Science X Newsletter Friday, Dec 5

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for December 5, 2014:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Long-searched-for glueball could soon be detected
- Aromajoin gets in the stream of digital olfaction age
- NASA launches new Orion spacecraft and new era
- Report claims consumers are uninformed regarding magnitude of livestock contribution to carbon emissions
- Desolenator has tech for water independence, looks to 2015 (w/ Video)
- Rare insect found only in glacier national park imperiled by melting glaciers
- Light propagation in solar cells made visible
- Ultrafast complex molecular simulations by 'cutting up molecules'
- X-ray laser reveals how bacterial protein morphs in response to light
- Gravity: It's the law, even for cells (w/ Video)
- A first-of-its-kind discovery with an X-ray laser
- An intense x-ray beam can make iron foil transparent for just an instant
- Life's underlying architecture shapes creation of proteins
- A Texas-sized block of ice
- Salience network is linked to brain disorders

Astronomy & Space news

	NASA launches new Orion spacecraft and new era (AP)—NASA's new Orion spacecraft zoomed toward a high point of 3,600 miles (5,800 kilometers) on an orbital test flight Friday, ushering in a new era of exploration that could one day put people on Mars.
	European astronomers spot faint asteroid European experts have spotted one of the faintest asteroids ever found – a chunk of space rock thought to be about 100 m in diameter beyond the orbit of Mars.
	Satellite studies x-ray emission from matter falling into the black hole at the center of a galaxy Most galaxies are assumed to have at their heart a supermassive black hole that draws in vast amounts of surrounding matter. As this matter is sucked in, it releases energy in the form of intense x-ray emissions that in some cases can be more intense than the emission from all the stars in the galaxy combined.
	Infographic explains NASA's Orion EFT-1 flight in detail For many of us, it's easier to comprehend complex processes when they are expressed visually. That was the impetus for artist Gary Schroeder in creating this wonderful hand-sketched infographic for NASA's Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) for the Orion spacecraft.
	Dawn snaps its best-yet image of dwarf planet ceres The Dawn spacecraft has delivered a glimpse of Ceres, the largest body in the main asteroid belt, in a new image taken 740,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) from the dwarf planet. This is Dawn's best image yet of Ceres as the spacecraft makes its way toward this unexplored world.
	Astronomers observe two stars so close to each other that they will end up merging into a supermassive star A study of "MY Camelopardalis" binary system, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, shows that the most massive stars are made up by merging with other smaller stars, as predicted by theoretical models.
	NASA's deep space capsule poised for 2nd launch bid (Update) NASA counted down Friday to its second try at test-launching the deep space Orion capsule on its first journey into orbit, after wind gusts and rocket problems delayed Thursday's attempt.
	Why we need more than one mission to Mars After a 24-hour delay due to bad weather, the first test launch of the Orion spacecraft by NASA is underway with the ultimate goal of putting human beings on Mars.
	Image: Mobile service tower rolled back for Orion flight test A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Orion spacecraft mounted atop is seen after the Mobile Service Tower was finished rolling back early on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, Florida.
	Watch formation-flying Chinese 'Yaogan' satellites slip silently through the stars The list of amazing things that astrophotographer Thierry Legault captures with his camera keeps growing! This time, it's a trio of hard-to see, formation-flying Chinese reconnaissance satellites called Yaogan.
	What is the Smallest Star? Space and astronomy is always flaunting its size issues. Biggest star, hugest nebula, prettiest most talented massive galaxy, most infinite universe, and which comet came out on top in the bikini category. Blah blah blah.
	NASA: 'There's your new spacecraft, America!" (AP)—NASA's new Orion spacecraft made a "bull's-eye" splashdown in the Pacific on Friday following a dramatic test flight that took it to a zenith of 3,604 miles (5,800 kilometers) and ushered in a new era of human exploration aiming for Mars.
	NASA's Orion craft hits high point of 3,600 miles (AP)—NASA's new Orion spacecraft has hit its intended high point of 3,600 miles above Earth, the farthest a spacecraft built for humans has traveled in four decades.
	Asteroid explorer "Hayabusa2": Completion of critical operation phase The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed the completion of a sequence of the important operations for the Asteroid Exploration "Hayabusa2" mission including the deployment of the horn part of the sampler that captures samples from the asteroid's surface, the release of the locks for the launch that ratchet the gimbal that controls the direction of the ion engine, and functional verification of the three-axis stabilization controls and the ground precision orbit determination system. With this confirmation, the critical operation phase* of the Hayabusa2 was completed.
Orion flight marks 'milestone' for US space program: NASA The US space agency's Orion capsule circled the Earth twice before plunging into the ocean Friday in a flawless test flight that NASA called a "significant milestone" in the journey to Mars.
Climate change already showing effects at Kennedy Space Center The effects of climate change are already showing up in places from Miami to Alaska, scientists say, but two University of Florida geologists are focusing their attention on one especially noteworthy and vulnerable piece of waterfront real estate: Kennedy Space Center.

Technology news

	Aromajoin gets in the stream of digital olfaction age (Phys.org) —Welcome to the digital olfaction age. From Tokyo to Haifa to Berlin, scientists are keen to demonstrate their work to push digital olfaction along, whether they are talking about digital olfactory nanoarrays for disease detection, to growing a unique kind of online fragrance marketplace, to food industry use for quality and safety control. The potential for our screens to give us information through smell, beyond clever copy-writing and high-resolution images, can raise our knowledge and perceptions about food and whatever else is being relayed. Research in this area has been written about before.
	Desolenator has tech for water independence, looks to 2015 (w/ Video) (Phys.org) —What else is new: Earnest people who are aware of the difficulties very poor families face in many regions of the world wish for safe, cheap drinking water for everyone on the planet. The difference is that there is something new in a team who think that their Desolenator can actually deliver water for those in need.
'Gangnam Style' pushes YouTube to its limits Kim Kardashian may have tried to #BreakTheInternet, but it's South Korean pop star Psy who "broke" YouTube - or pushed it to its limits, at least.
	Milestones in human-machine cooperation Just a little over a year has passed since BBC News ranked the Robo-Mate exoskeleton at No. 2,right after the announcement of the new iPhone, and major technical progress has been made on several fronts.
	Technique enables pattern-recognition systems to convey what they learn to humans Computers are good at identifying patterns in huge data sets. Humans, by contrast, are good at inferring patterns from just a few examples.
	A bright future for LEDs A single wafer-level LED chip that produces more than 150 Watts of light output has been made in work form China. This level of output from a single chip makes applications for LEDs in high power lighting from stadiums to runways feasible, and the researchers have long term plans for a new way to light buildings and towns.
	Solution to genomic analysis may be in the clouds Cloud computing is a more efficient and cheaper alternative for researchers wanting to access and analyse large amounts of human genomic data, a local study has found.
	Helicopter steering innovation could herald new era for aerial transport For decades, flying cars have featured in our visions of what futuristic cities might look like. Now EU-funded researchers with the MYCOPTER project have developed a steering system that makes helicopters as easy to control as cars. While having your own personal aerial vehicle (PAV) may still be some way off, the success of the project opens up the possibility that one day flying vehicles could indeed be an integral part of the urban transportation network.
Alcoa touts step toward stronger aluminum for cars (AP)—Alcoa Inc. is touting a breakthrough in aluminum manufacturing that it says will give the lightweight metal a better chance to replace steel in car doors and fenders.
Apple says plaintiffs' iPods not covered by suit (AP)—For want of an iPod, a billion-dollar lawsuit may be in jeopardy.
	Uber raises $1.2 billion, valued at $40 billion (AP)—Uber raised $1.2 billion in its latest round of funding from venture capitalists, a sign investors were little fazed by the ride-hailing app's recent spate of bad publicity over privacy violations and its corporate culture.
The speed of light: music to our ears The Internet is so fast that the Bay Area can connect with New York City quicker than you can finish this sentence.
	Big Data infrastructure for science Big Data comes naturally to science. Every year, scientists in every field, from astronomy to zoology, make tremendous leaps in their ability to generate valuable data.
	The first broadband amplifier using vertical inductors Researchers at the Dresden University of Technology in Germany have proposed the first broadband amplifier using vertical inductors. All circuits are built from passive components, and improved chip design requires passive-component miniaturisation and efficient structure.
	Information technology for people with Down's syndrome An ICT research EU project is producing visual and touch apps to help people with Down's syndrome become more independent in their daily lives.
Race to 5G wireless heats up with new measurements, models, and math It's a race that is being conducted on the rooftops of New York and other global megacities, and the prize is the future of 5G, the next generation of wireless technology—capable of a thousand-fold increase in today's rates and fast enough to revolutionize wireless medical equipment, democratize Wi-Fi, and display high-definition movies on mobile devices without those annoying buffering delays.
	France orders Internet providers to block Pirate Bay A French court has ordered the country's main Internet service providers to block notorious file-sharing website The Pirate Bay, according to a ruling published Friday on digital news website Numerama.
	Sony hackers leaked data on 47,000 people: researchers The hackers who breached Sony's computer network have leaked sensitive personal information on some 47,000 individuals, including celebrities, security researchers said Friday.
Steve Jobs' video testimony transfixes courtroom (AP)—Three years after his death, legendary Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs held a federal courtroom transfixed on Friday as attorneys played a video of his testimony in a class-action lawsuit that accuses Apple of inflating iPod prices by locking music lovers into using its players.
Three Bay Area tech startups announce holiday IPOs Some of us may still be recovering from our Thanksgiving turkey dinners, but the holiday certainly didn't suck any energy from the IPO market.
Unlocking the potential of big data in the cloud Cloud computing and Big Data are the two top innovation hubs in ICT. Together they have the potential to become pivotal enhancers of social transformation and economic development for many years to come.
	Fujitsu laboratories develops sensing middleware to simplify development of low-power sensing applications Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. announced that it has developed sensing middleware that can simplify development of low-power sensing applications needed by wearable devices. This will enable the creation of a usage environment in which a variety of wearable devices can be worn naturally, without user concern.
Study 'makes the case' for RFID forensic evidence management Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags—devices that can transmit data over short distances to identify objects, animals or people—have become increasingly popular for tracking everything from automobiles being manufactured on an assembly line to zoo animals in transit to their new homes. Now, thanks to a new NIST report, the next beneficiaries of RFID technology may soon be law enforcement agencies responsible for the management of forensic evidence.
Bebe discloses data breach (AP)—Bebe stores Inc. said Friday that it recently detected suspicious activity on computers that run the payment processing system used for its stores, making it the latest company to disclose a data breach.
Romark Laboratories to open plant in Puerto Rico (AP)—Puerto Rico's governor says Florida-based pharmaceutical company Romark Laboratories L.C. is building a $110 million plant in the U.S. territory.
Supreme Court takes up Cisco patent dispute (AP)—The Supreme Court is taking up a patent infringement dispute between computer networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. and rival Commil USA LLC.

Medicine & Health news

The intestinal immune system controls the body weight A group of UCL researchers (Louvain Drug Research Institute) identified an unsuspected mechanism impacting the development of obesity and diabetes type 2 after following a diet with a high dose of fat nutrition. The team of Professor Patrice D. Cani - in direct collaboration with two French teams, a Swedish expert as well as other UCL-researchers (LDRI and Ludwig Institute) - made an important discovery related to the essential role of the intestinal immune system regarding the control of the energy metabolism.
	Researchers find multiple kinds of helper T cells can spring into action against a single pathogen (Medical Xpress)—A team of researches with members from institutions in Switzerland and the Netherlands has found that multiple kinds of human helper T cells can leap into action against a single pathogen. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes how they tested the differentiation of CD4+ helper cells against multiple types of pathogens and found that multiple types of cloned helper cells joined the fight against the intruder.
	Neutrophils found to receive directions from platelets (Medical Xpress)—A team filled with researchers from across the globe has found that white blood cells known as neutrophils (which are a vital part of causing inflammation to occur) receive messages from platelets offering directions, allowing the cell to crawl through blood vessels to reach the site of a problem, whereby it does its job. In their paper published in the journal Science, the researchers describe how they used a newly developed technique that allowed for watching cell activity in a living animal, to better understand how neutrophil cells know when to move towards an impacted area and how to get there.
	Researchers collaborate on substance to repel blood clots and bacteria Engineering a surface that is so slippery even geckos can't stick to it may sound like a fun science fair project.
Salience network is linked to brain disorders How does the brain determine what matters? According to a new scientific article, a brain structure called the insula is essential for selecting things out of the environment that are "salient" for an individual, and dysfunction of this system is linked to brain disorders such as autism, psychosis and dementia.
Researchers identify a protein that controls the 'guardian of the genome' A new study published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS) sheds new light on a well-known mechanism required for the immune response. Researchers at the IRCM, led by Tarik Möröy, PhD, identified a protein that controls the activity of the p53 tumour suppressor protein known as the "guardian of the genome".
	Vaccination remains the best way to avoid the flu Joy and goodwill aren't the only things we start spreading to friends, family, colleagues—even strangers—this time of year. Late fall and early winter also signal the start of annual spread of the influenza virus.
	Obesity may shorten life expectancy up to eight years 'Tis the season to indulge. However, restraint may be best according to a new study led by investigators at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and McGill University. The researchers examined the relationship between body weight and life expectancy. Their findings show that overweight and obese individuals have the potential to decrease life expectancy by up to 8 years. The study, published in the current issue of The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, further demonstrates that when one considers that these individuals may also develop diabetes or cardiovascular disease earlier in life, this excess weight can rob them of nearly two decades of healthy life.
Breastfeeding for longer could save the NHS GBP40 million a year The NHS could save more than £40 million a year by increasing the length of time that mothers breastfeed, according to research carried out at Brunel University London.
Most children's broken bones are treated improperly, study finds Hundreds of thousands of times each year in the United States, children go to emergency rooms with bone fractures. But new research from University of Maryland School of Medicine shows that the injuries are almost never splinted properly.
	Central America's new coffee buzz: renewable energy That morning cup of coffee gives many of us a needed boost, but Central American coffee farmers have found a new source of energy in their beans: turning agricultural wastewater into biogas.
	Longer breast-feeding may protect infants at risk for obesity (HealthDay)—For babies at high risk for obesity, the longer they breast-feed, the less likely they may be to become overweight, a new study suggests.
Research spotlights male healthcare attitudes A researcher at the University of York, studying male attitudes towards self-managing long-term healthcare issues, has discovered that self-management support is better received by men if it does not threaten aspects of masculine identity.
Retina's cancer-like metabolism could lead to new treatments Eye surgeons at the University of Adelaide have discovered that the retina in human eyes uses energy in a very similar way to cancer, which could lead to improved understanding of cancers as well as eye disease such as macular degeneration.
	Finding breast cancer answers in the freezer Patients who have a biopsy or surgery connected to a breast cancer diagnosis at Winship Cancer Institute are often asked to allow some of their left-over tissue to be used in Emory's breast tissue bank. Patients who consent are helping researchers at Emory and all across the country find answers to improving diagnosis, treatment, even prevention of breast cancer.
	Psychology professor offers a different approach to weight management For many people, the joys of holiday traditions are coupled with the dreaded, annual battle of the bulge.
	Serotonin makes some people more susceptible to drug dependence than others A study by Sarah Bradbury, who graduates with a PhD in Psychology next week, shows that the development of drug addiction is related to brain levels of serotonin—a chemical created by the human body that is responsible for maintaining mood balance.
	Genetic errors linked to more ALS cases than scientists had thought Genetic mutations may cause more cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) than scientists previously had realized, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The scientists also showed that the number of mutated genes influences the age when the fatal paralyzing disorder first appears. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, destroys the nerve cells that control muscles, leading to loss of mobility, difficulty breathing and swallowing, and eventually paralysis and death. Understanding the many ways genes contribute to ALS helps scientists seek new treatments.
New effort underway to help people living with epilepsy The Interoperability and Integration Innovation Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology (I3L) and UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company, announced today a new collaboration to explore how predictive analytics can help inform treatment decisions for people living with epilepsy.
	Smartband alerts parents to a wandering child's location before they get lost Losing a child in a crowded public place is one of the worst feelings a parent can have. For BYU MBA student Spencer Behrend, it was the catalyst for an ambitious device.
Women and men influence sensitivity in workplace teams Remember the coworker who seemed really tuned in to your ideas about the project?
	How are CTE and behavior linked? Aggression, violence, depression, suicide. Media reports routinely link these behavioral symptoms with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the neurodegenerative brain disease, in former football players.
	Older cancer patients missing out on surgery Older people are less likely to have cancer surgery compared to younger people according to new data published today (Friday).
	Scientists chart spinal circuitry responsible for chronic pain Pain typically has a clear cause–but not always. When a person touches something hot or bumps into a sharp object, it's no surprise that it hurts. But for people with certain chronic pain disorders, including fibromyalgia and phantom limb pain, a gentle caress can result in agony.
	Scientist finds drug combination that stops growth of breast cancer cells Dalhousie Medical School's Dr. Paola Marignani and her team have successfully tested a combination of drugs that shuts down aggressive, metabolically active HER2-positive breast cancers.
	You can still think deeply in the digital age Two people walk into a seminar: one takes photos, video and an audio recording of the presentation, while the other takes hand-written notes. Which person do you think will better recall the information?
	Military culture enables tobacco use Military culture perpetuates the notion that using tobacco provides stress relief, a new study in the American Journal of Health Promotion finds. But other stress relievers, such as exercise or taking meditation breaks, could be more valuable and effective than smoking breaks and avoid the health risks of tobacco.
	What to know about disclosing mental illness at work Deciding to disclose information about a non-obvious disability at work is complicated and potentially risky, no matter what you do for a living. For people with a mental health issue, like bipolar disorder or PTSD where stereotypes and bias are prevalent, the risk can be even greater.
Cerebral oxygenation in elite Kenyan athletes The Journal of Applied Physiology has published an article by Jordan Santos-Concejero of the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences of the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU), and entitled `Maintained cerebral oxygenation during maximal self-paced exercise in elite Kenyan runners'. This is a pioneering study in the world of the physiology of exercise, given that it describes for the first time that elite Kenyan athletes have greater brain oxygenation during periods of maximum physical effort, and which contributes to their success in long-distance races.
	Dopamine helps with math rules as well as mood The chemical messenger dopamine – otherwise known as the happiness hormone – is important not only for motivation and motor skills. It seems it can also help neurons with difficult cognitive tasks. Torben Ott, Simon Jacob and Professor Andreas Nieder of Tübingen's Institute for Neurobiology have demonstrated for the first time how dopamine influences brain cells while processing rules. You can read the study in full in the early online edition of Neuron.
Type 2 diabetes risk starts in pregnancy (w/ Video) The risk of developing type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease is affected by exposures in the uterus. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden are now calling for updated guidelines in light of research evidence from the past decades.
	How stroke survivors could benefit from computer games Stroke survivors can have "significant" improvement in arm movements after using the Nintendo Wii as physiotherapy according to researchers.
Give flawed payments database time to improve A "Viewpoint" published in JAMA urges readers to be patient with the new federal Open Payments Program database. The site, designed to report drug and device industry payments to physicians, debuted substantially incomplete, the authors wrote, but it is too important to dismiss before its shortcomings are addressed.
Rescuing the golgi puts brakes on Alzheimer's progression Alzheimer's disease (AD) progresses inside the brain in a rising storm of cellular chaos as deposits of the toxic protein, amyloid-beta (Aβ), overwhelm neurons. An apparent side effect of accumulating Aβ in neurons is the fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus, the part of the cell involved in packaging and sorting protein cargo including the precursor of Aβ. But is the destruction the Golgi a kind of collateral damage from the Aβ storm or is the loss of Golgi function itself part of the driving force behind Alzheimer's?
Screening for matrix effect in leukemia subtypes could sharpen chemotherapy targeting Location, location, location goes the old real estate proverb but cancer also responds to its neighborhood, particularly in the physical surroundings of bone marrow cells where human myeloid leukemias arise and where, according to two Harvard bioengineers, stiffness in the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) can predict how cancer subtypes react to chemotherapy. Correcting for the matrix effect could give oncologists a new tool for matching drugs to patients, the researchers say.
'Alzheimer's in a Dish' model induces skin cells into neurons expressing amyloid-beta (w/ Video) The search for a living laboratory model of human neurons in the grip of Alzheimer's disease (AD)—the so-called "Alzheimer's in a dish"—has a new candidate. In work presented at the ASCB/IFCB meeting in Philadelphia, Håkan Toresson and colleagues at Lund University in Sweden report success in creating induced neurons that model Alzheimer's by starting with fibroblasts taken from skin biopsies. The differentiated cells express a full range of normal neuronal markers. Significantly, all the neurons derived from fibroblasts including those taken from patients diagnosed with AD, express the proteins classically associated with the neurodegenerative disorder including amyloid beta (Aβ) and the microtubule-associated protein tau, giving researchers a ready comparison between AD patients and the normal elderly.
Blood brain barrier on a chip could stand in for children in pediatric brain research In the human brain, the BBB is not the Better Business Bureau but the blood brain barrier and the BBB is serious business in human physiology. The human BBB separates circulating blood from the central nervous system, thus protecting the brain from many infections and toxins. But the BBB also blocks the passage of many potentially useful drugs to the brain and it has long stymied scientists who want to learn more about this vital tissue because of the lack of realistic non-human lab models. Even less is known about the BBB in children.
An unholy alliance—Colon cancer cells in situ co-opt fibroblasts in surrounding tissue to break out It means cancer "in place" but a carcinoma "in situ" often does not want to keep its place. Standing between a cancer cell in situ and the surrounding tissue of fibroblasts and extracellular matrix is the basement membrane, a thin sheet of fibers that normally cradles the cells above it. The basement membrane is also the frontline physical barrier that keeps primary tumors from spreading into the matrix below. Perforating the basement membrane is a cancer cell's first move toward invasion, but how?
National recognition for potential 'over the counter' gum disease test A research study at Plymouth University Peninsula School of Dentistry (UK) which aims to develop a simple saliva test for gum diseases, has been recognised by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), which has included the study in its portfolio.
Why CLL there are often relapses after treatment Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is among the most frequent leukemias affecting adults in Western countries. It usually occurs in older patients, does not cause any symptoms for a long time and is often only discovered by accident. Despite treatment, relapses frequently occur. The immunologists Dr. Kristina Heinig and Dr. Uta Höpken (Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, MDC, Berlin-Buch) and the hematologist Dr. Armin Rehm (MDC and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin) have now discovered why this is so. In a mouse model they developed, the researchers demonstrated that crosstalk between the cancer cells and a group of stromal cells in the spleen is crucial for cancer growth. At the same time they were able to block the entry of cancer cells into the spleen as well as their proliferation and thus identified new targets for future therapies in humans.
Stick out your tongue: Neural network tests tongue and symptoms for remote diagnosis Physicians often ask their patients to "Please stick out your tongue". The tongue can betray signs of illness, which combined with other symptoms such as a cough, fever, presence of jaundice, headache or bowel habits, can help the physician offer a diagnosis. For people in remote areas who do not have ready access to a physician, a new diagnostic system is reported in the International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology that works to combine the soft inputs of described symptoms with a digital analysis of an image of the patient's tongue.
	Vitamin D deficiency ups odds of asthma exacerbation (HealthDay)—Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased odds of asthma exacerbations, according to a study published in the December issue of Allergy.
	Evidence for 'bilingual advantage' may be less conclusive than previously thought Study results that challenge the idea that bilingual speakers have a cognitive advantage are less likely to be published than those that support the bilingual-advantage theory, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. This research suggests that a publication bias in favor of positive results may skew the overall literature on bilingualism and cognitive function.
	Fruit flies pass down changes in their metabolism from father to son The consumption of a sugary banquet before sex can have far-reaching consequences for a fruit fly and its offspring: it makes the young flies more prone to obesity.
Significant increase in concussions among Ontario children and youth: York U study The number of children and youth treated for concussions in both emergency departments and physician's offices in Ontario increased significantly between 2003 and 2010, with falls, hockey and skating injuries identified as the leading causes of pediatric concussion, according to a new joint study out of York University and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES).
New signaling role for key protein may contribute to wound healing, tumor growth A key protein may represent a new way to use the immune system to speed healing and counter inflammatory, infectious and autoimmune diseases, according to study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published in the December issue of Cell Reports.
Mindfulness intervention boosts brain activation for healthy pleasures How can people who are dependent on prescription opioids reduce their cravings? Learn to enjoy other aspects of their lives.
	Vitiligo, alopecia areata may up atopic dermatitis risk (HealthDay)—The prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) is higher among patients with vitiligo or alopecia areata (AA), according to research published online Dec. 3 in JAMA Dermatology.
Agent prevents prostate cancer growth and spread in animal studies Researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center have completed a critical step in the journey from a basic science discovery in the lab to a potential clinical application, showing that an experimental agent prevents tumor growth and spread in mice with prostate cancer harboring a common chromosomal abnormality.
Study reveals text messages prevent 1 in 6 patients from failing to take medicine Scientists from Queen Mary University of London have found text messaging prevents one in six patients from forgetting to take, or stopping, their prescribed medicines.
	Promising compound rapidly eliminates malaria parasite An international research collaborative has determined that a promising anti-malarial compound tricks the immune system to rapidly destroy red blood cells infected with the malaria parasite but leave healthy cells unharmed. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists led the study, which appears in the current online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Austrian researchers show encapsulation of cancer drugs reduces heart damage Austrian researchers have shown that a new technique which wraps chemotherapy drugs in a fatty cover (called a liposome) reduces heart damage, in a study presented today at EuroEcho-Imaging 2014 by Professor Jutta Bergler-Klein and Professor Mariann Gyöngyösi from the Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
3D printed heart could reduce heart surgeries in children New 3D printed heart technology could reduce the number of heart surgeries in children with congenital heart disease, according to Dr Peter Verschueren who spoke on the topic today at EuroEcho-Imaging 2014.1 Dr Verschueren brought 3D printed models of the heart to his lecture including models used to plan real cases in patients.
Basic medical care of Ebola patients is neglected and must improve The widespread misconception that there are no proven treatments for Ebola virus disease has meant that simple treatments - especially intravenous fluids and electrolytes, which could reduce the number of deaths caused by the virus - have been neglected, according to a new Comment, published in The Lancet.
UN peacekeeper in Liberia tests positive for Ebola (AP)—The U.N. peacekeeping force in Liberia says one of its members has been infected with Ebola.
India detains doctor after cataract surgery leaves 20 blind (Update) Police have detained two people after at least 20 patients who had free cataract surgery at a camp in northern India were left blind, local authorities said Friday.
	Social determinants of health to be taught in med school (HealthDay)—A new policy implemented by the American Medical Association (AMA) supports integrating more training on the social determinants of health into undergraduate medical education, according to a report published by the AMA.
	The antioxidant capacity of orange juice is multiplied tenfold The antioxidant activity of citrus juices and other foods is undervalued. A new technique developed by researchers from the University of Granada for measuring this property generates values that are ten times higher than those indicated by current analysis methods. The results suggest that tables on the antioxidant capacities of food products that dieticians and health authorities use must be revised.
Vietnamese surgeon jailed for dumping patient's body in river A Vietnamese court on Friday sentenced a cosmetic surgeon to 19 years in jail for throwing the body of a patient who died during a botched operation into a river.
Canada hopes avian flu is contained to 4 farms (AP)—Canadian officials hope an avian flu outbreak has been contained to four quarantined poultry farms in British Columbia.
	Most americans agree with right-to-die movement (HealthDay)—Already-strong public support for right-to-die legislation has grown even stronger in the days since the planned death of 29-year-old brain cancer patient Brittany Maynard, a new HealthDay/Harris Poll has found.
Propranolol in infantile hemangioma: Indication of major added benefit in some patients The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) investigated in a dossier assessment whether propranolol offers an added benefit in comparison with the appropriate comparator therapy in infants with proliferating infantile haemangioma (sometimes called "strawberry mark").
Ebola-hit countries seek recovery plan to 'keep standing' Ebola-hit countries urged the United Nations on Friday to come up with an economic recovery plan to help them cushion the outbreak's devastating blow on agriculture, mining and public finances.
Sierra Leone seeing 80-100 new Ebola cases daily (AP)—Sierra Leone said Friday that between 80 and 100 new cases of Ebola are being reported every day and the country now hardest-hit by the deadly virus desperately needs over 1,000 beds to treat victims.
Impact of malnutrition in US at $157 billion annually Even in food-abundant industrialized countries like the U.S., an alarming number of people, particularly seniors, are in a state of diseased-associated malnutrition . Because of the impact on patient health, disease-associated malnutrition imposes a significant economic burden on society of $157 billion per year, according to new research published in a supplemental issue of the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (JPEN) and supported by Abbott .
Malnutrition is predictor of long-term survival in patients undergoing Whipple procedure Malnutrition is an important factor predicting long-term survival in older patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) (commonly called the Whipple procedure) to treat benign tumors and cysts of the pancreas as well as pancreatitis, according to new study results published in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
	Patent foramen ovale closure cost-effective over long term (HealthDay)—For patients with patent foramen ovale (PFO) and cryptogenic stroke, PFO closure is associated with higher costs but seems to be cost-effective over the long term when modeling medical treatment costs, according to research published in the Nov. 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.
Paralegal: Sanofi fired her for whistleblowing (AP)—A paralegal recently fired by French drugmaker Sanofi has filed a whistleblower lawsuit, claiming she was discharged after protesting an alleged kickback scheme to increase U.S. sales of its medicines.
CDC report: Ebola reports rarely panned out (AP)—A new government report counts hundreds of times U.S. doctors and hospitals raised false alarms about possible Ebola cases, finding that fewer than one in five warranted even additional investigation.
Cuba says Ebola doctor to leave Swiss hospital A Cuban doctor infected with Ebola in Sierra Leone will soon be released from the hospital in Switzerland where he has been receiving treatment, the Cuban health ministry said Friday.

Biology news

Loss of a chemical tag on RNA keeps embryonic stem cells in suspended animation A team of scientists that included researchers from UCLA has discovered a novel mechanism of RNA regulation in embryonic stem cells. The findings are strong evidence that a specific chemical modification, or "tag," on RNA plays a key role in determining the ability of embryonic stem cells to adopt different cellular identities.
	Full-field and real-time tracking of membrane processes without signal fading and cell perturbation Membrane nano-tomography in living cells: Label-free evanescent microscopy enables full-field and real-time tracking of membrane processes without signal fading and cell perturbation.
	'Sleeping dogs' threaten the genome as we age The genomes of many organisms, humans included, are littered with repetitive sequences of DNA called retrotransposons. In a new "Perspective" in the journal Science, four biologists write that while most retrotransposons have become inert "fossils" over evolutionary time, about 100 such rogue elements are still trying to copy themselves, potentially wreaking havoc on health.
	Scientists reveal how penicillin deals bacteria a devastating blow – work that may lead to new antibiotics Penicillin, the wonder drug discovered in 1928, works in ways that are still mysterious almost a century later. One of the oldest and most widely used antibiotics, it attacks enzymes that build the bacterial cell wall, a mesh that surrounds the bacterial membrane and gives the cells their integrity and shape. Once that wall is breached, bacteria die—allowing us to recover from infection.
	Study of cells during frog development may aid future cancer patients Two University of Wyoming researchers have found that scaling of cell and nuclear sizes shortly after fertilization contributes to the regulation of gene transcription and cell cycle elongation in African clawed frogs. Such scaling may have future implications for controlling the rate of cancerous growth in human cells.
	Life's underlying architecture shapes creation of proteins Understanding how nature maps sequences of amino acids into the physical structure of the proteins they form is an old problem in biology, and a solution could open new doors to understanding the earliest forms of life—and even enhance our ability to engineer new kinds of useful proteins.
Gravity: It's the law, even for cells (w/ Video) Everybody knows that cells are microscopic, but why? Why aren't cells bigger? The average animal cell is 10 microns across and the traditional explanation has been cells are the perfect size because if they were any bigger it would be difficult to get enough nutrients and energy to support them. Which is roughly where things stood until last year when Princeton bioengineers Marina Feric and Cliff Brangwynne published a paper in Nature Cell Biology describing their probing of cellular inner space, the cell nucleus, and their discovery that gravity could limit cell size.
	'Family' matters when predicting ecosystems' reaction to global change, study finds Humans are rapidly changing the look and function of earth's ecosystems, from the increase of greenhouse gases to the unintentional and harmful spread of plants and animals to new environments. A major challenge for ecologists is to understand how and why communities respond to factors that underlie global change.
Scientists find a way to make shRNA gene knockdown more effective Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have devised a powerful algorithm that improves the effectiveness of an important research technology harnessing RNA interference, or RNAi.
	Researchers develop a system to reconstruct grape clusters in 3D and assess their quality Researchers of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) have developed software to help reconstruct grape clusters with three-dimensional computer vision techniques. The system helps to automatically assess different parameters that define the quality of the wine grape during harvest time.
	Some plants evolve tolerance to deer Rampant deer have long been munching away on forest plants and altering ecosystems, but new evidence suggests some plants are evolving tolerance to being eaten.
	Condors with greater independence have higher lead levels As California condors return from the brink of extinction, the threat of lead poisoning persists, particularly for older, more independent condors, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis.
	Indigenous medicine – a fusion of ritual and remedy In traditional Indigenous Australian society, healers used plants in tandem with precise ritual. Thousands of years later, we're beginning to understand the science underlying these medicines.
	Pemberton trout prove resilient to warmer waters Department of Fisheries (DOF) scientists have found Pemberton trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) show an increased adaptation to high temperatures compared to cold water strains.
	Famed Los Angeles mountain lion appears recovered (AP)—A mountain lion living in a Los Angeles wilderness park appears to have recovered from mange and exposure to rat poison earlier this year.
Light switchable proteins and superresolution reveal moving protein complexes Cells are restless. They move during embryogenesis, tissue repair, regeneration, chemotaxis. Even in disease, tumor metastasis, cells get around. To do this, they have to keep reorganizing their cytoskeleton, removing pieces from one end of a microtubule and adding them to the front, like a railroad with a limited supply of tracks. The EB family of proteins helps regulate this process and can act as a scaffold for other proteins involved in pushing the microtubule chain forward.
	Drugs in the environment affect plant growth The drugs we release into the environment are likely to have a significant impact on plant growth, a new study has revelealed.
Endangered Puget Sound killer whale found dead (AP)—The Center for Whale Research in Washington state says an endangered Puget Sound orca has been found dead in British Columbia.
	Borneo orangutan dies with 40 pellets in her body An orangutan has died after being found on a palm oil plantation in Borneo with 40 air-rifle pellets in her body, an animal protection group said Friday.
	Feds may revise new food safety rules for irrigation water Complaints from farmers nationwide have encouraged the Food and Drug Administration to take the almost unheard of act of revising landmark food safety laws that were scheduled to take effect soon, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service food safety expert.
	Tiger triplets have debut at Washington state zoo (AP)—Sumatran tiger triplets born two months ago have gone on public display Friday at a zoo in Washington state.

---

This email is a free service of Phys.org
You received this email because you subscribed to our list.
If you no longer want to receive this email use the link below to unsubscribe.
https://sciencex.com/profile/nwletter/
You are subscribed as jmabs1@gmail.com