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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for June 24, 2012:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Select developers can get inside Microsoft's SmartGlass- Canon's Mixed Reality System may speed design cycles
- IDair has a fingerprint scanner from standoff distance
- First Tesla electric sedans hit the road
- Gene mutations cause massive brain asymmetry
- Brain structure helps guide behavior by anticipating changing demands
- Neurons that control overeating also drive appetite for cocaine
- Climate change and the South Asian summer monsoon
- Boosting blood system protein complex protects against radiation toxicity
- Blood-brain barrier building blocks forged from human stem cells
- Significant sea-level rise in a 2-degree warming world
- Learn that tune while fast asleep
- Faster, cheaper gas and liquid separation using custom designed and built mesoscopic structures
- Line blurs between man, animal: Monkeys do math, baboons seem to read, orangutans plan ahead
- IT security problems shift as data moves to 'cloud'
Space & Earth news
China to conduct first manual space docking Sunday
China, which sent three astronauts into orbit a week ago, said they would conduct the nation's first manual space docking on Sunday -- a key step to building a space station.
Chinese spacecraft docks with orbiting module
(AP) — A Chinese spacecraft carrying three astronauts carried out a manual docking with an orbiting module on Sunday, a first for the country as it strives to match American and Russian exploits in space.
Significant sea-level rise in a 2-degree warming world
The study is the first to give a comprehensive projection for this long perspective, based on observed sea-level rise over the past millennium, as well as on scenarios for future greenhouse-gas emissions.
Climate change and the South Asian summer monsoon
The vagaries of South Asian summer monsoon rainfall impact the lives of more than one billion people. A review in Nature Climate Change (June 24 online issue) of over 100 recent research articles concludes that with continuing rise in CO2 and global warming, the region can expect generally more rainfall, due to the expected increase in atmospheric moisture, as well as more variability in rainfall.
Technology news
Apple vendors in Iran scoff at US sanctions
Vendors of Apple products in Iran on Saturday scoffed at US media reports that the consumer technology giant was banning US sales to customers of Iranian background, pointing out that iPads and iPhones are widely available in Tehran.
Smartphones put writing on the wall for paid texts
Text messaging, the simple telecoms service that turned into a global phenomenon, is under threat from free smartphone services and operators need to find alternative revenue streams, analysts say.
Chinese tech giant calls for cyber cooperation
(AP) — The founder of Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei, which has faced security concerns in the U.S. and Australia, is calling for global cooperation to improve data protection.
Glitch forces RBS, NatWest, Ulster Bank to open Sunday
The Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank and NatWest were to take the unusual move of opening 1,200 branches on Sunday after a computer glitch hit millions of customers.
First Tesla electric sedans hit the road
(AP) — Electric car maker Tesla's first mass-market sedans took to the road Friday, but it's not certain whether their debut will make or break the fledgling company.
Scientists remember Turing, father of modern computers
Scientists will gather from Bangalore to Texas on Saturday to honour British mathematician Alan Turing, a pioneer of the modern computer whose code-cracking is credited with shortening World War II.
China submersible breaks 7,000-metre mark
A manned Chinese submersible broke through the 7,000-metre mark for a new national record on Sunday, state media said, as the rising Asian nation showed off its technological might.
IT security problems shift as data moves to 'cloud'
The Internet "cloud" has become the hottest topic in computing, but the trend has created a new range of security issues that need to be addressed.
Select developers can get inside Microsoft's SmartGlass
(Phys.org) -- Microsoft has released a SmartGlass software development kit (SDK) for Xbox developers, giving them tools and the green light to create applications for SmartGlass before the technology makes its debut later this year. The announcement this week has opened up SmartGlass to a select group, inviting only the cadre of developers who already have agreements to develop Xbox games and apps for the Xbox 360. Those who are in that group are now free to create new activities and experiences using the SmartGlass SDK. Developer logins are required.
Canon's Mixed Reality System may speed design cycles
(Phys.org) -- Canon this week announced a new augmented reality system—headset and software. The new system is to allow virtual prototypes to replace physical ones. Three-dimensional computer generated images can instantly change based on the user’s movements. The Mixed Reality (MR) System is being initially promoted as an industrial design tool where, for example, the head-set-wearing user gets to see a computer-generated image of a car on a set of real tires, all in realtime. Two video cameras inside the head-mounted display (HMD), each in front of right and left eyes, capture the real-world video which is sent to a connected computer, processing the merge between real and virtual.
IDair has a fingerprint scanner from standoff distance
Researchers are exploring better designs in biometrics to meet business and government demands for reliable identification and verification tools. Out of the many biometric technologies that continue to be works in progress, fingerprinting continues to be an accepted technique. Fingerprint-matching has been a mainstay in law enforcement but businesses now look toward fingerprinting systems for security management and access control. Other solutions such as flashing photo ID cards or licenses to confirm true identities of people passing in and out the doors have not been entirely reliable.
Medicine & Health news
S.Africa looks to toughen anti-smoking laws
Health authorities are working at tightening South Africa's anti-smoking laws, proposing a total ban on indoor smoking and even making it illegal to puff away in open spaces such as beaches.
Predicting treatment response in central nervous system diseases
The commonly-used epilepsy drug, valproic acid (VPA), can have a highly beneficial effect on some babies born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the number one genetic killer during early infancy. But in about two-thirds of such cases it is either damaging or simply has no effect. Now, for the first time, researchers have found a way to identify which patients are likely to respond well to VPA prior to starting treatment. Their results have major implications, not just for SMA patients, but for other conditions treated with the drug such as migraine and epilepsy, and may even provide the conditions for turning VPA non-responders into responders, the researchers say.
No therapy for 20 percent with stage IV solid tumors
(HealthDay) -- About 20 percent of patients diagnosed with stage IV metastatic solid tumors do not receive anticancer treatment, according to a study published online June 15 in Cancer.
Long-term testosterone treatment for men results in reduced weight and waist size
In testosterone-deficient men, major weight loss was an added benefit of testosterone replacement therapy for most of the patients who participated in a new study. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.
Mild thyroid dysfunction in early pregnancy linked to serious complications
Even moderate thyroid dysfunction during early pregnancy significantly increases the risk of serious complications, underscoring the need for universal screening in the first trimester, a new study finds. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.
Low steroid levels linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease
Low levels of a naturally occurring steroid are associated with an increased risk of heart and blood-vessel disease in elderly men, a new study finds. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.
Hyperthyroidism linked to increased risk of hospitalization for heart and blood-vessel disease
An overactive thyroid gland, or hyperthyroidism, may increase the risk of hospitalization for heart and blood-vessel disease even after surgery to remove the gland, according to a new study. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.
Declining testosterone levels in men not part of normal aging, study finds
A new study finds that a drop in testosterone levels over time is more likely to result from a man's behavioral and health changes than by aging. The study results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.
Genome-wide analysis shows previously undetected abnormalities in parents of affected children
The use of genome-wide array analysis in parents whose children are suspected of having a genetic disease shows that the parents frequently also have previously undetected genetic abnormalities, a researcher from The Netherlands told the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics. Being aware of this is important to parents because it means that their risk of having another affected child is significantly increased.
Pitt develops biodegradable artery graft to enhance bypass surgeries
(Medical Xpress) -- With the University of Pittsburgh's development of a cell-free, biodegradable artery graft comes a potentially transformative change in coronary artery bypass surgeries: Within 90 days after surgery, the patient will have a regenerated artery with no trace of synthetic graft materials left in the body.
Learn that tune while fast asleep
Want to nail that tune that you've practiced and practiced? Maybe you should take a nap with the same melody playing during your sleep, new provocative Northwestern University research suggests.
Gene mutations cause massive brain asymmetry
Hemimegalencephaly is a rare but dramatic condition in which the brain grows asymmetrically, with one hemisphere becoming massively enlarged. Though frequently diagnosed in children with severe epilepsy, the cause of hemimegalencephaly is unknown and current treatment is radical: surgical removal of some or all of the diseased half of the brain.
Boosting blood system protein complex protects against radiation toxicity
New research in Nature Medicine shows that boosting a protein pathway in the body's blood making system protects mice from otherwise fatal radiation poisoning.
Blood-brain barrier building blocks forged from human stem cells
The blood-brain barrier -- the filter that governs what can and cannot come into contact with the mammalian brain -- is a marvel of nature. It effectively separates circulating blood from the fluid that bathes the brain, and it keeps out bacteria, viruses and other agents that could damage it.
Brain structure helps guide behavior by anticipating changing demands
(Medical Xpress) -- Every day the human brain is presented with tasks ranging from the trivial to the complex. How much mental effort and attention are devoted to each task is usually determined in a split second and without conscious awareness. Now a study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers finds that a structure deep within the brain, believed to play an important role in regulating conscious control of goal-directed behavior, helps to optimize behavioral responses by predicting how difficult upcoming tasks will be. The report is receiving advance online publication in Nature.
Neurons that control overeating also drive appetite for cocaine
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have zeroed in on a set of neurons in the part of the brain that controls hunger, and found that these neurons are not only associated with overeating, but also linked to non-food associated behaviors, like novelty-seeking and drug addiction.
Biology news
Endangered Sumatran rhino gives birth in Indonesia
A critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros was born Saturday at an Indonesian sanctuary, only the fourth birth in captivity in more than a century, boosting survival hopes for the species, say conservationists.
Line blurs between man, animal: Monkeys do math, baboons seem to read, orangutans plan ahead
(AP) The more we study animals, the less special we seem. Baboons can distinguish between written words and gibberish. Monkeys seem to be able to do multiplication. Apes can delay instant gratification longer than a human child can. They plan ahead. They make war and peace. They show empathy. They share.
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