on motivation and will power or the physical condition and level of fatigue of the muscles, for instance. The latter particularly leads to noticeable and measurable performance impairments. For a long time, the research on muscle fatigue was largely confined to changes in the muscle itself.
Blood protein EPO involved in origin and spread of cancer
Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have demonstrated that a growth hormone, PDGF-BB, and the blood protein EPO are involved in the development of cancer tumours and that they combine to help the tumours proliferate in the body. These new preclinical findings offer new potential for inhibiting tumour growth and bypassing problems of resistance that exist with many drugs in current use. The results are published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine.
Neuroscientists find greater complexity in how we perceive motion
How we perceive motion is a significantly more complex process than previously thought, researchers at New York University's Center for Neural Science, Stanford University and the University of Washington have found. Their results, which appear in the journal Current Biology, show that the relationship between the brain and visual perception varies, depending on the type of motion we are viewing.
Researchers find confidence is key to women's spatial skills
Boosting a woman's confidence makes her better at spatial tasks, University of Warwick scientists have found, suggesting skills such as parking and map-reading could come more easily if a woman is feeling good about herself.
Orphaned children exhibit genetic changes that require nurturing parents
Children who experience the stress of separation at birth from biological parents and are brought up in orphanages undergo biological consequences such as changes in their genome functioning, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in a new study.
Autism may involve disordered white matter in the brain
It's still unclear what's different in the brains of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but evidence from genetic and cell studies points to abnormalities in how brain cells (neurons) connect to each other. A study at Children's Hospital Boston now provides visual evidence associating autism with a disorganized structure of brain connections, as well as defects in myelin -- the fatty, insulating coating that helps nerve fibers conduct signals and that makes up the brain's white matter.
FDA revisits safety of newer birth control drugs
Birth control drugs that were heavily promoted as having fewer side effects and the ability to clear up acne and other hormonal bothers are under new scrutiny from safety regulators.
Dust storms affect subsequent emergency hospital admissions
A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that dust storms have an adverse effect on emergency hospital admission for chronic lung disease, often known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Parents' views sought on childhood obesity risk
A new website has been launched to help raise awareness of work being done in the East Midlands region of the UK to tackle childhood obesity and to seek the views of parents and healthcare professionals.
Maryland study finds that US Hispanics were at greater risk for H1N1 flu during 2009 pandemic
Social determinants, including the lack of paid sick leave, contributed to higher risk of exposure to the influenza A (H1N1) virus among Hispanics in the U.S. during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, according to a study led by Sandra Crouse Quinn, professor of family science and senior associate director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. The findings are published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Public Health, November 17, 2011.
Study finds headaches after traumatic brain injury highest in adolescents and girls
More than half a million children in the U.S. sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year. Adults who suffer TBI often report headaches afterward, but little is known about how often children suffer headaches after similar injuries. In a significant new study, "Headache After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cohort Study," researchers analyzed the prevalence of headaches three and 12 months after mild, moderate or severe TBI in children ages 5 to 17, and discovered the risk of headache was higher in adolescents (ages 13 to 17) and in girls.
Past abuse leads to loss of gray matter in brains of adolescents
Adolescents who were abused and neglected have less gray matter in some areas of the brain than young people who have not been maltreated, a new Yale School of Medicine study shows.
Few parents recall being told by doctors that their child is overweight
A new analysis of national survey data finds that less than one-quarter of parents of overweight children recall ever being told by a doctor or other health care provider that their children were overweight.
Depression increases risk of dementia in patients with Type 2 diabetes
Depression in patients with diabetes is associated with a substantively increased risk of development of dementia compared to those with diabetes alone, according to researchers from the University of Washington and Kaiser Permanente.
Ecstasy drug produces lasting toxicity in the brain
Recreational use of Ecstasy – the illegal "rave" drug that produces feelings of euphoria and emotional warmth – is associated with chronic changes in the human brain, Vanderbilt University investigators have discovered.
Physical fitness trumps body weight in reducing death risks
even if your body weight has not changed or increased -- you can reduce your risk of death, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Young women may reduce heart disease risk eating fish with omega 3 fatty acids
Young women may reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease simply by eating more fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, researchers reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Memory and attention problems may follow preemies into adulthood
Babies born at a very low birth weight are more likely to have memory and attention problems when they become adults than babies born at a low to normal weight, according to a study published in the December 6, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
State laws mandating P.E., recess linked with increased in-school physical activity among children
State and school district-level policies mandating minimum requirements for in-school physical education and recess time are associated with increased odds of schools in those states and districts meeting physical activity recommendations for students, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Post-partum psychiatric episodes linked with increased risk of developing bipolar affective disorder
Experiencing a psychiatric episode within the first 30 days post-partum appears to be associated with an increased risk of developing bipolar affective disorder, according to a report published Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry.
Why do some Mexican parents discourage teens' physical activity?
Imagine this scene: A teen who is about to enter college goes for a run or heads off for a game of soccer. But Mom and Dad complain about it, and the more physically active the teen is, the more the parents push back against it.
Can companies, political groups or organizations have a single mind?
News of employee misconduct always creates a whirlwind for the companies involved — think of Enron, Goldman Sachs and UBS, for example. But are these firms responsible for the actions of their employees? Or do individual members have distinct and independent responsibility separate from a group's actions? New research from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and Boston College find that members of a cohesive group are judged to have less responsibility for their own individual actions.
Pharmacogenomics study finds rare gene variants critical for personalized drug treatment
The use of genetic tests to predict a patient's response to drugs is increasingly important in the development of personalized medicine. But genetic tests often only look for the most common gene variants. In a pharmacogenomics study published online today in Genome Research (www.genome.org), researchers have characterized rare genetic variants in a specific gene that can have a significant influence in disposition of a drug used to treat cancer and autoimmune disease, a finding that will help improve the effectiveness of personalized care.
Where is the accurate memory? The eyes have it
(Medical Xpress) -- The witness points out the criminal in a police lineup. She swears she’d remember that face forever. Then DNA evidence shows she’s got the wrong guy. It happens so frequently that many courts are looking with extreme skepticism at eyewitness testimony.
Tiny genetic variation can predict ovarian cancer outcome
Yale Cancer Center researchers have shown that a tiny genetic variation predicts chances of survival and response to treatment for patients with ovarian cancer.
Scientists expose important new weak spot in cancer cells
(Medical Xpress) -- Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that cancer cells can ‘bag up and bin’ a toxic protein to cheat death – revealing a new Achilles heel in cancer cells that could be targeted for treatment, reveals research in Nature Cell Biology today.
A brighter future for infertility treatment: study
(Medical Xpress) -- Male infertility could soon have a boost through new treatments at a sub-DNA 'epigenetic' level, according to researchers from The Australian National University.
Regeneration of specialized cells offers hope for treating chronic kidney disease
Damage to podocytes -- a specialized type of epithelial cell in the kidney -- occurs in more than 90 percent of all chronic kidney disease. Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have uncovered an unexpected pathway that reveals for the first time how these cells may regenerate and renew themselves during normal kidney function.
Study shows people can guess personality via body odor
(Medical Xpress) -- An interesting study conducted by Polish researchers Agnieszka Sorokowska, Piotr Sorokowski and Andrzej Szmajke, of the University of Wroclaw, has found that people are able to guess a person’s type of personality to a reasonable extent, simply by smelling them, or their clothes. The team did some testing with volunteers, as they describe in their study published in the European Journal of Personality, and found that people could guess another’s personality through odors at least as well as they could when shown videos of people in action.
Maltreated children show same pattern of brain activity as combat soldiers
Children exposed to family violence show the same pattern of activity in their brains as soldiers exposed to combat, new research has shown.
Scientists discover how brain corrects bumps to body
Researchers have identified the area of the brain that controls our ability to correct our movement after we've been hit or bumped -- a finding that may have implications for understanding why subjects with stroke often have severe difficulties moving.
Toward a vaccine for Ebola
On August 26, 1976, a time bomb exploded in Yambuku, a remote village in Zaire, (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). A threadlike virus known as Ebola had emerged, soon earning a grim distinction as one of the most lethal, naturally occurring pathogens on earth, killing up to 90 percent of its victims, and producing a terrifying constellation of symptoms known as hemorrhagic fever.
Rice as a source of arsenic exposure
A study just published by a Dartmouth team of scientists in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) advances our understanding of the sources of human exposure to arsenic and focuses attention on the potential for consuming harmful levels of arsenic via rice.
Neurotransmitter might improve cancer treatment: study
Doses of a neurotransmitter might offer a way to boost the effectiveness of anticancer drugs and radiation therapy, according to a new study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.
Biology news
Researchers develop systematic approach for accurate DNA sequence reconstruction
Researchers at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) have, for the very first time, developed a computational tool that comes with a guarantee on its reliability when reconstructing the DNA sequence of organisms, thus enabling a more streamlined process for reconstructing and studying genomic sequences.
Veterinarians find infections faster by monitoring blood compound
In pets and people, the time it takes to diagnose an infection may mean life or death. Now, a University of Missouri veterinarian is identifying ways to diagnose pet infections in approximately a third of the current diagnosis time. The resulting test could be used eventually for humans.
Public-private partnership helps monitor fish populations
Managing commercial and recreational fisheries is a complex and sometimes contentious process in which fishing interests, scientists, and regulatory agencies don't always see eye-to-eye.
Dogs of war: Historian shows the role of canines in World War II
Seventy years since the United States entered World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a BYU historian has a new look at an often overlooked breed of soldier.
Panda pair jet-lagged after flight to Britain
A pair of giant pandas are a bit jet-lagged after a long-haul flight from China but are already "frolicking around" in their new surroundings, a spokesman for Edinburgh Zoo said Monday.
Whitefly, tomato growers find truce in new Texas variety
The whitefly in Texas may be sending up a surrender flag to tomato processors in the state thanks to a Texas AgriLife Research scientist developing a new variety that resists the virus spread by this pesky insect.
Farming crucial for threatened species in developing world
A number of threatened species in the developing world are entirely dependent on human agriculture for their survival, according to new research by the University of East Anglia (UEA).
From curses to sacrifices, S.Africa's deadly shark puzzle
The beach is a breathtaking site, the Indian Ocean rolling endlessly toward dramatic hills of lush forest sloping down to the powdery sand.
Jumping fish to save the salmon industry millions of dollars: new study
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have shown for the first time that salmon can be artificially stimulated to leap through water, opening the door to effective sea lice treatment, an infection that costs the global industry more than $500 million each year.
Study finds climate changes faster than species can adapt
The ranges of species will have to change dramatically as a result of climate change between now and 2100 because the climate will change more than 100 times faster than the rate at which species can adapt, according to a newly published study by Indiana University researchers.
Oxidative stress: Less harmful than suspected?
Arterial calcification and coronary heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, cancer and even the aging process itself are suspected to be partially caused or accelerated by oxidative stress. Oxidative stress arises in tissues when there is an excess of what are called reactive oxygen species (ROS). "However, up to now, nobody was able to directly observe oxidative changes in a living organism and certainly not how they are connected with disease processes," said Associate Professor (PD) Dr. Tobias Dick of DKFZ. "There were only fairly unspecific or indirect methods of detecting which oxidative processes are really taking place in an organism."
Healthy piglets? Not with sulfonamides
Recent work from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna confirms that sulfonamides can be used to control coccidiosis in piglets, although not without considerable effort and expense. In contrast, the drug toltrazuril is easy to use and provides efficient protection, although even piglets treated with toltrazuril become ill for other reasons unless they are kept under hygienic conditions. Joachim's results have just been published in the journal Parasitology Research.
WCS confirms the return of the Persian leopard In Afghanistan's central highlands
Recent camera trap images from the rocky terrain of Afghanistan's central highlands have revealed a surprise: a Persian leopard, an apex predator long thought to have disappeared from the region, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Marine predators in trouble: researchers
Iconic marine predators such as sharks, tunas, swordfish, and marlins are becoming increasingly rare under current fishing trends, say University of British Columbia researchers.
Global warming changes balance between parasite and host in fish
(PhysOrg.com) -- Parasitic worms that infect fish, and have a devastating effect on fish reproduction, grow four times faster at higher temperatures – providing some of the first evidence that global warming affects the interactions between parasites and their hosts.
Bottom of the swimming league: Naked mole rat sperm
Naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber) live in a 'hive' society with one reproducing queen and between one and three reproducing males. The rest of the mole rats in the colony are workers either defending the burrow or finding food – not an easy task when you are virtually blind and all the tunnels smell of mole rat. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology shows that mole rat sperm has become simple and degenerate, probably due to 'orthogenic' (straight line) evolution.
Study finds evidence of sperm whale culture
Differences in the patterned clicks that sperm whales use to communicate with each other seem to be down to culture and not genetics, say researchers.
Senses of sophistication: Mosquitoes detect subtle cues finding food, spreading diseases
Fruit flies and mosquitoes share similar sensory receptors that allow them to distinguish among thousands of sensory cues – particularly heat and chemical odors – as they search for food or try to avoid danger, researchers from Boston College and Brandeis University report in the current electronic edition of the journal Nature.
Acquired traits can be inherited via small RNAs
Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have found the first direct evidence that an acquired trait can be inherited without any DNA involvement. The findings suggest that Lamarck, whose theory of evolution was eclipsed by Darwin's, may not have been entirely wrong. The study is slated to appear in the December 9 issue of Cell.
Scientists rediscover rarest US bumblebee
A team of scientists from the University of California, Riverside recently rediscovered the rarest species of bumblebee in the United States, last seen in 1956, living in the White Mountains of south-central New Mexico.
Infectious fungus, thought to be asexual, isn't: More evidence of sex in the Candida genus
The fungi of the Candida genus, known to millions of patients worldwide for their ability to cause serious infections, were once all thought to be asexual. Even after scientists discovered that the mating habits of Candida albicans were many and varied, they remained convinced that many of the more infectious ones did not mate. Now with the first report that Candida tropicalis can mate sexually as well, the chastity of the whole genus comes into further doubt.
Lessons learned from yeast about human leukemia
The trifecta of biological proof is to take a discovery made in a simple model organism like baker's yeast and track down its analogs or homologs in "higher" creatures right up the complexity scale to people, in this case, from yeast to fruit flies to humans. In a pair of related studies, scientists at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have hit such a trifecta, closing a circle of inquiry that they opened over a decade ago.
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