Science X Newsletter Friday, Jan 2

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for January 2, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Nanoscale neighbors: First use of transformation optics to accurately analyze nonlocality in 3D plasmonic systems
- Defying textbook science, study finds new role for proteins
- 'Bad luck' of random mutations plays predominant role in cancer, study shows
- Plant genetic advance could lead to more efficient conversion of plant biomass to biofuels
- Robot looks like a fish to ride with marine life
- New version of common antibiotic could eliminate risk of hearing loss
- New diet guidelines might pull back from meat
- HIV vaccines should avoid viral target cells, primate model study suggests
- Predicting superbugs' countermoves to new drugs
- Innate behavior determines how we steer our car
- Researchers target the cell's 'biological clock' in promising new therapy to kill cancer cells
- 'Connected life' at the heart of CES electronics show
- Explained: The enigmatic death of Mrs. Oscar Wilde
- NASA team hacks Opportunity to treat Mars Rover's amnesia
- Flatbed scanner's Cinderella act, a functioning camera

Astronomy & Space news

	NASA team hacks Opportunity to treat Mars Rover's amnesia NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has been working well into its golden years - after nearly 11 years roaming the Red Planet, it has survived more than 40 times past its warranty. But now, this trusty veteran explorer is experiencing some worrisome memory loss.
Russian space medic who led Mars experiment dies at 64 Boris Morukov, a Russian cosmonaut and doctor who led an extraordinary experiment in which volunteers simulated a flight to Mars while never leaving a Moscow car park, has died at 64, his scientific institute said Friday.

Technology news

	Flatbed scanner's Cinderella act, a functioning camera Photography enthusiasts in do-it-yourself mode recently saw how Dario Morelli managed to take parts from an Epson flatbed scanner to create a medium format camera. ("Flatbed" refers to a scanner providing a flat, glass surface.)
'Connected life' at the heart of CES electronics show In the air, in your car, on your back—new technology at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show is showcasing the growing number of ways to live the "connected life."
	Innate behavior determines how we steer our car Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have solved a 70 year old mystery in traffic research: an until now inexplicable jerkiness when we steer a vehicle. The discovery may lead to safety systems in cars that can correct dangerous steering movements before they occur.
	Robot looks like a fish to ride with marine life (Phys.org)—Students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich are working on a project that could deliver an ideal device for marine life filming, minus the turbulence and appearance that could scare fish away. They are working on Sepios, a nautical robot with fish-like appearance that would make it ideal for closing in on fish. The device, they said, is a four-finned cuttlefish-inspired robot, a distance away from classical nautical vehicles on the level of maneuverability. They said "contrary to the cuttlefish, it uses four fins, to maximize our goal of omnidirectionality."
	Facebook 'year in review' feature painful for some Facebook wanted to delight its users by compiling each member's "year in review"—but inadvertently revived painful memories for some who suffered tragic events in 2014.
	Samsung unveils new TV platform to cut Google reliance South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics said Thursday it will release smart televisions equipped with its new platform built around the Tizen operating system this year, as it seeks to lower its reliance on Google.
US senators seek information on FBI phone tracking Leaders of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said Wednesday they were seeking answers from the Obama administration about federal law enforcement's use of surveillance technology that sweeps up basic cellphone data.
	In with the new: Snappy apps for 2015 Uber, Facebook, Instagram—sure, they've been all the rage, but as 2014 winds down we're all ready for something fresh. From ride-hailing to photo sharing, here are a few up-and coming apps and startups to watch in in 2015. Which will be the breakout hit of the new year?
	Apple sued over storage sleight of hand (Update) Apple on Friday faced a lawsuit accusing it of promising more available storage space than it actually delivers in iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices.
High court to adopt electronic filing of cases The Supreme Court is belatedly developing an electronic filing system similar to those used in courts around the country, Chief Justice John Roberts said Wednesday in his annual end-of-year report.

Medicine & Health news

	'Bad luck' of random mutations plays predominant role in cancer, study shows Scientists from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have created a statistical model that measures the proportion of cancer incidence, across many tissue types, caused mainly by random mutations that occur when stem cells divide. By their measure, two-thirds of adult cancer incidence across tissues can be explained primarily by "bad luck," when these random mutations occur in genes that can drive cancer growth, while the remaining third are due to environmental factors and inherited genes.
	Researchers target the cell's 'biological clock' in promising new therapy to kill cancer cells Cell biologists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have targeted telomeres with a small molecule called 6-thiodG that takes advantage of the cell's 'biological clock' to kill cancer cells and shrink tumor growth.
	Testing anti-drinking drug with help of a fake bar The tequila sure looks real, so do the beer taps. Inside the hospital at the National Institutes of Health, researchers are testing a possible new treatment to help heavy drinkers cut back—using a replica of a fully stocked bar.
	Findings point to potential approach to treat EV-D68 virus causing illness, possible paralysis New research findings point toward a class of compounds that could be effective in combating infections caused by enterovirus D68, which has stricken children with serious respiratory infections and might be associated with polio-like symptoms in the United States and elsewhere.
Fat isn't all bad: Skin adipocytes help protect against infections When it comes to skin infections, a healthy and robust immune response may depend greatly upon what lies beneath. In a new paper published in the January 2, 2015 issue of Science, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report the surprising discovery that fat cells below the skin help protect us from bacteria.
	Explained: The enigmatic death of Mrs. Oscar Wilde For decades, historians of literature have mulled the untimely death that met Constance, the wife of the exuberant, scandalous writer Oscar Wilde.
	Not all obese people develop metabolic problems linked to excess weight New research demonstrates that obesity does not always go hand in hand with metabolic changes in the body that can lead to diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
New version of common antibiotic could eliminate risk of hearing loss On Christmas Eve, 2002, Bryce Faber was diagnosed with a deadly cancer called neuroblastoma. The 2-year-old's treatment, which, in addition to surgery, included massive amounts of radiation followed by even more massive amounts of antibiotics, no doubt saved his life. But those same mega-doses of antibiotics, while staving off infections in his immunosuppressed body, caused a permanent side effect: deafness.
	Predicting superbugs' countermoves to new drugs With drug-resistant bacteria on the rise, even common infections that were easily controlled for decades—such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections—are proving trickier to treat with standard antibiotics.
HIV vaccines should avoid viral target cells, primate model study suggests Vaccines designed to protect against HIV can backfire and lead to increased rates of infection. This unfortunate effect has been seen in more than one vaccine clinical trial.
	Dealing with cold weather injuries (HealthDay)—If exercising outdoors is on your list of New Year's resolutions, don't let the cold weather stop you, suggests the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA).
	Some expert tips to help smokers finally quit in 2015 (HealthDay)—Quitting smoking is a common New Year's resolution, and the American Lung Association has some tips that might help smokers make 2015 the year to really kick the habit.
Cancer, heart disease, stroke deaths down, life span stays put Heart disease and cancer, which cause of deaths of half of Americans who die each year, continued to loosen their deadly grip in 2013, while rates of deaths attributed to flu and pneumonia surged, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention said this week.
	Stereotactic body radiation therapy plus chemotherapy improves survival among stage 4 lung cancer patients A clinical trial that combined stereotactic body radiation therapy with a specific chemotherapy regimen more than doubled survival rates for certain stage 4 lung cancer patients, UT Southwestern Medical Center cancer researchers report.
	Discovery of mutated gene in dogs could help treat blindness A Finnish-North American collaboration of scientists at Michigan State University and the University of Helsinki has found a MERTK gene defect responsible for a recently identified form of progressive retinal atrophy in Swedish vallhund dogs. This discovery opens the door to the development of therapies for diseases that cause blindness both in dogs and humans. The research findings were published in the paper A Novel Canine Retinopathy Associated with MERTK in the journal PLoS ONE in December.
	Fast-food resolution: Transform junk food image Fast-food chains have a New Year's resolution: Drop the junk.
FDA drug approvals reached 18-year high in 2014 The Food and Drug Administration approved 41 first-of-a-kind drugs in 2014, including a record number of medicines for rare diseases, pushing the agency's annual tally of drug approvals to its highest level in 18 years.
	US bicyclist deaths on the rise, study finds (HealthDay)—The number of bicyclist fatalities in the United States is increasing, particularly among adults in major cities, a recent study shows.
	FDA shares advice to avoid colds and flu (HealthDay)—Viral infections can happen at any time, but they're more common during winter when people spend more time in close contact with others indoors.
	Scientific team sounds the alarm on sugar as a source of disease Is sugar making us sick? A team of scientists at the University of California in San Francisco believes so, and they're doing something about it. They launched an initiative to bring information on food and drink and added sugar to the public by reviewing more than 8,000 scientific papers that show a strong link between the consumption of added sugar and chronic diseases.
How to tell a cold from an allergy in winter If your "common cold" has been hanging around for more than a week, it may not be a cold at all. It might actually be an allergy disguised as a cold.
	Dinner at home is a main ingredient for healthy eating People who eschew takeout for home cooking eat healthier foods, whether they aim to or not, according to new research from the Johns Hopkins University.
Ebola death toll rises to 7,890: WHO The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in west Africa has risen to 7,890 out of 20,171 cases recorded, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
New UN Ebola mission chief to visit West Africa The United Nations' new Ebola mission chief, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, will travel to West Africa next week for his first visit since his appointment in early December.
	Medical marijuana a challenge for legal pot states A year into the nation's experiment with legal, taxed marijuana sales, Washington and Colorado find themselves wrestling not with the federal interference many feared, but with competition from medical marijuana or even outright black market sales.
Italy doctor with Ebola has recovered An Italian doctor who contracted Ebola in west Africa has recovered from the disease after undergoing experimental treatment, local media reported on Thursday.
UN tally of Ebola-linked deaths tops 8,000 The World Health Organization says more than 8,000 people are thought to have died last year from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
	Illinois extends marijuana experiment to children Randy Gross hopes a new law allowing children into Illinois' medical marijuana program will reunite his family, nearly a year after his wife moved to Colorado so their son could receive a controversial treatment to ease his epileptic seizures.
Ebola battle far from over: UN mission chief West Africa still has a long way to go to beat Ebola, the United Nations' outgoing Ebola mission chief said Friday.

Biology news

	Defying textbook science, study finds new role for proteins Open any introductory biology textbook and one of the first things you'll learn is that our DNA spells out the instructions for making proteins, tiny machines that do much of the work in our body's cells. Results from a study published on Jan. 2 in Science defy textbook science, showing for the first time that the building blocks of a protein, called amino acids, can be assembled without blueprints - DNA and an intermediate template called messenger RNA (mRNA). A team of researchers has observed a case in which another protein specifies which amino acids are added.
	Killing for DNA: A predatory device in the cholera bacterium Cholera is caused when the bacterium Vibrio cholerae infects the small intestine. The disease is characterized by acute watery diarrhea resulting in severe dehydration. EPFL scientists have now demonstrated that V. cholerae uses a tiny spear to stab and kill neighboring bacteria - even of its own kind - and then steal their DNA. This mechanism, known as "horizontal gene transfer", allows the cholera bacterium to become more virulent by absorbing the traits of its prey. The study is published in Science.
Plant genetic advance could lead to more efficient conversion of plant biomass to biofuels Plant geneticists including Sam Hazen at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Siobhan Brady at the University of California, Davis, have sorted out the gene regulatory networks that control cell wall thickening by the synthesis of the three polymers, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.
	Newborn killer whale a good sign for imperiled pod A newborn orca in the endangered pod that frequents Puget Sound is an encouraging sign following the death earlier this month of a pregnant killer whale from the same group.
Diabetes drug found in Lake Michigan could harm fish, researchers say There is more than one way to measure prescription drug use. The most direct method is to count prescriptions filled by pharmacies. That would show, for example, that more than 180 million prescriptions for diabetes drugs were dispensed in 2013.
	Seek muscular male with quality rump? Try online dating for bulls Described as blond, muscular and from a good family, Bariton's online profile has caught the eye of Sylvain Frobert, who is thinking of hooking him up with Anita, or Henriette.
	Maasai kill six lions after livestock attack Angry Maasai herders in Tanzania killed six lions that had attacked livestock, in the latest clash between man and beast in the region.

---

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