Science X Newsletter Tuesday, Dec 9

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for December 9, 2014:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- What makes Champagne bubbly?
- Going places: Microtubule-mediated transport of inhibitory signals critical in stabilizing cell migration polarity
- Dust from a comet has been discovered for the first time on the Earth's surface
- Researchers show commonalities in how different glassy materials fail
- Researchers use X-ray video of guineafowl walking through poppy seeds to create a 3-D model of how tracks get made
- Viking families traveled together, research shows
- The gold standard
- Nanoscale resistors for quantum devices
- Metal test could help diagnose breast cancer early
- Composite materials can be designed in a supercomputer 'virtual lab'
- Chemists create 'artificial chemical evolution' for the first time
- Moving toward a cheaper, better catalyst for hydrogen production
- Warmer Pacific Ocean could release millions of tons of seafloor methane
- Paying attention makes touch-sensing brain cells fire rapidly and in sync
- Distraction, if consistent, does not hinder learning

Astronomy & Space news

	Dust from a comet has been discovered for the first time on the Earth's surface (Phys.org)—A combined team of researchers from Japan and the U.S. has found particles of comet dust in ice extracted from the Antarctic—the first time comet dust particles have been found on the surface of the Earth. In their paper published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, the researchers describe how they found the dust particles and what they've learned by analyzing them.
	NASA and Houston hospital work on spacesuit issue The empty spacesuit that sat on the operating table in a lab at Houston Methodist Hospital's research institute made for an unusual patient.
	Researchers look at Oort cloud asteroids Sky & Telescope reports on "A fresh look at a nagging problem—asteroids moving in comet-like orbits" where the research "concludes that asteroids must make up about 4 percent of the vast, distant Oort Cloud of comets." Four researchers wrote that the usual picture of the Oort cloud as a collection of icy comets in the outer reaches of the solar system is incomplete. "We use simulations of the formation of the Oort cloud to show that ~4% of the small bodies in the Oort cloud should have formed within 2.5 au of the Sun, and hence be ice-free rock-iron bodies. If we assume these Oort cloud asteroids have the same size distribution as their cometary counterparts, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope should find roughly a dozen Oort cloud asteroids during ten years of operations."
	Hubble spies charming spiral galaxy bursting with stars (Phys.org) —The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observes some of the most beautiful galaxies in our skies—spirals sparkling with bright stellar nurseries, violent duos ripping gas and stars away from one another as they tangle together, and ethereal irregular galaxies that hang like flocks of birds suspended in the blackness of space.
	Molecular striptease explains Buckyballs in space Scientists from Leiden University have shown in the laboratory how Buckyballs - molecular soccerballs - form in space. The experiments are special, as these are based on a new chemical concept - top-down, from big to small - transfering large aromatic species into interstellar graphene, fullerenes and carbon cages.
	NASA says recently spotted asteroid 2014 UR116 no risk for Earth NASA says a newly spotted 1,300-foot (400-meter) wide asteroid is not a threat to hit Earth, despite recent media reports.
	Navy returns NASA's Orion after test flight NASA's new Orion spacecraft returned to dry land in Southern California after a test flight that ended with a plunge into the Pacific Ocean.
	Is there intelligent life in the universe? 5 questions with astrobiologist Caleb Scharf Nicolaus Copernicus, the 16th century Polish astronomer and mathematician, wasn't the first to suggest that the Earth wasn't the center of the universe—the idea originated with the ancient Greeks—but he was the first to prove it with a mathematical theorem. By doing so he upended the notion that Earth is unique, giving rise to the idea that there might be life on other planets.
	Proba-3 double-satellite nearer to space A pair of satellites flying in close formation to cast an artificial eclipse is now being turned into space-ready reality by ESA's industrial partners.
	Astronomers identify gas spirals as a nursery of twin stars through ALMA observation With the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observation, astronomers led by Shigehisa Takakuwa, Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica (ASIAA), Taiwan, found spiral arms of molecular gas and dust around the "baby twin" stars, binary protostars. Gas motions to supply materials to the twin were also identified. These observational results unveil, for the first time, the mechanism of the birth and growth of binary stars, which are ubiquitous throughout the universe. The study was published on November 20 in The Astrophysical Journal.
	Giant impacts, planet formation and the search for life elsewhere In the search for life beyond our solar system, we need to consider the system in which a planet moves, including the other planets and assorted debris that accompany it on its journey through the cosmos.
Video: Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft transfer and liftoff This timelapse video shows the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft during transfer from the MIK 40 integration facility to Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad 31, as well as the launch on 23 November 2014 with ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and her crewmates to the International Space Station where they will live and work for five months.

Technology news

	Researchers using germanium instead of silicon for CMOS devices A laboratory at Purdue University provided a critical part of the world's first transistor in 1947 – the purified germanium semiconductor – and now researchers here are on the forefront of a new germanium milestone.
	A better way to find communities in networks A key challenge network scientists face is figuring out how networks break down into communities—for example, different groups of friends in a high school social network or species in a food web.
	Storing hydrogen underground could boost transportation, energy security Large-scale storage of low-pressure, gaseous hydrogen in salt caverns and other underground sites for transportation fuel and grid-scale energy applications offers several advantages over above-ground storage, says a recent Sandia National Laboratories study sponsored by the Department of Energy's Fuel Cell Technologies Office.
	Freescale announces faster wireless charging solution Texas-based Freescale Semiconductor announced Monday that it has a solution, available early next year, for faster charging than traditional USB and other popular wired technologies, and it can support charging for big-screen phones, tablets, handheld medical devices and industrial equipment. Ars Technica pointed out that today's Qi charging pads still only put out 5W, the same as a slow wired charger but Freescale's new entrant, available next year, will deliver a change with a solution that Ars Technica's Ron Amadeo, reviews editor, said "should be just as fast as a hardwired turbo charger."
	Israeli researchers find flaw in Alibaba site Israeli cybersecurity researchers say that personal information of millions of Alibaba users may have been exposed through flaws on the e-commerce giant's platform.
	Facebook boosts search on mobile, desktop Facebook said Monday it is rolling out upgraded search capabilities for mobile and desktop users who want to find favorite posts from their friends on the huge social network.
Apple trial continues, without a plaintiff for now In an unusual legal twist, a federal judge decided Monday that a billion-dollar, class-action lawsuit over Apple's iPods should continue, even though she also disqualified the last remaining plaintiff named in a case that has been on trial since last week.
	Hackers urge Sony to pull N. Korea comedy film: reports A group which claims to have hacked Sony's servers demanded Monday that its movie studio pull a soon-to-be-released comedy depicting a fictional CIA plot to kill North Korea's leader, reports said.
	Cyberattacks to worsen in 2015: McAfee researchers A series of spectacular cyberattacks drew headlines this year, and the situation will only worsen in 2015 as hackers use more advanced techniques to infiltrate networks, security researchers said Tuesday.
	Amazon warns it could take drones testing outside US Amazon, keen to blaze a trail with delivery by drone, is threatening to take much of its research for the plan outside the United States amid frustrations with US regulators.
US city of Portland sues Uber The US city of Portland, Oregon, has sued ride-sharing startup Uber, saying it was operating illegally, officials said Monday.
	We must be sure that robot AI will make the right decisions, at least as often as humans do Your autonomous vacuum cleaner cleans your floors and there is no great harm if it occasionally bounces into things or picks up a button or a scrap of paper with a phone number. But then again this latter case is irritating – it would be preferable if the machine was capable of noticing there was something written on it and alert you. A human cleaner would do that.
	Ice bucket, Brazil elections popular on Facebook Day after day, Facebook captures our best and worst moments, from the birth of a new baby to heated political spats. So what got discussed the most in 2014? The Ice Bucket Challenge and the death of Robin Williams, to name a few.
	IBM study: Organizations struggling to defend against sophisticated cyber attacks More than 80 percent of security leaders believe the challenge posed by external threats is on the rise, while 60 percent also agree their organizations are outgunned in the cyber war, according to findings released today by IBM. The study additionally reveals that technology is seen as a critical component in addressing these security issues and threats, with big data, cloud and mobile named as the most significant areas of prioritization.
Amazon introduces 'make an offer' service Amazon wants you to make an offer sellers won't want to refuse.
	Court: No pay for Amazon warehouse security checks The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that warehouse workers who fill orders for retail giant Amazon don't have to be paid for time spent waiting to pass through security checks at the end of their shifts.
	Spanish judge orders temporary shutdown of Uber A judge on Tuesday ordered the temporary suspension of ridesharing service Uber in Spain, saying it represents unfair competition.
	Police question Uber after India rape allegation Indian police questioned an Uber executive Tuesday about the company's claim it conducts comprehensive background checks and a top official called for the taxi-booking service to be banned nationwide after one of its New Delhi drivers was accused of rape.
	Powering space craft of the future Engineers at Lancaster University are working on powering future 'giant leaps' for mankind.
	Using robots to get more food from raw materials Can an industrial robot succeed both at removing the breast fillet from a chicken, and at the same time get more out of the raw materials? This is one of the questions to which researchers working on the CYCLE project now have the answer.
	A long journey toward advanced nuclear fuels After years of waiting, a trans-Atlantic voyage and a cross-country trip, a cask containing four experimental irradiated pins of nuclear fuel arrived at DOE's Idaho National Laboratory in late July. The pins traveled from the Phénix fast reactor in France, where INL researchers had shipped them more than eight years ago. At the same time a parallel experiment was running here in the United States.
NREL teams with SolarCity to maximize solar power on electrical grids The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and SolarCity have entered into a cooperative research agreement to address the operational issues associated with large amounts of distributed solar energy on electrical grids. The work includes collaboration with the Hawaiian Electric Companies to analyze high penetration solar scenarios using advanced modeling and inverter testing at the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF). The project is funded in part through an Energy Department solar cost-share program.
Fueling the future: Argonne, Convergent and Cummins cooperate to discover the secrets of fuel injectors In the swirling, churning fireball at the heart of every internal combustion engine, complexity reigns supreme.

Medicine & Health news

	Scientists zeroing in on psychosis risk factors During the first phase of a major national study, scientists have uncovered a new cluster of preclinical symptoms linked to a significant increase in the risk that a young person will go on to develop a psychotic illness, including schizophrenia. The consortium of researchers, from Emory and seven other universities, has also discovered several biological processes tied to the transition from subtle symptoms to clinical psychosis.
	Long-term endurance training impacts muscle epigenetics A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that long-term endurance training in a stable way alters the epigenetic pattern in the human skeletal muscle. The research team behind the study, which is being published in the journal Epigenetics, also found strong links between these altered epigenetic patterns and the activity in genes controlling improved metabolism and inflammation. The results may have future implications for prevention and treatment of heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
	Paying attention makes touch-sensing brain cells fire rapidly and in sync Whether we're paying attention to something we see can be discerned by monitoring the firings of specific groups of brain cells. Now, new work from Johns Hopkins shows that the same holds true for the sense of touch. The study brings researchers closer to understanding how animals' thoughts and feelings affect their perception of external stimuli.
	Metal test could help diagnose breast cancer early It may be possible to develop a simple blood test that, by detecting changes in the zinc in our bodies, could help to diagnose breast cancer early.
	Using genome sequencing to track MRSA in under-resourced hospitals Researchers from the University of Cambridge have used genome sequencing to monitor how the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) occurs in under-resourced hospitals. By pinpointing how and when MRSA was transmitted over a three-month period at a hospital in northeast Thailand, the researchers are hoping their results will support evidence-based policies around infection control.
	Distraction, if consistent, does not hinder learning Maybe distraction is not always the enemy of learning. It turns out in surprising Brown University psychology research that inconsistent distraction is the real problem. As long as our attention is as divided when we have to recall a motor skill as it was when we learned it, we'll do just fine, according to the new study.
	Laughing gas studied as depression treatment Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, has shown early promise as a potential treatment for severe depression in patients whose symptoms don't respond to standard therapies. The pilot study, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is believed to be the first research in which patients with depression were given laughing gas.
	Altered movement of white blood cells may predict sepsis in patients with major burns A team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has identified what may be a biomarker predicting the development of the dangerous systemic infection sepsis in patients with serious burns. In their report in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, the researchers describe finding that the motion through a microfluidic device of the white blood cells called neutrophils is significantly altered two to three days before sepsis develops, a finding that may provide a critically needed method for early diagnosis.
	Molecular decoys help overcome drug resistance Harmful bacteria have evolved some ingenious mechanisms to resist antibiotics. One of those is the drug efflux pump—proteins that stand guard along bacterial cell membranes, identifying antibacterial agents that pass through the membrane and swiftly ejecting them from the cell.
Combining insecticide sprays and bed nets 'no more effective' in cutting malaria There is no need to spray insecticide on walls for malaria control when people sleep under treated bed nets, according to new research.
	Debate on safety of e-cigarettes continues Opposing views on the potential impact of electronic cigarettes on public health are published in the open access journal BMC Medicine. The commentaries, by two experts, differ in their views on the topic but are united in their call for a rational discussion based on evidence.
Heart disease patients advised to avoid being outside in rush hour traffic Heart disease patients have been advised to avoid being outside during rush hour traffic in a paper published today in European Heart Journal. The position paper on air pollution and cardiovascular disease was written by experts from the European Society of Cardiology and also recommends decreasing the use of fossil fuels.
	Wealth, power or lack thereof at heart of many mental disorders Donald Trump's ego may be the size of his financial empire, but that doesn't mean he's the picture of mental health. The same can be said about the self-esteem of people who are living from paycheck to paycheck, or unemployed. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, underscores this mind-wallet connection.
Pricing for new drugs lacks transparency The system that allows patients rapid access to expensive new treatments lacks transparency and penalises small and low-income countries unable to negotiate lower prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers. Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, the authors of an essay on market-access agreements for anti-cancer drugs, say that while the underlying strategy is to help reduce the likelihood of health systems paying for treatments that turn out not to be cost-effective, the agreements can also be seen as an opportunistic way for pharmaceutical manufacturers to keep official prices high.
PRM-151 therapy well tolerated in patients with advanced myelofibrosis A study that investigated the potential of the compound PRM-151 (PRM) for reducing progressive bone marrow fibrosis (scarring) in patients with advanced myelofibrosis has shown initial positive results. Myelofibrosis is a life-threatening bone marrow cancer.
	Stroke: Promising results published The majority of patients who survive a stroke usually continue to suffer from permanent motor disorders (hemiparesis) or a linguistic handicap (aphasia). A study of the Department of Neurology of CHU Dinant Godinne - UCL Namur, reveals an improvement in the efficiency of the brain activity when patients receive a treatment combining motor revalidation with non-invasive brain stimulation.
Sleep disturbance linked to amyloid in brain areas affected by Alzheimer's disease Healthy, elderly research participants who report being more sleepy and less rested have higher levels of amyloid deposition in regions of the brain that are affected in Alzheimer's disease, according to a report presented today at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology annual meeting in Phoenix (Arizona). If sleep disturbance is a cause of amyloid accumulation, it may be an early target for intervention to prevent the progression of cognitive deficits in late life.
Brain scans link frontal abnormalities to suicidal behaviors in adolescents, young adults Abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex and related brain areas are observed in adolescents who have attempted suicide, according to a report today at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology annual meeting in Phoenix Arizona. The study suggests that deficits in frontal systems may be associated with risk for suicide attempts in youths with mood disorders.
Malaria deaths halved since 2000 but Ebola risks gains: WHO The number of people dying from malaria has almost halved since 2000, although progress in west Africa risks being reversed by the Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
Finding a perfect match to attack Alzhemier's disease Researchers at the University of Adelaide are conducting world-first modelling of a range of naturally occurring molecules in the hopes of finding a perfect match that could one day be used in a new drug to help treat or prevent Alzheimer's disease.
New drug therapy for elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia Seventy percent of elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who were treated with a combination of drugs aimed to make chemotherapy treatments effective and less toxic achieved remission or a slowing of disease progression, according to research at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), partner with UPMC CancerCenter. The findings were presented Sunday at the 56th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
	UK sees a fall in maternal deaths Maternal deaths in the UK have dropped from 11 per 100,000 women giving birth in 2006–08 to 10 per 100,000 women giving birth in 2010–12, according to a report led by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford.
	Scientists make breakthrough in understanding of rare blood cancer A breakthrough in understanding of a rare form of blood cancer could lead to significant improvements in treatment for patients. Scientists from the University of Southampton announced their findings at a prestigious scientific conference in San Fransisco on Sunday 7 December.
	Amputees found to shy away from prosthetics Local researchers have predicted several points in time in which lower-limb amputees may stop using their prostheses after they are discharged from rehab.
	Sports scientists piecing together jigsaw puzzle of muscle growth ports scientists at the University of Stirling have created a blueprint to help piece together the puzzle of human muscle growth.
Bilingualism and ageing Many older people keep mentally active and enjoy using 'brain training' puzzles and games for their leisure, however the science on their efficacy is as yet partial and inconclusive.
HIV treatment offers hope for disease prevention but no panacea New research findings recommend further measures should be put in place to make the best use of two new HIV prevention options.
	Long-term effect of gestational diabetes treatment uncertain (HealthDay)—The effects of treatment of mild gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on long-term child health are unclear, according to research published online Nov. 20 in Diabetes Care.
	Smoking still causes large proportion of cancer deaths in US A new American Cancer Society study finds that despite significant drops in smoking rates, cigarettes continue to cause about three in ten cancer deaths in the United States. The study, appearing in the Annals of Epidemiology, concludes that efforts to reduce smoking prevalence as rapidly as possible should be a top priority for the U.S. public health efforts to prevent cancer deaths.
	Meta-analysis: Oral contraceptive use not linked to RA onset (HealthDay)—Oral contraceptive (OC) use does not appear to be associated with the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), although there is an inverse association between OC use and RA severity, according to a meta-analysis published in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases.
	AMA: Starting small can lead to big changes in patient lives (HealthDay)—A patient and her physician shared her story of health transformation during a special session at the 2014 American Medical Association (AMA) Interim Meeting in Dallas.
	Complication rate up for elderly undergoing spinal fusion (HealthDay)—Patients aged 65 years or older have a higher likelihood of complications when undergoing anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), compared to younger patients, according to research published in the Dec. 1 issue of Spine.
	Antibiotic stewardship programs in children's hospitals effective (HealthDay)—Formalized antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs) effectively reduce antibiotic prescribing in children's hospitals, according to research published online Dec. 8 in Pediatrics.
	New treatment strategy for epilepsy Researchers found out that the conformational defect in a specific protein causes Autosomal Dominant Lateral Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (ADLTE) which is a form of familial epilepsy. They showed that treatment with chemical corrector called "chemical chaperone" ameliorates increased seizure susceptibility in a mouse model of human epilepsy by correcting the conformational defect.
	Discovery of novel drug target may lead to better treatment for schizophrenia Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have identified a novel drug target that could lead to the development of better antipsychotic medications.
Common chemotherapy is not heart toxic in patients with BRCA1/2 mutations Use of anthracycline-based chemotherapy, a common treatment for breast cancer, has negligible cardiac toxicity in women whose tumors have BRCA1/2 mutations—despite preclinical evidence that such treatment can damage the heart.
	Even with mismatches flu shots can still keep you from getting sick On December 3, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network advisory indicating a possible strain mismatch in this year's vaccine. After the usual brief flurry of media attention, it is worth examining what this really means for the general public and health-care providers.
Technique for cardiovascular diagnostics shows promise A new technique developed at Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology shows promise for early diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
	Possible genetic link found in treatment-related cognitive issues in children with leukemia Common variations in four genes related to brain inflammation or cells' response to damage from oxidation may contribute to the problems with memory, learning and other cognitive functions seen in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to a study led by researchers from Boston Children's Hospital, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, and Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.
	Twitter posts may shine a fresh light on mental illness trends Johns Hopkins computers scientists, who have already used Twitter posts to track flu cases, say their techniques also show promise as a tool to gather important information about some common mental illnesses.
Cancer therapy shows promise for nuclear medicine treatment Cancer therapy can be much more effective using a new way to customize nuclear medicine treatment, researchers say in the December 2014 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. The process could also be useful for other diseases that could benefit from targeted radiation.
	Certain factors influence survival and prognosis for premature infants Several factors influence how well a severely premature infant (23 weeks gestation) will do after birth and over the long term, according to researchers at Loyola University Medical Center. These findings were published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Perinatology.
	Controlling obesity with potato extract Take a look in your pantry: the miracle ingredient for fighting obesity may already be there. A simple potato extract may limit weight gain from a diet that is high in fat and refined carbohydrates, according to scientists at McGill University. The results of their recent study were so surprising that the investigators repeated the experiment just to be sure.
New insight into risk of Ankylosing Spondylitis Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered variations in an enzyme belonging to the immune system that leaves individuals susceptible to Ankylosing Spondylitis.
	Even in our digital age, early parental writing support is key to children's literacy Children of the Information Age are inundated with written words streaming across smartphone, tablet, and laptop screens. A new Tel Aviv University study says that preschoolers should be encouraged to write at a young age—even before they make their first step into a classroom.
	Are you helping your toddler's aggressive behavior? Physical aggression in toddlers has been thought to be associated with the frustration caused by language problems, but a recent study by researchers at the University of Montreal shows that this isn't the case. The researchers did find, however, that parental behaviours may influence the development of an association between the two problems during early childhood. Frequent hitting, kicking, and a tendency to bite or push others are examples of physical aggression observed in toddlers.
'Tis the season for youth to curb binge-drinking With the holidays around the corner, we're all a little more likely to indulge, especially when it comes to alcohol. While a few extra drinks might be brushed off as holiday cheer, they can actually signal a problem in young adults.
Why treating shoulder pain in baseball pitchers is so difficult Results of treating shoulder pain in baseball pitchers and other throwing athletes are not as predictable as doctors, patients and coaches would like to think, according to a report in the journal Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America.
Mobile device use leads to few interactions between mother and child during mealtime Moms who use mobile devices while eating with their young children are less likely to have verbal, nonverbal and encouraging interactions with them. The findings, which appear online in Academic Pediatrics, may have important implications about how parents balance attention between their devices with their children during daily life.
	Top-selling eye vitamins found not to match scientific evidence With Americans spending billions of dollars each year on nutritional supplements, researchers have analyzed popular eye vitamins to determine whether their formulations and claims are consistent with scientific findings. They determined that some of the top-selling products do not contain identical ingredient dosages to eye vitamin formulas proven effective in clinical trials. In addition, the study found that claims made on the products' promotional materials lack scientific evidence. The results of their study were published online in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
	Call to change concept of harm reduction in alcohol policy A new policy paper by a University of York academic calls for limits on the influence of the drinks industry in shaping alcohol policy because it has a 'fundamental conflict of interest'.
Increased BMI in the normal range has a negative effect on cardiometabolic risk markers Increases in excess fat adversely affect multiple cardiometabolic risk markers even in lean young adults according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine. The study by Peter Würtz from the University of Oulu, Finland, and colleagues suggests that, even within the range of body-mass index (BMI) considered to be healthy, there is no threshold below which a BMI increase does not adversely affect the metabolic profile of an individual.
Restricting surgical residents' hours doesn't improve outcomes Controversial restrictions on hospital residents' duty hours imposed in 2011 did not improve surgery patients' outcomes, reports a large new Northwestern Medicine study of U.S. hospitals, one of the first national evaluations of the results of the restrictions.
Doctors trained in higher expenditure regions spend more, may add to rising health care costs A study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that physicians who do residency training in regions of the country with higher health care spending patterns continue to practice in a more costly manner - even when they move to a geographic area where health care spending is lower.
Study shows cognitive training can improve brain performance of students in poverty The cognitive effects of poverty can be mitigated during middle school with a targeted intervention, according to researchers at the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas.
Languages of medical residency applicants compared to patients with limited English An analysis of the non-English-language skills of U.S. medical residency applicants finds that although they are linguistically diverse, most of their languages do not match the languages spoken by the U.S. population with limited English proficiency, according to a study in the December 10 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education.
Computer system more effective than doctors at producing comprehensive patient reports A computer system was more effective than doctors at collecting information about patient symptoms, producing reports that were more complete, organized and useful than narratives generated by physicians during office visits, according to a Cedars-Sinai study.
Higher earning clinicians make more money by ordering more procedures per patient In results characterized as "very surprising," UCLA researchers found for the first time that higher-earning clinicians make more money by ordering more procedures and services per patient rather than by seeing more patients, which may not be in patients' best interest.
Study links ADHD, conduct disorder with alcohol and tobacco use in young teens A new study links ADHD and conduct disorder in young adolescents with increased alcohol and tobacco use. The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study is among the first to assess such an association in this age group.
Dead teen's parents seek ban on caffeine powder The parents of an Ohio teen who died from an overdose of caffeine powder are urging federal regulators to ban sales of the stimulant, saying that children must be protected from a highly potent substance.
	E-cigarettes less addictive than cigarettes, according to study E-cigarettes appear to be less addictive than cigarettes for former smokers and this could help improve understanding of how various nicotine delivery devices lead to dependence, according to researchers.
Genotyping errors plague CYP2D6 testing for tamoxifen therapy Clinical recommendations discouraging the use of CYP2D6 gene testing to guide tamoxifen therapy in breast cancer patients are based on studies with flawed methodology and should be reconsidered, according to the results of a Mayo Clinic study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Simeprevir-based therapy offers cost-effective alternative in treatment of hepatitis C Researchers at Penn Medicine, in collaboration with a multi-center international team, have shown that a protease inhibitor, simeprevir, a once a day pill, along with interferon and ribavirin has proven as effective in treating chronic Hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) as telaprevir with interferon and ribavirin, the standard of care in developing countries. Further, simeprevir proved to be simpler for patients and had fewer adverse events. The complete study is now available online and is scheduled to publish in January 2015 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Women with dense breasts will have to look beyond ultrasound for breast cancer screening Supplemental ultrasound screening for all U.S. women with dense breasts would substantially increase healthcare costs with little improvement in overall health, according to senior author Anna Tosteson, ScD, at Dartmouth Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice.
Immunizing schoolkids fights flu in others, too Mathematical models predicted it, and now a University of Florida study confirms it: Immunizing school-aged children from flu can protect other segments of the population, as well.
	Cost of job-based health insurance outpaces family income: report (HealthDay)—Americans who get job-based health insurance are spending a bigger chunk of their paychecks on health care than they were a decade ago, and they may be getting less financial protection for the money, a new report suggests.
	Many women don't lose those pregnancy pounds, study finds (HealthDay)—Women's fears that pregnancy pounds will linger are validated by new research that suggests three-quarters of new mothers are heavier a year after giving birth than they were before becoming pregnant.
	Full bladder may get a third of women over 40 up at night (HealthDay)—Many women have to get up more than once a night because of a full bladder, a new study finds.
Immunotherapy shows clinical benefit in relapsed transplant recipients A multicenter phase 1 trial of the immune checkpoint blocker ipilimumab found clinical benefit in nearly half of blood cancer patients who had relapsed following allogeneic stem cell transplantation, according to investigators from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who developed and lead the study.
Data published on ANG4043, anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody for treatment of brain metastases Angiochem, a clinical stage biotechnology company creating and developing drugs that cross the blood-brain barrier, today announced the publication in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics demonstrating that ANG4043, a peptide-monoclonal antibody (mAb) conjugate, entered the brain at therapeutic concentrations, resulting in significantly prolonged survival in mice. The antibody is directed against HER2, which is the protein targeted by Herceptin®. Because the mAb is conjugated to Angiopep-2, it is recognized by the LRP1 receptor and takes advantage of a receptor-mediated transcytosis mechanism to cross the BBB. This proprietary technology has been clinically validated with ANG1005, a peptide-paclitaxel conjugate currently in Phase II studies. The data published today shows that Angiochem's technology to cross the BBB is applicable to biologics such as mAbs.
Fonterra slammed over botulism scare response New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra bungled its response to a food contamination scare because it was more concerned with market share than public safety, an official inquiry found Tuesday.
EU team launches clinical trial of Parkinson's vaccine Today the EU-consortium SYMPATH starts recruitment for a Phase I study of a Parkinson's vaccine candidate called AFFITOPE PD03A. This vaccine is one out of a designated pool of promising vaccine candidates based on AFFiRiS' proprietary AFFITOME technology. These candidates aim at disease modification of Parkinson's instead of only ameliorating the severe motor symptoms of the disease, such as tremor. All vaccines in this pool target alpha-Synuclein, a protein that is key to the onset and the progression of both, Parkinson's and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Recently, encouraging clinical results of a Parkinson's trial of one other of the pool's vaccines, namely PD01A, were presented by the Michael J. Fox Foundation and AFFiRiS. These confirmed the safety and tolerability of the vaccine, as well as its ability to induce an immune response and even achieve functional stabilization.
	Victorian aboriginal child mortality data shows long way to go to close the gap The gap in the Aboriginal infant mortality rate in Victoria is higher than first thought, according to a landmark study undertaken by University of Melbourne researchers.
	New journal looks at significance of research on the Black Death It was one of the most famous health issues in history. The Black Death spread from Asia throughout the Mediterranean, North Africa and Europe in the 14th century, and in just a decade it killed between 40 and 60 percent of the people living in those areas.
	Improving dementia care with patient-focused apps EU-funded researchers have developed new apps that enable healthcare workers to provide more personalised care to dementia sufferers.
Liberians urged to travel last mile to beat Ebola Liberia's president is urging her countrymen to travel the "very difficult last mile" to rid Ebola from the country, especially remote areas.
New resource on health threats posed by endocrine-disrupting chemicals As governments, industry and public interest groups from across the globe prepare to meet next week to discuss endocrine-disrupting chemicals and other international chemical safety issues, the Endocrine Society and IPEN released a new guide documenting the threat endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) pose to human health.
Ebola still 'flaming' in parts of Sierra Leone, Guinea: UN The UN's Ebola czar on Tuesday hailed widespread progress in the fight against the deadly virus, but warned the outbreak was still surging in western Sierra Leone and northern Guinea.
UWE mental health expert helps produce new dementia guidelines A UWE Bristol professor in mental health is one of the key experts behind a new care pathway and Guide to Psychosocial Interventions in Dementia launched recently by the British Psychological Society.
Social support central for caregiver health in AIDS-affected South African communities Psychosocial support should be a key element of health interventions for caregivers of children in HIV-affected communities, particularly for women who take on the majority of care-giving responsibilities.
	Bayer and DNDi sign agreement to develop an oral treatment for river blindness Bayer HealthCare and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) have signed an agreement under which Bayer will provide the active ingredient emodepside to support DNDi in its effort to develop a new oral drug to treat river blindness (or onchocerciasis). The world's second leading infectious cause of blindness, river blindness is a neglected tropical disease caused by a filarial worm.
Epidemiologist publishes model on the impact of a regional foot-and-mouth disease outbreak A research project in the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine presents the largest model to date for evaluating the impact and control of a potential outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in livestock.
People with opioid dependence in recovery show 're-regulation' of reward systems Within a few months after drug withdrawal, patients in recovery from dependence on prescription pain medications may show signs that the body's natural reward systems are normalizing, reports a study in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
Aorta: A novel free aortic surgery app for cardiologists and cardiac surgeons Three cardiac surgeons from the Montreal Heart Institute, Dr. Yoan Lamarche, Dr. Ismail El-Hamamsy and Dr. Philippe Demers, are behind Aorta, a free app that provides specialists with patient-specific recommendations for aortic replacement surgery based on the latest scientific guidelines.
Long-term results confirm success of MGH-developed laser treatment for vocal-cord cancer The first long-term study of a pioneering endoscopic laser treatment for early vocal-cord cancer, developed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and previously shown to provide optimal voice outcomes, finds that it is as successful as traditional approaches in curing patients' tumors while avoiding the damage to vocal quality caused by radiotherapy or by conventional laser or cold-instrument surgery. The report in the December Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology describes results for the first 117 patients treated for vocal-cord cancer with the green-light potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) laser by Steven Zeitels, MD, director of the MGH Voice Center and developer of the procedure.
Analysis shows increased use of HF-WBI for patients with early-stage breast cancer The use of hypofractionated whole-breast irradiation (HF-WBI) for patients with early-stage breast cancer increased 17.4 percent from 2004 to 2011, and patients are more likely to receive HF-WBI compared to conventionally fractionated whole-breast irradiation (CF-WBI) when they are treated at an academic center or live ≥50 miles away from a cancer center, according to a study published in the December 1, 2014 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
Senegal warns against Ebola as giant Muslim pilgrimage looms Senegal has warned millions of Muslim pilgrims expected to undertake the yearly Sufi pilgrimage to Touba this week to be especially wary of Ebola infection.
Israel allows terminal patient to choose death For the first time, Israel has invoked the provisions of its 2005 "Dying Patient Act" to allow a terminally ill patient to die.
Emergency department resource use by supervised residents vs. attending physicians alone In a sample of U.S. emergency departments, compared to attending physicians alone, supervised visits (involving both resident and attending physicians) were associated with a greater likelihood of hospital admission and use of advanced imaging and with longer emergency department stays, according to a study in the December 10 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education.
Number of medical schools with student-run free clinics has more than doubled There has been a doubling during the last decade in the number of U.S. medical schools that have student-run free clinics, with more than half of medical students involved with these clinics, according to a study in the December 10 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education.
Study assesses hospice use in and out of nursing homes and by patients in transition As hospice for nursing home patients grows dramatically, a new study from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University Center for Aging Research compares the characteristics of hospice patients in nursing homes with hospice patients living in the community. The study also provides details on how hospice patients move in and out of these two settings.
House backs bill to lower suicide rate among vets The House has approved a bill aimed at reducing a suicide epidemic that claims the lives of 22 military veterans every day.

Biology news

	Going places: Microtubule-mediated transport of inhibitory signals critical in stabilizing cell migration polarity (Phys.org)—Microtubules – tubular polymers of tubulin (a globular protein) that are a component of the cytoskeleton found throughout cell cytoplasm – are involved in a range of cellular functions, including the movement of secretory vesicles, organelles, and intracellular substances; cell division (mitosis and meiosis), including the formation of mitotic spindles; and cell polarity, which refers to spatial differences in cellular shape, structure and function. However, the nature of the role of microtubules in cell polarity has yet to be clarified. At the same time, cell migration plays an essential role in many important physiological processes, such as embryogenesis, wound healing, and immune responses; in engineering applications such as tissue regeneration; and, when defective, in causing severe problems such as birth defects, vascular disease and tumor metastasis. A key area for investigation in the linkage between cell polarity and cell migration is that directional cell migration requires a defined polarity, generated by an integrated network of signals, adhesions (the protein-based binding of a cell to a surface or substrate) and cytoskeleton.
	Viking families traveled together, research shows (Phys.org)—A new study shows that when Vikings moved to new territories, men and women traveled together. Erika Hagelberg of the University of Oslo and her colleagues compared ancient Norse and Icelandic mitochondrial DNA with mitochondrial DNA of modern Northwestern Europeans. They found similarities between the ancient and modern DNA suggesting women played a significant role in Viking migrations. The research appears in The Royal Society Philosophical Transactions B.
	Monkey-style 'bromance' helps macaques weather life's hard knocks When it comes to weathering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, male macaques get by with a little help from their fellow dudes, according to new research.
	I like bright butts – how male mantids locate females Praying mantids are masters of camouflage, blending in with the background vegetation, at least to human eyes. Camouflage can be an effective protection from predators and an important concealment from approaching prey, however, praying mantids may need to retain some visibility in order to be located by a mate.
	Climate change challenge for animals reliant on external sources of heat Animals that regulate their body temperature through the external environment may be resilient to some climate change but not keep pace with rapid change, leading to potentially disastrous outcomes for biodiversity.
	Bacteria's game of 'Telephone' foils microbiologists' eavesdropping While human families are easily illustrated as a tree, bacterial families look more like a heap of branches. Scientists are trying to trace the connections between those branches in an effort to learn more about the bacteria that harm us, and those that do not.
	SNAP-tagging gives scientists a glimpse of nerve function Scientists can now explore nerves in mice in much greater detail than ever before, thanks to an approach developed by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy. The work, published online today in Nature Methods, enables researchers to easily use artificial tags, broadening the range of what they can study and vastly increasing image resolution.
	How did life become complex, and could it happen beyond Earth? When astrobiologists contemplate life on nearby planets or moons, they often suggest such life would be simple. Instead of there being some kind of multicellular organism on, say, Jupiter's moon Europa, scientists instead aim to find something more like a microbe.
	Early humans single-handedly nudged out New Zealand megafauna A small human population which initially inhabited New Zealand swiftly caused the extinction of the country's flightless bird, the moa (Aves:Dinornithiformes), according to recent international research.
Nutrient availability can cause whole-genome recoding The availability of a trace nutrient can cause genome-wide changes to how organisms encode proteins, report scientists from the University of Chicago in PLoS Biology on Dec. 9. The use of the nutrient - which is produced by bacteria and absorbed in the gut - appears to boost the speed and accuracy of protein production in specific ways.
	Birdsong study reveals how brain uses timing during motor activity Timing is key for brain cells controlling a complex motor activity like the singing of a bird, finds a new study published by PLOS Biology.
	Yeast are first cells known to cure themselves of prions Yeast cells can sometimes reverse the protein misfolding and clumping associated with diseases such as Alzheimer's, according to new research from the University of Arizona.
	Now researchers can see how unfolded proteins move in the cell When a large protein unfolds in transit through a cell, it slows down and can get stuck in traffic. Using a specialized microscope—a sort of cellular traffic camera—University of Illinois chemists now can watch the way the unfolded protein diffuses.
Biting review finds shark policy based on movie myths The film Jaws has heavily influenced Western Australia's stance on sharks, a review of over a decade of state government policy has found.
	Bioluminescence as a method of assessing fish stocks Research by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) explores a promising new method of forecasting bioluminescence, which may improve the monitoring of movements in the ocean, such as fish shoals and internal waves.
	Scientists prepare for another wave of tsunami debris, possible invasives Scientists monitoring incoming tsunami debris were taken aback last spring when some 30 fishing vessels from Japan washed ashore along the Pacific Northwest coast – many of them covered in living organisms indigenous to Asia.
	What quails can teach us about the gait of dinosaurs Motion scientists and zoologists of Jena University (Germany) study out the gait of birds. In the Proceedings of the Royal Society B the team published the first detailed analysis of the bipedal gait of quails. The scientists analyzed which effect the birds posture has on the movement of their legs and on their stability when they walk.
	Toxic fruits hold the key to reproductive success In the course of evolution, animals have become adapted to certain food sources, sometimes even to plants or to fruits that are actually toxic. The driving forces behind such adaptive mechanisms are often unknown. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, have now discovered why the fruit fly Drosophila sechellia is adapted to the toxic fruits of the morinda tree. Drosophila sechellia females, which lay their eggs on these fruits, carry a mutation in a gene that inhibits egg production. The flies have very low levels of l-DOPA , a precursor of the hormone dopamine, which controls fertility; interestingly, large amounts of l-DOPA are contained in morinda fruits. Flies that were fed with l-DOPA can compensate for the genetic deficiency and considerably increase their reproductive success. The same gene mutation also contributes to the resistance that these flies have to the toxic acids produced in! the fruits and killing all other fruit fly species. (eLife, December 2014)
	Novel LED technology enables detailed investigation of algae productivity Because food crops are also used for energy production, millions of people are threatened by starvation. Algae could provide an alternative: They only need sunlight to grow, thrive in salty water on barren fields. But it is a major challenge to exactly reproduce sunlight in the laboratory. In collaboration with the Berlin LED manufacturer FUTURELED scientists at the Technische Universität München have now developed a methodology for simulating all kinds of light situations.
	Being lower in pecking order improves female tit birds' memory When it comes to remembering where a tasty titbit was left, female great tit birds are miles ahead of their male counterparts. This ability might have evolved because the females come second when there's food to be shared, argue Anders Brodin and Utku Urhan of Lund University in Sweden. In Springer's journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, they present one of only a handful of cases in nature in which the female of a bird species has better spatial and learning abilities than the male.
	Conservation targeting tigers pushes leopards to change A leopard may not be able to change its spots, but new research from a World Heritage site in Nepal indicates that leopards do change their activity patterns in response to tigers and humans—but in different ways.
	US names red knot bird a threatened species A rust-colored shorebird known for a nearly 20,000-mile migration will now receive federal protection, setting the stage for states to coordinate preservation plans for the dwindling species.
	Elephant slaughter, ivory sales 'out of control': conservationists The slaughter of Africa's elephants and the illegal trade in ivory in China are "out of control" and could push wild elephants to extinction within a generation, conservationists said Tuesday.

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