Science X Newsletter Tuesday, Jan 13

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for January 13, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Mitochondrial DNA mutations: The good, the bad, and the ugly
- How well can information be stored from the beginning to the end of time?
- New research points way to less vulnerable computer memory
- Study shows brain groove unique to humans
- Researchers find aldehydes in ices meant to simulate interstellar molecular clouds
- New findings reveal genetic brain disorders converge at the synapse
- 'Single-photon emission enhancement' seen as step toward quantum technologies
- New device allows for manipulation of differentiating stem cells
- Study sheds light on chemicals that insects use to communicate and survive
- Feeling cold is contagious, scientists find
- CNN wins go-ahead to test drones for news coverage
- Researchers call for changes in 50 year-old drinking water standards
- First contracting human muscle grown in laboratory
- Honda FCV Concept fuel-cell vehicle makes debut in Detroit
- Researchers discover new 'trick' steroids use to suppress inflammation

Astronomy & Space news

	Researchers find aldehydes in ices meant to simulate interstellar molecular clouds (Phys.org)—A team of researchers working in France has detected the presence of aldehydes in ice samples in their lab which were created to simulate material found in interstellar molecular clouds. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team describes their experiments and why they believe what they found adds credence to the idea that life came to Earth from a comet.
	Extrasolar storms: How's the weather way out there? Orbiting the Earth 353 miles above the ground, the Hubble Space Telescope silently pivots toward its new target. At the same time, flying 93 million miles away in interplanetary space, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope receives commands to point itself at the same celestial target.
	NASA completes investigation of July 2014 Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket failure An investigation team has determined that the failure of a July 2014 Terrier-Improved Malemute suborbital sounding rocket flight from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia was linked to the installation process for the second stage igniter.
	The tools needed to seek out new worlds in space More than 1,000 exoplanets have now been discovered by the Kepler Space Telescope, announced NASA this month, and the figure continues to climb.
	It looks like these are all the bright Kuiper belt objects we'll ever find The self-professed "Pluto Killer" is at it again. Dr. Michael Brown is now reminiscing about the good old days when one could scour through sky survey data and discover big bright objects in the Kuiper Belt. In his latest research paper, Brown and his team have concluded that those days are over.
	Are gamma ray bursts dangerous? If comics have taught me anything, it's that gamma powered superheroes and villains are some of the most formidable around.
	Rosetta's comet surrounded by dusty cloud Anyone who's ever read a Charlie Brown comic strip knows "Pig-Pen", the lovable boy who walks around in a constant cloud of his own dirt and dust. Every time he sighs, dust rises in a little cloud around him. Why bother to bathe? There's dignity in debris, which "Pig-Pen refers to as the "dust of countless ages". Comets shuffle around the Sun surrounded by a similar cloud of grime that's as old as the Solar System itself.
	NASA releases images of first notable solar flare of 2015 The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 11:24 p.m. EST on Jan. 12, 2015. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however—when intense enough—they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.
	Nothing to squirm about: Space station worms help battle muscle and bone loss It is said that great things can come in small packages. In this case, one key to keeping astronauts healthy on long-duration space missions may be found in a tiny roundworm barely a millimeter long.
	Russia delays decision on using ISS after 2020 Russia has delayed a ruling on its future use of the International Space Station, a source in Russia's space agency said Tuesday, as economic turmoil buffets the country's space programme.
	Last chance: Mercury crater-naming contest ends January 15 The MESSENGER Education and Public Outreach (EPO) Team is reminding interested parties that the competition to name five impact craters on Mercury closes on January 15, 2015. The contest, open to everyone except members of the mission's EPO team, was launched on December 15, 2014.
	Image: Chemistry experiment on space station Resembling an action-hero power source, this is actually a Russian experiment that was run on the International Space Station.
Team in breakthrough research to discover new planets Scientists from Queen's University Belfast have partnered with leading astrophysicists across Europe for a ground-breaking space research project that will form a crucial step in the quest to study small, rocky planets orbiting other stars and discover new planets.

Technology news

New research points way to less vulnerable computer memory (Phys.org)—Have you ever been working on a document on your computer and it suddenly crashes? Maybe the power goes out or there's a software glitch that causes it to freeze and you lose everything you've been working on for the past hour. New research published tomorrow in the journal Nature Communications might eventually lead to computers and other electronic devices that don't have this vulnerability.
	Beyond the trinkets: Voxel8 shows 3D electronics printer Beyond plastic angel paperweights and keychain elves, how complex can complex be in today's output from 3D printers? Voxel8 says they have the world's first multi-material 3D electronics printer, the nature of which can give the imagination a workout.
	New distrubuted computing mobile app lets phone conduct research while it charges Your smartphone is already great for sending email, checking sports scores and sharing photos of your lunch. Now it can help battle cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases, thanks to a new app developed by Stanford scientists and Sony.
	CNN wins go-ahead to test drones for news coverage CNN said Monday it has reached agreement with US aviation regulators to test drones for news gathering in the US, the network said.
	Honda FCV Concept fuel-cell vehicle makes debut in Detroit Honda has taken full opportunity of the timing of the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this month to announce up and coming launches. The announcements also strengthen its rep as a car company on board with a resolve toward transport vehicles using alternative fuels. By 2018, expect an electric vehicle and also a plug-in hybrid model. The company plans further application of its two- and three-motor hybrid systems in the years to come. Also, the company said there will be new four-cylinder VTEC Turbo engines by the end of this year.
Huawei says 2014 profit up 17 percent, sales rise 20 percent China's Huawei Technologies Ltd., the world's biggest maker of telecommunications equipment, said Tuesday profit growth slowed last year while sales accelerated.
	Accused Silk Road drug baron goes on trial in NY The trial opened Tuesday of the accused US mastermind of an underground criminal website that distributed narcotics, hacking services and forged documents to more than 100,000 people all over the world.
	China mocks hapless 'iPhone armour' smuggler A man nabbed for attempting to smuggle 94 smartphones into China by strapping them to his body was mocked by amused netizens Tuesday after pictures of his "iPhone armour" went viral.
	Cornell research steers NYC bikes to needy stations With more than a million rides per month, the Citi Bike system has quickly become a part of the fabric of New York City. It's now serving commuters a little better, thanks to Cornell research.
Researcher discusses development of multilayer thin-film antennas Dr Yongjin Kim of Inha Technical College, Korea, talks about the work behind the paper 'Design of transparent multilayer film antenna for wireless communication.' Such multilayer thin film antennas are transparent, a quality desirable to designers of mobile technologies, televisions, and other products for which inconspicuous antennas are desirable.
	Algebraic reconstruction technique for 3-D imaging in the terahertz frequency range Researchers at the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology and Fudan University in China have used an algebraic reconstruction technique (ART) for 3D imaging in the terahertz frequency range. They developed their technique in conjunction with computerised tomography (CT) based on a THz quantum cascade laser (QCL) and a quantum well photodetector.
	Mechanical engineer seeks to make solar cells competitive One day in the 1990s, as he was riding home from high school in São Paulo, Tonio Buonassisi looked out the bus window at the Brazilian city's long lines of traffic, and its smoggy haze. In that moment, he realized that there had to be better ways for people to produce and use energy—and that he wanted to try to do something about it.
	Spotify rockets to 15 million paying users (Update) Swedish music streaming service Spotify said it now has 15 million paying subscribers in what analysts on Tuesday called a timely boost to the company's revolutionary and controversial model.
	Commercializing a new generation of polymer coatings In some cases, a company has a product and knows immediately where it should go. GVD Corporation was not one of those cases. The MIT spinoff had developed a new approach to making polymer coatings, which had substantial industry interest. The problem was finding the specific market.
	Facebook still has most users, but other social media sites grow Facebook remains the most popular social media site, by far, with 71 percent of online adults using the platform, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center that involves researchers from the University of Michigan School of Information.
After CyberJihad hacked US Central Command's Twitter, how secure is your own feed? The Twittersphere is abuzz about the news on Monday that ISIS or their affiliates are suspected of hacking and compromising the US Central Command's official Twitter account. As of Monday afternoon in the US, the US Centcom's Twitter and YouTube accounts were shut down.
	Donate your data—how your digital footprint can be used for the public good In the future it will be possible to donate our personal data to charitable causes. All sorts of data is recorded about us as we go about our daily lives – what we buy, where we go, who we call on the phone and our use of the internet. The time is approaching when we could liberate that data in support of good causes. Given many people already donate precious resources such as money or even blood for the benefit of society at large, this step might not be far away.
	High-tech for huge, mobile ferris wheels The world's largest transportable Ferris wheel is equipped with control and drive technology from Siemens. The 750-ton, 80-meter tall steel giant was built by the Munich-based company Maurer German Wheels according to a plan by Bussink Design. The 74-meter wide wheel rotates two to four times per hour and can carry up to 16 passengers in each of its 27 gondolas. While a second R80XL-type Ferris wheel is being prepared in Munich, the first is already spinning in Mexico. Siemens supplied the drive systems, electronics, and automation technology that ensure the wheel's efficient operation and, most importantly, guarantee a safe ride.
	Fujitsu develops ring-type wearable device capable of text input by fingertip Fujitsu Laboratories today announced the development of a compact and lightweight wearable ring-type device that offers handwriting-input functionality and a reader for near-field communications (NFC) tags. Wearable devices have been making inroads into the workplace in recent years, notably with head-mounted displays (HMDs), in line with putting ICT to use so as to not stop what they are doing. But HMDs do not make it easy to select displayed information such as "yes" or "no," to input figures, make notes on workplace conditions, or perform other necessary actions.
	Image searches are improved by 3-D presentation Most image and video search engines list their results two-dimensionally. Researchers at the AAU have discovered that the search performance is more satisfying, if the results are displayed using a 3-D interface.
	Light technologies illuminate global challenges During these dark winter months, spare a thought for artificial lights. From strings of lights adding holiday cheer to artificial sunlamps alleviating seasonal affective disorder, they brighten our days. And light's applications can go much further than that. The United Nations designated 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies to raise awareness of how photonic technologies offer solutions to international challenges. Light technology is now an active area of research in energy, health and agriculture.
	Facebook launches Amber Alerts to help find missing children Facebook users in the U.S. will soon receive Amber Alerts to help find missing children who may be located near them.
Russian hacking suspect seeks block to extradition to US The lawyer for a Russian accused by U.S. authorities of involvement in a huge computer hack that stole and sold at least 160 million credit and debit-card numbers called on a Dutch judge Tuesday to ban his extradition to the United States.
	Amazon signs Woody Allen to create his first TV series Amazon Studios is delivering Woody Allen as creator of his first-ever TV series.
	Obama's cybersecurity proposals part of decade-old programs (Update) President Barack Obama said Tuesday that recent cyberthreats to Sony and the military's U.S. Central Command are reminders of the serious threats facing the nation. But an Associated Press review shows that some of his plans are retreads from years past.
	French energy minister calls for new generation of nuclear reactors France should build a new generation of nuclear reactors to replace its ageing power stations that provide a majority of the country's electricity, the energy and environment minister said Tuesday.
Cell phone signals offer massive trove of travel data Every hour of every day cell phones are generating data which transportation planners, real estate developers and investors use to help them to understand traffic flows, shopping patterns and population shifts.
	Tesla's Musk: fracking threatens electric cars Tesla founder Elon Musk warned Tuesday that the fracking boom is a deep threat to the nascent electric car industry, because of its impact lowering gasoline prices.
	Obama wants to remove barriers to greater broadband access The Obama administration wants to provide greater access to fast Internet broadband service in towns and cities across the country by encouraging the Federal Communications Commission to remove legal barriers to competition by Internet service providers. It also wants to help local communities improve their service with government loans and grants.
	Facebook puts warning labels on graphic videos Facebook is putting warning labels on graphic videos that members upload and share with friends, the leading social network said Tuesday.
	Tesla chief expects electric car company profit in 2020 The head of electric car maker Tesla Motors says the company should turn a profit in five years after it brings a lower-cost car to market.
Samsung starts sales of $90 Tizen smartphone in India Samsung Electronics Co. started selling a $90 smartphone in India on Wednesday that runs on the company's Tizen software, its first major break from Google's Android operating system in the mobile phone market.
	Google turns smartphones into real-time translators Google began turning smartphones into real-time language translators—of both written and spoken content.
	Review: Smarten up your home with Apple HomeKit Apple didn't attend last week's gadget show but its presence was felt. Many companies have designed "smart" home products that integrate with Apple's HomeKit, an emerging technology for controlling lights and appliances through a mobile app. There are other efforts to unify smart-home devices, but many of them rely on individual partnerships. That approach is slower than simply having everyone use a common set of tools—in this case, HomeKit.
Apple camera patent gives GoPro stock jitters Apple has patented a new design for a digital video camera that could potentially compete with the rugged portable cameras made by GoPro, a move that sent GoPro's stock tumbling.
Ericsson and Apple in legal showdown Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson said Wednesday it had filed a complaint against Apple in a US court over the technology giant's use if its technology in smartphones.
Amazon win highlights blurring TV/Internet line The Golden Globes triumph of Amazon's online series "Transparent" highlights the increasingly blurred lines between televion and the Internet. "TV and the Internet are becoming one and the same, and in a few years that line will completely dissolve," said media analyst Jeff Bock of box officer tracker Exhibitor Relations.
Cuba moves to expand WiFi service slightly Cuba's telecommunications company says that it will offer WiFi service in a public park in the country's far east but only for access to the island's restricted Cuba-only intranet.
A look at the five biggest Chinese automakers Another Chinese automaker is showing vehicles this year at the auto show in Detroit, raising the perennial question about when these companies might sell in the United States. Most experts say that day is still years away.
Obama to push for new cybersecurity legislation President Barack Obama on Tuesday will renew his call for Congress to pass cybersecurity legislation, including a proposal that encourages companies to share threat information with the government and protects them from potential lawsuits if they do.
Municipalities in Sweden powering cities from renewable energy sources By relying on district heating combined with heat and power production, municipalities in Sweden power their cities from renewable energy sources.
	When waste water freezes, it is purified Freezing technology can be utilised in waste water treatment. When waste water freezes, it is purified through the formation of a cleaner layer of ice. The clean layer of ice can be removed from the rest of the waste water, and the remaining waste water is more concentrated. The new energy-efficient method of purification is based on the natural freezing process of water: energy is required only for breaking the ice and transporting it from the waste water pool.
	Pantograph monitoring for the eHighway Siemens is developing an automatic monitoring system for pantographs. Designed initially for electric and hybrid trucks on eHighways, the system uses cameras and sensors to check the condition of pantographs in order to prevent damage to the contact wire. Similar but more complex systems are occasionally used for electric trains.
	On-site visualization of planned buildings Using a system developed by Fraunhofer FIT, architects, developers or their clients can view a 3D model of a building in its intended shape, precisely where the building is to be constructed. This will give them a much clearer, realistic impression of the design. We will demonstrate the system at BAU 2015 held in Munich from January 19 to 24, 2015.
	From research to railgun: Revolutionary weapon to debut at Future Force EXPO The Electromagnetic Railgun—a weapon that will play a significant role in the future of the U.S. Navy—will be on display to the public for the first time on the East Coast Feb. 4-5 at the Naval Future Force Science and Technology (S&T) EXPO in Washington, D.C., officials at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced Jan. 13.
	Carnegie Mellon developing online tools to detect and identify sex traffickers A contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is funding researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science who are seeking to undercut sex traffickers by developing online tools that target a key vulnerability: the need to advertise.
Cuba denies previously reported WiFi rollout Cuba will not begin offering wireless service despite reports of a planned WiFi rollout in its second-largest city, Santiago de Cuba, state-run telecommunications provider Etecsa said Tuesday.
	NY defense lawyer: Silk Road creator is not a drug dealer A San Francisco man who launched an underground website as an economic experiment before abandoning it was fooled into taking the fall when investigators concluded it was used almost solely for drug dealing, a defense lawyer told jurors Tuesday after the government portrayed his client as the mastermind of a worldwide digital drug market.

Medicine & Health news

	Mitochondrial DNA mutations: The good, the bad, and the ugly (Medical Xpress)—Programmers typically evolve new code by copying and modifying existing code to meet new needs. With the more advanced programming languages, they also make use of something known in the business as polymorphism—the ability to process objects differently depending on their data type or class. Similarly, one way that life evolves is to copy and modify genes. Biologists, however, often use the term polymorphism to mean different things. Sometimes it simply means a non disease-causing change to a base pair, and sometimes it more specifically means a change found at a frequency of 1% or higher in the population.
	New findings reveal genetic brain disorders converge at the synapse Several genetic disorders cause intellectual disability and autism. Historically, these genetic brain diseases were viewed as untreatable. However, in recent years neuroscientists have shown in animal models that it is possible to reverse the debilitating effects of these gene mutations. But the question remained whether different gene mutations disrupt common physiological processes. If this were the case, a treatment developed for one genetic cause of autism and intellectual disability might be useful for many others.
	Study shows brain groove unique to humans (Medical Xpress)—An international team of researchers has found via study that a groove in the brain, which they have named the "superior temporal asymmetrical pit" (STAP) appears to be unique to humans as it is barely noticeable in primates. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team describes how they studied brain scans of humans of a wide variety of ages and compared them with similar scans of other primate brains and found the difference. They suggest their finding may help better understand the evolution of our species.
	Blocking hormone could eliminate stress-induced infertility University of California, Berkeley, scientists have discovered that chronic stress activates a hormone that reduces fertility long after the stress has ended, and that blocking this hormone returns female reproductive behavior to normal.
	Naps may boost your baby's memory (HealthDay)—Babies process and preserve memories during those many naps they take during the day, a new study suggests.
	Steering stem cell trafficking into pancreas reverses type 1 diabetes Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) studying mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)—a cell type useful in treating immune-related diseases—have uncovered a way to enhance and prolong the cells' therapeutic effects in a preclinical model of type 1 diabetes.
	Study finds genetic predictor of serious hemorrhagic stroke complications University of Florida Health researchers have found a possible predictor for little understood—but often disabling or even fatal—stroke complications.
	Study documents scale of error-based brain activity Everyone makes mistakes—so a University of Nebraska-Lincoln psychologist set out to determine how the human brain responds to the errors of its ways.
Teams better than individuals at intelligence analysis, research finds When it comes to predicting important world events, teams do a better job than individuals, and laypeople can be trained to be effective forecasters even without access to classified records, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
Researchers discover new 'trick' steroids use to suppress inflammation A new "trick" steroids use to suppress inflammation, which could be used to make new anti-inflammatory drugs without the harmful side effects of steroids, has been discovered by researchers at Georgia State University.
Few UK family doctors seem to be treating obesity and overweight appropriately Few UK family doctors seem to be treating overweight/obesity appropriately, with some not treating it all, suggests an analysis of patient records published in the online journal BMJ Open.
UK trainee doctors still in the dark about potentially fatal allergic reaction UK trainee doctors on the frontline of care seem to be no better at recognizing and treating the potentially fatal allergic reaction, known as anaphylaxis, than they were 10 years ago, reveals a small study published in Postgraduate Medical Journal.
	Holding recess before lunch increases fruit and veggie consumption and decreases waste Students participating in the National School Lunch Program are required to select a fruit and a vegetable side. This regulation is intended to get students to eat more fruits and vegetables; however, just because an apple and green beans made it on to the tray doesn't mean that they will be eaten. Many schools have reported that fruits and vegetables are feeding trash cans rather than students. This new study published in Preventive Medicine shows that one simple no-cost change, holding recess before lunchtime, can increase fruit and vegetable consumption by 54%. "Recess is often held after lunch so children hurry to "finish" so that they can go play—this results in wasted fruits and vegetables," explains co-author David Just, PhD of Cornell University, "However, we found that if recess is held before lunch, students come to lunch with healthy appetites and less urgency and are more likely to finish their fruits and vegetables.! "
	Poll: An appetite for labeling genetically modified foods A large majority of Americans support labeling of genetically modified foods, whether they care about eating them or not.
26 measles cases reported with ties to Disney theme parks Health officials are reporting seven more cases of measles in an outbreak tied to visits to Disney theme parks in California last month.
	Vitamin D may boost colon cancer survival, study finds (HealthDay)—Higher vitamin D levels in patients with advanced colon cancer appear to improve response to chemotherapy and targeted anti-cancer drugs, researchers say.
	Some 'safety net' health clinics see drop in uninsured visits under Obamacare (HealthDay)—The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act is reducing the number of uninsured patient visits to community health centers, new research suggests.
	Skipping surgery may work for some rectal cancer patients: study (HealthDay)—For many rectal cancer patients, the prospect of surgery is a worrisome reality, given that the operation can significantly impair both bowel and sexual function.
	Many teens think 'light smoking' is safe, study finds (HealthDay)—While the vast majority of American teens say heavy daily smoking is a major health hazard, many others mistakenly believe that "light"—or occasional—smoking isn't harmful.
	Gender of provider may impact pain management practices (HealthDay)—Male and female general practitioners (GPs) prescribe analgesics to older patients in a similar manner but differ in their prescribing habits for antineuropathic pain drugs and symptomatic slow-acting drugs for osteoarthritis, according to a study published online Dec. 17 in Pain Medicine.
	High rates of missed diagnoses of fetal alcohol syndrome (HealthDay)—Among youth, the rate of missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders is 86.5 percent, according to a study published online Jan. 12 in Pediatrics.
	Caustic ingestion can be mistaken for anaphylaxis (HealthDay)—For children presenting with an unclear history, caustic ingestion (CI) can be mistaken for anaphylaxis due to similarity of symptoms, according to two case reports published online Jan. 12 in Pediatrics.
	NIH: Insufficient evidence for opioid use in chronic pain (HealthDay)—Evidence is insufficient for opioid use in chronic pain, according to a position paper published online Jan. 13 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
	CDC urging flu vaccination, prompt use of antivirals (HealthDay)—Thousands of people are being hospitalized and 26 children have died from influenza so far, Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a Friday press briefing.
	Obesity in diabetes shortens life, ups health care costs (HealthDay)—Diabetes patients, particularly those who are obese, are at risk for many life years lost and high lifetime health care expenses, according to research published online Dec. 31 in Diabetes Care.
	Curcumin's ability to fight Alzheimer's studied One of the most promising new treatments for Alzheimer's disease may already be in your kitchen. Curcumin, a natural product found in the spice turmeric, has been used by many Asian cultures for centuries, and a new study indicates a close chemical analog of curcumin has properties that may make it useful as a treatment for the brain disease.
	How thoughts and behaviour affect mood The mood swings of people with bipolar disorder are influenced by their thoughts according to researchers.
Biochemically modified constituent of yew demonstrates early effectiveness in bile duct cancer Bile duct cancers are amongst the most aggressive tumour-related diseases and, so far, the medical treatment options available have been limited. Clinical oncologists at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital have now demonstrated that the substance nab-paclitaxel, a biochemically modified ingredient that occurs in the bark of the Pacific yew tree, could be highly effective against bile duct cancers. Nab-paclitaxel could therefore be used in the treatment of bile duct cancers and therefore prolong the lives of patients with the condition.
	Sun damage and cancer Around 30 Australians are diagnosed with melanoma every day and more than 1,200 die from the disease each year.
	MRI could predict Alzheimer's disease, improving treatment Scientists at the University of Queensland have discovered that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could be used to predict the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
	'Parents these days' are judged too harshly I need to start with a confession: I'm not a parent. I am someone who investigates how science can help parents deal with the sleepless nights, the fussy eaters, the sibling rivalry, the intrusive in-laws, and a career that favours fulltime hours.
	Research finds caffeine increases soft drink consumption Researchers from Deakin University's Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research (C-PAN) have found that caffeine increases the consumption of soft drinks.
	Study reveals new challenges faced by MS patients Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients are less able to regulate their emotions and have a poorer quality of life than people who don't have the disease, according to research carried out at the University of Aberdeen.
	Women who are told men desire women with larger bodies are happier with their weight Telling women that men desire larger women who aren't model-thin made the women feel better about their own weight in a series of new studies.
	Study reveals lack of data on opioid drugs A National Institutes of Health white paper that was released today finds little to no evidence for the effectiveness of opioid drugs in the treatment of long-term chronic pain, despite the explosive recent growth in the use of the drugs.
	Chronic periodontitis, an inflammatory gum disease, influences prognosis and the severity of heart attacks Researchers from the University of Granada have demonstrated for the first time that chronic periodontitis, an inflammatory gum disease which provokes gradual teeth loss, is closely related to the severity of acute myocardial infarction, commonly known as heart attack.
	Schizophrenia consists of eight different genetic diseases Scientists from the universities of Granada (Spain) and Washington in St Louis (US) have found that there is not a single type of schizophrenia, but that it consists of a group made up of eight genetically different types of diseases, each of which presents its own set of symptoms.
	Why the 100,000 Genomes Project will focus on rare diseases An ambitious project has been launched that will involve sequencing genomes of 100,000 individuals to improve our understanding of a range of diseases and – hopefully – eventually find new treatments for them.
	Can inhaled oxygen cause cancer? The ancient physician/alchemist, Paracelsus, said: "The dose makes the poison." According to a new study published in PeerJ, even oxygen may fall prey to the above adage. While essential to human life, aspects of oxygen metabolism may promote cancer. Capitalizing on the inverse relationship of oxygen concentration with elevation, researchers found lower rates of lung cancer at higher elevations, a trend that did not extend to non-respiratory cancers, suggesting that carcinogen exposure occurs via inhalation.
Use of surgical procedure to facilitate child birth declines Between 2006 and 2012 in the U.S., there was a decline in rates of episiotomy, a surgical procedure for widening the outlet of the birth canal to make it easier for the mother to give birth, according to a study in the January 13 issue of JAMA.
	Asthma associated with increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea Participants in a sleep study who had asthma had an increased risk for developing obstructive sleep apnea, with this association stronger with having had asthma longer, according to a study in the January 13 issue of JAMA.
Breast cancer diagnoses, survival varies by race, ethnicity Among nearly 375,000 U.S. women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, the likelihood of diagnosis at an early stage, and survival after stage I diagnosis, varied by race and ethnicity, with much of the difference accounted for by biological differences, according to a study in the January 13 issue of JAMA.
Rate of investment in medical research has declined in US, increased globally From 2004 to 2012, the rate of investment in medical research in the U.S. declined, while there has been an increase in research investment globally, particularly in Asia, according to a study in the January 13 issue of JAMA.
Community-wide CVD prevention programs linked with improved health outcomes In a rural Maine county, sustained, community-wide programs targeting cardiovascular risk factors and behavior changes were associated with reductions in hospitalization and death rates over a 40 year period (1970-2010) compared with the rest of the state, with substantial improvements seen for hypertension and cholesterol control and smoking cessation, according to a study in the January 13 issue of JAMA.
What you need to know about pediatric glaucoma One evening, five years ago, Brittni Powell did what a lot of young mothers do and gazed into her 2-month-old son's eyes. What she saw had Brittni and her husband Byron heading immediately to a Montgomery-area hospital emergency department.
	Unapproved medical treatments give rise to circumvention tourism Medical tourism is the practice of seeking medical care across international borders. Countries with established medical sectors like the US, Europe, India and Thailand have been traditional destinations for international visitors seeking medical care. Even through costs are typically paid for out-of-pocket, some patients seek medical care overseas because it's cheaper than in their home country.
	Call for research into needs of cancer survivors Around one in three US cancer survivors have unmet physical, psychological and social needs decades after their treatment finished, according to new research.
Gray matter loss and inflamed brain associated with development of psychosis The thickness of cortical brain tissue progressively reduces as individuals develop psychosis, according to researchers of a large, multi-site study of young adults at clinical high risk.
Squeeze play: How hugs may figure into health You'll get no argument from most people - especially on a cold winter's night - that hugs make you feel warm inside. But can that good feeling protect your health?
'Keepsake' ultrasounds still popular, despite FDA warnings Yolanda Favela has already seen her baby boy yawn and suck his thumb and knows he has a head full of hair - and she hasn't even met him yet.
Can your smartphone help you exercise? Fitness applications (apps) use behavior change techniques (BCTs) to help users modify their physical activities, but which apps and which techniques are most effective? In a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers evaluated 100 top-ranked physical activity apps and analyzed which BCTs are being used in these apps. They determined that at present BCTs have been only narrowly implemented in physical activity apps.
Software created to help find a cure for a 'great neglected disease' For decades, scientists around the world have worked to develop a treatment for schistosomiasis, a debilitating water-born parasite that affects more than 200 million people worldwide. To aid this research, Rahul Singh, professor of computer science at San Francisco State University, has developed software that solves the key challenge of quantitatively assessing the impact of a drug on the parasite. Singh and his team recently completed and made public the Quantal Dose Response Calculator (QDREC), software that analyzes images showing the effects of potential drugs on parasites and quantifies their effectiveness. A description of the software was published online in Bioinformatics (Oxford University Press) on Dec. 24.
Not always cool to stay cool in negotiations, study finds Negotiators shouldn't always try to keep their cool during a heated meeting. Trying to suppress their anger about important points related to the negotiations could, in fact, cause them to lose the focus of discussions, says Bo Shao of the University of New South Wales in Australia, who led a study in Springer's Journal of Business and Psychology.
	Fast sorting of CD4+ T cells from whole blood using glass microbubbles Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease represents a global health problem concern in the world especially in many areas of Africa. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), there were 24.7 million people living with HIV in sub-Saharan African in 2013 but only 37% of the patients were treated. Despite the support of global efforts to fight HIV, the outcome has not been successful because the cost of HIV medications is still an obstacle to getting most patients on therapy in the developing countries where the majority of the whole populations have very low incomes compared to the western countries.
No gain if unfair Would you turn down a "sure" amount of money? You might be surprised by your choice. According to scientific research, humans tend to turn down a sure reward if this derives from an unfair distribution of resources, whether the individuals themselves or others are the target of the unfairness. A study by Claudia Civai, today at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands but at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) of Trieste at the time of the study, demonstrates, however, that despite the behaviour being the same, the brain circuits at work in these two conditions differ depending on whether the subjects themselves or third parties are affected. The study was conducted with the collaboration of Raffaella Rumiati, head of the SISSA Neuroscience and Society Lab (iNSuLa), and Carlo Miniussi of the University of Brescia.
Trust through the olfactory fragrance of lavender People's trust in others increases after smelling the olfactory fragrance of lavender. Leiden psychologists Roberta Sellaro and Lorenza Colzato published their findings in Frontiers in Psychology.
Good life satisfaction has beneficial effects on bone health Women aged 60-70 who are satisfied with their lives have a higher bone density and they suffer from osteoporosis less frequently than their unsatisfied peers, according to a recent study completed at the University of Eastern Finland.
Panel cites need for individualized, patient-centered approach for chronic pain An independent panel convened by the National Institutes of Health concluded that individualized, patient-centered care is needed to treat and monitor the estimated 100 million Americans living with chronic pain. To achieve this aim, the panel recommends more research and development around the evidence-based, multidisciplinary approaches needed to balance patient perspectives, desired outcomes, and safety.
New target identified for potential brain cancer therapies Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute for Molecular Medicine (VIMM) have identified a new protein-protein interaction that could serve as a target for future therapies for the most common form of brain cancer, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). GBM is a devastating disease that originates from glia or their precursors within the central nervous system, and the prognosis for GBM patients is unfortunately poor, but this discovery offers new therapeutic potential.
100 million Americans live with chronic pain, but treatment research is insufficient An estimated 100 million Americans live with chronic pain. A new report by an independent panel convened by the National Institutes of Health has found a need for evidence-based, multidisciplinary approaches to pain treatment that incorporate patients' perspectives and desired outcomes while also avoiding potential harms.
	Bilingualism changes children's beliefs Most young children are essentialists: They believe that human and animal characteristics are innate. That kind of reasoning can lead them to think that traits like native language and clothing preference are intrinsic rather than acquired.
	New model predicts Ebola epidemic in Liberia could be ended by June 2015 The Ebola epidemic in Liberia could likely be eliminated by June 2015 if the current high rate of hospitalization and vigilance can be maintained, according to a new model developed by ecologists at the University of Georgia and Pennsylvania State University.
Team develops new tool to predict postoperative liver cancer recurrence after transplant UCLA transplantation researchers have developed a novel method that more accurately calculates the risk of disease recurrence in liver cancer patients who have undergone a liver transplant, providing a new tool to help physicians make treatment and surveillance decisions.
	Cluster of heart risk factors tied to uterine cancer risk (HealthDay)—A collection of health risk factors known as the "metabolic syndrome" may boost older women's risk of endometrial cancer, even if they're not overweight or obese, a new study suggests.
	Vaccination can cut rates of common infection in infants (HealthDay)— Rotavirus is a relatively common infection of infants and—especially in poorer countries— can cause sometimes fatal diarrhea and vomiting.
	Propranolol, doxycycline combo safe, effective in rosacea (HealthDay)—For patients with rosacea, combination treatment with propranolol and doxycycline is effective and safe, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of Dermatology.
	No negative consequences of guidelines for antibiotic therapy (HealthDay)—For children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), there are no negative consequences associated with use of guideline-recommended antibiotic therapy, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
	Guidelines presented for clinical documentation in 21st century (HealthDay)—Guidelines have been developed for clinical documentation and interrelated issues. The position paper has been published online Jan. 13 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Tumor micro-environment is a rough neighborhood for nanoparticle cancer drugs Nanoparticle drugs—tiny containers packed with medicine and with the potential to be shipped straight to tumors—were thought to be a possible silver bullet against cancer. However new cancer drugs based on nanoparticles have not improved overall survival rates for cancer patients very much. Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill now think that failure may have less to do with the drugs and tumors than it does the tumor's immediate surroundings.
Benefits of animal-assisted therapy in cancer patients undergoing treatment with chemotherapy, radiation therapy Therapy dogs may improve the emotional well-being of some cancer patients, according to results of a clinical study, the first to document the benefits of animal-assisted therapy in adult cancer patients. The research was made available this week in the Journal of Community and Supportive Oncology.
	Five things: Many back labeling of genetically modified foods Two thirds of Americans support labeling of genetically modified ingredients on food packages, even if they may not read them, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll.
	Blood test for brain injury may not be feasible Complications involving the brain's unique waste removal system - the existence of which has only recently been brought to light - may thwart efforts to identify biomarkers that detect traumatic brain injury (TBI). That is because proteins that are triggered by brain damage are prevented from reaching the blood system in levels necessary for a precise diagnosis.
Long working hours linked to increased risky alcohol use Employees who work more than 48 hours per week are more likely to engage in risky alcohol consumption than those who work standard weeks, finds a new study published in The BMJtoday.
	Widespread hepatitis C screening—do benefits outweigh harms? In light of recent recommendations for widespread hepatitis C screening, researchers are calling for clinical trials to determine if that screening would result in greater benefit or harm.
Bisexual women have worse mental health than lesbians in the UK Bisexual women are more likely to experience poor mental health and mental distress than lesbians, according to new research published in the Journal of Public Health.
Military suicides up slightly in 2014 Suicides among members of the active-duty military personnel rose slightly in 2014, led by increases in the number of sailors and airmen who took their own lives, new Defense Department figures show.
New test helps guide treatment for bone marrow transplant patients with graft vs. host disease A new test can guide treatment for patients with graft versus host disease (GVHD), an often life-threatening complication of bone marrow and stem cell transplants, according to research from the University of Michigan published in Lancet Haematology this month.
	Influenza and sepsis: Mayo expert describes warning signs of severe sepsis, septic shock Sepsis can be a dangerous complication of almost any type of infection, including influenza, pneumonia and food poisoning; urinary tract infections; bloodstream infections from wounds; and abdominal infections. Steve Peters, M.D., a pulmonary and critical care physician at Mayo Clinic and senior author of a recent sepsis overview in the medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, explains sepsis symptoms and risk factors, the difference between severe sepsis and septic shock, and how sepsis is typically treated:
	Autonomous tots have higher cognitive skills Higher cognitive skills are found in the children of mothers who are consistently able to support the development of their baby's sense of autonomy, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Montreal. The researchers specifically looked at executive functioning, which refers to a range of cognitive processes that are essential for cognitive, social and psychological functioning.
Reducing fear avoidance beliefs key to improving symptoms and reducing disability in chronic fatigue syndrome Reducing fears that exercise or activity will make symptoms worse is one of the most important factors determining the success of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) or graded exercise therapy (GET) in reducing fatigue and improving physical function in people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), according to new analysis of data from the PACE trial, reported in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.
	Negative messages for experts, positive messages for novices Is it better to tell people about the harms of certain health decisions or about the benefits of positive health related decisions? Studies that delve into this very question have differing results, however, a new paper just published by Cornell Food & Brand Lab in Nutrition Reviews, finds that the type of health messaging that is most effective might vary depending on certain characteristics of the target audience.
MD Anderson and Amgen announce agreement to develop BiTE therapies for myelodysplastic syndrome The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Amgen have announced a research collaborative agreement focusing on Amgen's bispecific T cell engager (BiTE®) antibody constructs, an immunotherapy that serves as a "bridge" between T cells and cancer cells.
Taiwan culls 6,000 more geese to curb bird flu outbreak Taiwan on Tuesday slaughtered nearly 6,000 geese after 14 more farms were confirmed to have been infected in the latest outbreak of avian influenza that has led to the culling of more than 140,000 birds.
Code Red Task Force recommends plan to increase Texans' access to health insurance A Texas-sized prescription is needed to expand health insurance coverage for residents of the Lone Star State and to prevent the loss of billions of dollars in federal assistance for the state, according to a report by the Code Red Task Force on Access to Health Care in Texas released Jan. 7 at a public forum hosted at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
	Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder cases in WA doubles The number of recorded cases of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in Western Australia has doubled in the past 30 years, demonstrating improved awareness and diagnosis of the disorder within the community.
US hospital: Health care worker hasn't developed Ebola Officials at a hospital say an American health care worker who was exposed to Ebola in Sierra Leone has not developed the virus.
Can racial injustice be settled out of court? 2014 was replete with social unrest to protest police brutality and racial inequality. With many calling for policy reform to improve race problems in the U.S. criminal justice system, new research suggests that the issue is less political and more behavioral. Researchers recommend increased documentation, institutional diversity, and bias training in a new paper published in Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences (PIBBS).
	The obese can teach us how to lose weight Why can obese people not just make the extra effort, change their diet and lose weight? New research from University of Copenhagen shows that patients who have been through gastric bypass surgery can teach us important lessons about weight loss: if we are to change our eating habits, we need to take into consideration the experiences we have had with our favorite foods—so that eating remains linked with quality of life.
	Do cytokines have a role in the initiation and progression of breast cancer? Emerging data on the role of inflammation and the immune system in the development, growth, and spread of breast tumors have focused increased attention on the role cytokines such as interleukin and transforming growth factor-β play in breast cancer initiation, protection, and metastasis. A comprehensive overview of this new knowledge and its potential to lead to novel therapeutic approaches is presented in a Review article in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR).
	Progress toward an HIV cure highlighted in special issue of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses A cure for HIV/AIDS is the ultimate goal of rapidly advancing research involving diverse and innovative approaches. A comprehensive collection of articles describing the broad scope and current status of this global effort is published in a special issue of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses.
	Jewish Americans who attend synagogue enjoy better health, study finds For Jewish Americans, going to synagogue makes a difference for health, according to a study of five large Jewish urban communities by Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion.
Death toll from India toxic liquor hits 31, dozens ill A lethal batch of home-brew liquor sold at a local cricket match has killed at least 31 people in northern India, with more than 100 others ill in hospital, police and medical officials said Tuesday.
New report offers framework to analyze effects of potential changes to the US food system To aid U.S. policymakers and other stakeholders who make decisions about the nation's food system, a new report from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council offers a framework for assessing the health, environmental, social, and economic effects of proposed changes to the system.
Analysis looks at risk factors for direct maternal deaths in the UK Medical co-morbidities, when women have one or more medical conditions, are found to be an important factor associated with direct maternal deaths, suggests a new study published today (9 January) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG).
'Surgery: A Case Based Clinical Review' to be Released Feb. 14 "Surgery: A Case Based Clinical Review," a new book by Christian de Virgilio, MD, a nine-time winner of UCLA's Golden Apple Award as Faculty Teacher of the Year, provides medical students and other healthcare professionals with a comprehensive understanding of surgical diseases in one easy-to-use reference.
	UC Santa Cruz to lead effort to build a new map of human genetic variation Researchers at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute have received a grant for up to $1 million from the Simons Foundation to develop a comprehensive map of human genetic variation. The Human Genome Variation Map will be a critical new resource for both medical research and basic research in the life sciences.
Clinical physiologists must be properly regulated to protect patients Clinical physiologists must be properly regulated to ensure patient safety, argues a senior figure in The BMJ this week.
Most calls to Ebola centre are pranks: S Leone official Eighty percent of people phoning a toll-free Ebola help number are prank callers, the head of the Ebola Call Centre in Sierra Leone Reynold Senessie said Tuesday.
The challenges of providing obstetric care during an Ebola epidemic Obstetric interventions during an Ebola epidemic are deeply challenging say two new commentaries published today (14 January) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG).
	US group helps breast cancer survivors get tattoos For women who have survived breast cancer, breast or nipple reconstruction can be a first step toward looking like their old selves. A Colorado organization is helping some of those women, and others who don't choose reconstruction, in their emotional healing—through tattoos to help conceal their scars.

Biology news

	Sizing up giants under the sea: Team corrects inaccuracies, elucidates measurements for 25 marine species A team of scientists and undergraduate students have analyzed the body size for 25 marine species, including whales, sharks, squids, and other ocean giants. The project elucidates both the challenges of arriving at exact measurements and the human bias toward larger individuals.
	Protein recycling machine visualized Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) scientists have new structures of an essential cellular recycling machine that depict its structure with near atomic-level detail. The structures, which show a protein called NSF alone and interacting with its target, a protein complex called SNARE that is formed when membranes fuse together. Taken together, the structures offer new clues into how the machine does its work.
	New device allows scientists to glimpse communication between immune cells The immune system is a complex network of many different cells working together to defend against invaders. Successfully fighting off an infection depends on the interactions between these cells.
	Study sheds light on chemicals that insects use to communicate and survive Most insects are covered with a thin layer of hydrocarbon molecules as a waterproofing barrier. Embedded in this layer are compounds that the insects use as chemical signals for a wide variety of functions such as communicating species and sex. In insects such as ants that live in colonies, they also differentiate the different castes (e.g., workers, queens, and drones).
	First contracting human muscle grown in laboratory In a laboratory first, Duke researchers have grown human skeletal muscle that contracts and responds just like native tissue to external stimuli such as electrical pulses, biochemical signals and pharmaceuticals.
	Pitcher plants 'switch off' traps to capture more ants Insect-eating pitcher plants temporarily 'switch off' their traps in order to lure more prey into danger, new research from the University of Bristol, UK, and the University of Cambridge, UK, has found.
Understanding the personalities of bacteria Bacteria are as individual as people, according to new research by Professor Peter Young and his team in the Department of Biology at the University of York. Bacteria are essential to health, agriculture and the environment, and new research tools are starting to shed more light on them.
	Endangered monkeys in the Amazon are more diverse than previously thought, study finds Research by UCLA life scientists and 50 colleagues sheds new light on the biological differences among more than 150 species of monkeys in South America, many of which are endangered. Their findings could be particularly important in shaping efforts to conserve the biodiversity of primates in South America.
Vanishing big trees put Australia's urban wildlife in peril Across Australia - and the world - the future of large old trees is bleak and yet large trees support many species such as birds and small mammals, says Mr Darren Le Roux, a PhD student at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED) and The Australian National University.
	New research reveals that a species of bird 'paints' its own eggs with bacteria which protect the embryo Researchers from the University of Granada and the Higher Council of Scientific Research (CSIC) have found that hoophoes cover their eggs with a secretion produced by themselves, loaded with mutualistic bacteria, which is then retained by a specializad structure in the eggshell and which increases successful hatching. So far this sort of behaviour has only been detected in this species of birds, and it is a mechanism to protect their eggs from infections by pathogens.
Social insects, your grandma and Darwin Darwin was not a fan of social insects, or at least not of those you're likely to step on or be stung by. Some of these critters—notably ants and termites, and certain wasps, bees and aphids—exhibit a high degree of social organization that modern scientists describe as "eusocial." And the thing about eusocial insects is that many of them, whole castes of workers, are sterile. Darwin felt, and rightly so, that sterile workers presented a "special difficulty" for his theory of natural selection.
Cold plasma treatment cuts norovirus germs Treating surfaces with cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP) may reduce the risk of transmitting norovirus, a contagious virus leading to stomach pain, nausea and diarrhea, according to a new study.
	EU lawmakers pass controversial GMO food law EU lawmakers on Tuesday approved controversial legislation to allow EU member states to decide for themselves whether to allow cultivation of Genetically Modified foods after years of bitter dispute.
	Surprise discovery off California exposes loggerhead 'lost years' The discovery of numerous juvenile loggerhead turtles by a NOAA Fisheries research survey more than 200 miles off the Southern California Coast has revealed new details about a mysterious part of the endangered turtles' epic migration across the Pacific Ocean known as "the lost years."
GMOs with health benefits have a large market potential Over the last years, various GM crops with health benefits have been developed in which genes, mostly originating from other organisms, have been added. Notable examples include rice enriched with pro-vitamin A (also known as 'Golden Rice') and folate-enriched rice, developed at Ghent University.
	Brazilian scarab beetles found to be termitophiles Termite soldiers are able to chemically detect intruders in their colonies. While most trespassers are swiftly dealt with, some spiders, centipedes, millipedes, and insects are allowed to find shelter within termite nests. These arthropods are known as "termitophiles."
	Three new Begonia plant species from Brazil Scientists discover and describe three new species of the plant genus Begonia, which holds many of the world-favourite decoratives. The news species come from Brazil, where they are found dwelling on small, confined territories which makes them rare and hard to discover. The study was published in the open access journal PhytoKeys.
A breakthrough approach to addressing the causes of biodiversity loss A simplified framework of the interactions between nature and people could potentially change the manner in which biodiversity assessments will be conducted in the future. This framework will go one step further than the previous large-scale environmental assessments in that it will embrace different disciplines and knowledge systems. In doing so, it is also expected to stimulate new thinking and thus provide new contexts for discovery. 1Known as the "conceptual framework" of IPBES, it is publishing January 13th in the open access journal PLOS Biology. The framework is the first public product of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services (IPBES), a body that aims to track the ecological health of the planet and help avert catastrophic change in ecosystems.
	Another wandering wolf arrives in southwest Oregon Another wandering wolf has found its way to the Cascades of southwestern Oregon, where OR-7 has established his pack after trekking thousands of miles in search of a mate.
	Australia migratory bird levels plunge from Asia development Coastal developments in northeast Asia are threatening the survival of Australian migratory shorebirds, a study has found, with some species experiencing population declines of up to 75 percent over the last two decades.
	Crops can do their own weed control In conventional farming, the most frequently used herbicides for weed control have a negative impact on the environment. On the other hand, organic farmers enlist machines to battle unwanted growth. These machines guzzle fuel and produce CO2, while their tyres compact soil and damage its structure. New research results from the University of Copenhagen's Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences report that weeds would have a tough time competing against crops such as corn, grains and beans if farmers were to alter their sowing patterns.
	WCS radio collars iconic South American mammal Guanacos are back - and getting into trouble - says a team of scientists from WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) tracking these iconic hoofed mammals across a variety of landscapes on the Chilean side of the island of Tierra del Fuego.
	Elephants make mischief in Thai national park Whether stressed out, frisky or just craving a snack, wild bull elephants have been causing havoc in a Thai national park—shocking visitors by stomping on cars and raiding restaurants.
	Ice cream keeps Rio zoo animals cool in heatwave Ice cream, fruit and copious helpings of frozen meat helped keep the sweltering inhabitants of Rio's zoo cool Tuesday as temperatures soared.

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