Science X Newsletter Tuesday, Apr 28

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Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for April 28, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- It's complicated: Self-organized patterns identify emergent behavior near critical transitions
- Soda can array revisited: It may not beat the diffraction limit after all
- Electron chirp: Cyclotron radiation from single electrons measured directly for first time
- Tracking exploding lithium-ion batteries in real-time (w/ Video)
- Locusts provide insight into brain response to stimuli, senses
- Bigger bang for your buck: Restoring fish habitat by removing barriers
- Genetic markers for fetal overgrowth syndrome discovered
- Study reveals first six months best for stimulating heart growth
- Burmese python habitat use patterns may help control efforts
- Rubber from dandelions: Scientists identify key components in the formation of rubber
- Water could have been abundant in the first billion years
- Two-week international diet swap shows potential effects of food on colon cancer risk
- First proton collisions at Large Hadron Collider should start in early June
- Strong evidence for coronal heating theory presented
- Diverse sea creatures evolved to reach same swimming solution

Astronomy & Space news

	Birth of a radio phoenix Abell 1033 is a cluster of over 350 galaxies located about 1.7 billion light-years away. Collisions between galaxies in clusters are common events, and each merger heats and shocks the nearby gas. The rapidly moving, ionized gas then radiates intensely at radio wavelengths. There are three types of radio sources found in these clusters. The first, called radio relics, are found in the outskirts of galaxies and have radiation signatures characteristic of shocked material over large scales. The second type, called radio haloes, are centrally located in the cluster and are probably the result of large turbulent motions set up during collisions.
	Water could have been abundant in the first billion years How soon after the Big Bang could water have existed? Not right away, because water molecules contain oxygen and oxygen had to be formed in the first stars. Then that oxygen had to disperse and unite with hydrogen in significant amounts. New theoretical work finds that despite these complications, water vapor could have been just as abundant in pockets of space a billion years after the Big Bang as it is today.
	Strong evidence for coronal heating theory presented The Sun's surface is blisteringly hot at 6,000 kelvins or 10,340 degrees Fahrenheit—but its atmosphere is another 300 times hotter. This has led to an enduring mystery for those who study the Sun: What heats the atmosphere to such extreme temperatures? Normally when you move away from a hot source the environment gets cooler, but some mechanism is clearly at work in the solar atmosphere, the corona, to bring the temperatures up so high.
	Radio silence as Russia tries to contact space cargo Russia will try again in the coming hours to make contact with an unmanned cargo ship after communications were lost following the spacecraft's launch toward the International Space Station, NASA said Tuesday.
	New solar telescope peers deep into the sun to track the origins of space weather Scientists at NJIT's Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) have captured the first high-resolution images of the flaring magnetic structures known as solar flux ropes at their point of origin in the Sun's chromosphere. Their research, published today in Nature Communications, provides new insights into the massive eruptions on the Sun's surface responsible for space weather.
	Robotically discovering Earth's nearest neighbors A team of astronomers using ground-based telescopes in Hawaii, California, and Arizona recently discovered a planetary system orbiting a nearby star that is only 54 light-years away. All three planets orbit their star at a distance closer than Mercury orbits the sun, completing their orbits in just 5, 15, and 24 days.
	Russia loses comms with ISS cargo spacecraft (Update) Astronauts aboard the International Space Station were left with a long wait Tuesday to get their latest food and fuel deliveries after an unmanned Russian supply ship lost communications following takeoff.
	Marcia Bartusiak on black holes and the history of science This year marks the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity—which, among other things, helped lead to the discovery of black holes, those mysterious, spacetime-bending collapsed stars. Now Marcia Bartusiak, a professor of the practice in MIT's Graduate Science Writing Program, has a new book out, "Black Hole," published today by Yale University Press, which details the history of the discovery of black holes. As Bartusiak recounts, the idea of black holes not only stemmed from general relativity; it also helped reinvigorate general relativity within the field of physics. Bartusiak recently talked to MIT News about her new book.
	Brian Schmidt discusses the fast-firing universe In 1998, a team led by a former Harvard graduate student shocked the astrophysics world by publishing results that said the expansion of the universe, believed to be gradually slowing, was instead accelerating.
	The weird ways fire behaves in space (w/ Video) Light a match on earth and you can expect the flame to shoot up in a tapering bulb. But light that match in space and you might not even recognize the small, blue orb at the tip. That's because fire behaves very differently in low- and zero-gravity environments.
	Image: Saturn's sponge-like moon Hyperion The subject of this image bears a remarkable resemblance to a porous sea sponge, floating in the inky black surroundings of the deep sea.
	Galaxy-gazing telescope sensors pass important vision tests When you're building a massive telescope designed to detect subtle shapes in the light emitted by distant galaxies, you'd like to know that the shapes you are seeing are accurate and not the result of defects in your telescope's sensors. Fortunately sensors for the camera of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), expected to see "first light" from atop a mountain in Chile in 2020, just received very promising "vision" test results from physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory.
	The view from up there, down here When many people saw the first stunning photos of the fragile blue marble of Earth from space, it changed their outlook of humanity. It was a singular moment in time when people around the world were watching and looking toward the future as NASA began to turn small steps into giant leaps.
	The fearsome foursome: Technologies enable ambitious MMS mission It was unprecedented developing a mission that could fly four identically equipped spacecraft in a tight formation and take measurements 100 times faster than any previous space mission—an achievement enabled in part by four NASA-developed technologies that in some cases took nearly 10 years to mature.

Technology news

	Sunfire, Audi en route to synthetic fuel of future How are scientific minds doing in coming up with a synthetic fuel as a viable alternative to petroleum? For some engineers, this is a long-held dream they refuse to dismiss. A Dresden-based company, sunfire, is confident they have reached a real goal.
	Producing hydrogen cheaply through simplified electrolysis A simplified and reliable device developed at EPFL should enable hydrogen production at low cost. Researchers were able to perform water electrolysis without using the expensive membrane placed between the electrodes in conventional systems.
	Re-inventing the mailing list is one way to reduce email stress We all feel it—that panicked sensation when we check our inbox and see the deluge of emails awaiting our attention. The average person receives upwards of 150 emails a day, and it often seems like no amount of tagging or filtering can close the floodgates.
	Taking the hassle out of parking It's a pain we all know: trying finding a parking spot in a crowded lot, from shopping centers to medical complexes to the airport. A Rice University team of senior electrical and computer engineers designed a capstone project that could allow all of that to change with a new parking technology called "ParkiT."
	Counting all costs, researchers find that saving energy is still cheap What does it cost to save electricity? Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have conducted the most comprehensive study yet of the full cost of saving electricity by U.S. utility efficiency programs and now have an answer: 4.6 cents.
	No-electric clothes washer appeals to pedal pushers Did you say a washing machine "off the grid?" You mean a washing machine that does not need electricity? You work it with your foot? Small wonder that many sites this month have been picking up on the Yirego washer, which is tiny compared to conventional full-sized machines but potentially very useful nonetheless.
	Apple's Mac is selling strong, iPad not so much Apple's iPhone was again the company's star in the first three months of the year. The tech giant sold 61 million iPhones, or 40 percent more than in the same period a year ago. That represented about two-thirds of its $58 billion in revenue.
	EU cars to be fitted with automatic dial for help in a crash The European Parliament voted Tuesday to require all cars EU-wide to be fitted out by 2018 with an automatic dial-up system so emergency workers can get to crash sites as swiftly as possible.
	Yahoo unveils new online video series US Internet giant Yahoo said it was expanding its online offerings, unveiling 18 new video series with which it hopes to attract a larger audience and advertisers.
	Google teams up with European media to boost online journalism Google will on Tuesday launch a 150 million euro programme to support innovative online journalism in partnership with eight European publications.
	Japan eyes nuclear for a fifth of electricity supply A fifth of Japan's electricity supply should come from nuclear power generation, the country's industry ministry said Tuesday, despite widespread opposition in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.
NEC profit jumps 70% after smartphone overhaul Japan's NEC said Tuesday its fiscal-year net profit jumped nearly 70 percent, boosted by a weaker yen and growth in its public-sector infrastructure business.
	Sweden speeds up closure of two nuclear reactors Sweden's state-owned energy group Vattenfall on Tuesday said it planned to speed up the shutdown of two nuclear reactors by up to seven years, to 2018 and 2020.
	Bridging the digital divide means accommodating diversity It would be easy to think that the notion of a "digital divide" is now outdated. Whose life isn't digital in some respect these days?
	Technology for using large-screen virtual desktops on existing network infrastructure Fujitsu Laboratories today announced the development of technology that allows for virtual desktops with larger screens, without upgrading existing network infrastructure. Virtual desktops are being introduced to the factory floor as part of a change of work styles for development and production operations. Demands for larger screens in order to improve the operability of computer support for designing and analyzing increasingly complex products through computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering (CAE) are rising, and there is a need for more efficient transmission technologies for sending those bigger screen images over the network. Fujitsu Laboratories has now applied the high-quality video coding technology cultivated by Fujitsu to virtual desktop screen compression, and has developed technology that maintains image quality while cutting network bandwidth requirements roughly in half. This technology makes it pos! sible to transmit roughly double the pixel count over existing network infrastructure, allowing for bigger, more detailed virtual desktops, and a more functional work environment.
	Guided bullet demonstrates repeatable performance against moving targets DARPA's Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) program, which developed a self-steering bullet to increase hit rates for difficult, long-distance shots, completed in February its most successful round of live-fire tests to date. An experienced shooter using the technology demonstration system repeatedly hit moving and evading targets. Additionally, a novice shooter using the system for the first time hit a moving target.
	Computers are knocking on the door of the company boardroom While women sitting on company boards remains a much-discussed topic, there is something new waiting to take a seat at the table: artificial intelligence, computers with company voting rights.
	Human brain inspires computer memory How is it possible to create computer memory that is both faster and consumes less energy? Researchers at the Institut d'électronique fondamentale (CNRS/Université Paris-Sud) and CEA-List have unlocked the physical mechanisms involved in new-generation magnetic memory, and have shown that these mechanisms could be used as "synapses" in a new type of neuro-inspired system, able to learn how to store and retrieve information. Their work was published online in the journal IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems on April 15, 2015.
	Amazon unveils new business marketplace Amazon announced Tuesday it was launching a new business marketplace, in a move aimed at bringing the online giant's expertise to wholesaling.
	Improving geothermal energy Generating electricity from the hot rocks deep underground is clean, safe and renewable - and it's about to take a step forward in Utah.
IBM raises quarterly dividend by 18 percent to $1.30 IBM said Tuesday it is raising its quarterly dividend to $1.30 from $1.10, an increase of 18 percent.
$50 mn raised by digital lifestyle site Refinery29 Refinery29, a digital lifestyle news site aimed at women, said Tuesday it raised $50 million in one of the largest capital rounds in the burgeoning sector.
	LG's new G4 phones will have leather backs (Update) Optional leather backs and manual camera controls are two ways LG is seeking to distinguish its new G4 phone from Apple's iPhones and Samsung's Galaxy smartphones.
Cablevision strikes deal to offer Hulu streaming services Cablevision Systems Corp. struck a deal with Hulu to offer the Internet television service's on-demand content to its Optimum customers, the first pay-TV company to do so.
	Twitter shares dive as earnings miss mark (Update) Twitter shares plunged Tuesday after an earnings report that fell short of market expectations despite a jump in the number of active monthly users above 300 million.
	Qatar opens $1 bn environmental gas project Qatar officially unveiled on Tuesday what it said is the world's biggest environmental project, a $1 billion plant to capture wasted gas.
	GoPro buys virtual reality firm Kolor The company that makes the popular GoPro cameras announced plans Tuesday to buy Kolor, a French-based firm specializing in virtual reality and other video technologies.
China Telecom says profit down 9 percent due to tax change China Telecom Ltd., one of China's three main state-owned phone carriers, says its quarterly profit fell 9 percent from a year earlier due to tax changes and a rise in personnel costs.
	A Google for handwriting To be able to use computers to analyse and search handwritten texts would revolutionise research in the humanities. And the technology to digitise printed books and make them searchable already exists.
Study: Obama most followed on Twitter, pope most influential A new study shows U.S. President Barack Obama is still by far the most followed world leader on Twitter, but Pope Francis is considered the most influential by the number of his messages retweeted.
	Water companies license two UW-Milwaukee sensor technologies About 13.2 million households in the United States obtain their water from private wells, a method that offers no assurances of the water's quality. Testing private wells can be expensive and results can take weeks.

Medicine & Health news

	Study identifies key factor in neural death that causes Parkinson's disease In studying the molecular biology of brain development, a team of researchers led by Ludwig Stockholm director Thomas Perlmann has discovered how disruption of a developmental mechanism alters the very nerve cells that are most affected in Parkinson's disease. They have also explained how such disruption induces a lethal dysfunction in the internal, house-keeping processes of such neurons. The results of their study, which took nearly four years to complete and involved the exquisitely targeted manipulation of mouse genes to generate a unique model of the disease, are published in the current issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience.
	Photovoltaic retinal implant could restore functional sight, researchers say A team led by Stanford University researchers has developed a wireless retinal implant that they say could restore vision five times better than existing devices.
	Researchers ID brain mechanisms underlying alertness and attentiveness Researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have shown for the first time that a common neurotransmitter acts via a single type of neuron to enable the brain to process information more effectively. The study appears in the April 27 advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience.
	Two-week international diet swap shows potential effects of food on colon cancer risk African-Americans and Africans who swapped their typical diets for just two weeks similarly exchanged their respective risks of colon cancer as reflected by alterations of their gut bacteria, according to an international study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine published online today in Nature Communications.
	New IVF device may improve fertility treatment For couples struggling to conceive the old-fashioned way, in vitro fertilization (IVF) provides an alternate route to starting a family. When eggs are mixed with sperm in test tubes, the fertilized eggs to grow into embryos that can be implanted inside the uterus of a woman who will carry them to term.
	Study reveals first six months best for stimulating heart growth In a recent issue of Science Translational Medicine, Brian Polizzotti, PhD, Bernhard Kuhn, MD, Sangita Choudhury, PhD, and colleagues affiliated with the Boston Children's Hospital's Translational Research Center report that the optimal window of time to stimulate heart muscle cell regeneration (cardiomyocyte proliferation) in humans is the first six months of life.
	Gene mapping reveals soy's dynamic, differing roles in breast cancer Scientists have mapped the human genes triggered by the phytonutrients in soy, revealing the complex role the legume plays in both preventing and advancing breast cancer.
	Switching on one-shot learning in the brain Most of the time, we learn only gradually, incrementally building connections between actions or events and outcomes. But there are exceptions—every once in a while, something happens and we immediately learn to associate that stimulus with a result. For example, maybe you have had bad service at a store once and sworn that you will never shop there again.
	Scientists observe deadly dance between nerves and cancer cells In certain types of cancer, nerves and cancer cells enter an often lethal and intricate waltz where cancer cells and nerves move toward one another and eventually engage in such a way that the cancer cells enter the nerves.
	Study demonstrates potential of rapid whole-genome sequencing in critically ill infants A study published today in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine and presented at the annual Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting revealed the early results of the clinical usefulness of rapid whole-genome sequencing in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units (NICUs and PICUs). Children's Mercy Kansas City's STAT-Seq test helped diagnose a genetic disease in more than one half of 35 critically ill infants tested, compared to just nine percent with standard genetic tests.
	Women show persistent memory impairment after concussion Women may have a more difficult time than men in recovering from concussion, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.
Age at autism diagnosis differs between boys, girls Girls are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) later than boys, possibly because females exhibit less severe symptoms, according to a study to be presented Tuesday, April 28 at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in San Diego.
Youths evaluated for sexual abuse at risk for revictimization online Many suspected victims of child sexual abuse are sharing sexually explicit photos and videos via their cell phones and social media, and are receiving online sexual solicitations, according to a study to be presented Tuesday, April 28 at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in San Diego.
Victims of bullying fare worse in the long run than maltreated children Children who have been bullied by peers have similar or worse long-term mental health outcomes than children maltreated by adults, according to a study to be presented Tuesday, April 28 at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in San Diego, and to be published in The Lancet Psychiatry at the same time.
	Peanut-allergic children are more at risk of exposure at home than at school Children who are allergic to peanuts are far more likely to be exposed to them in their own homes that at school, says University of Montreal's Sabrine Cherkaoui. Cherkaoui and her colleagues at McGill University came to the discovery after reviewing the circumstances surrounding 567 incidents of accidental peanut exposure to allergic children.
Volunteers in Tunisia develop app for Alzheimer's patients About a year ago, Azer Jaafoura and a few of his colleagues at Samsung Electronics Tunisia (SETN) were thinking of helping out Alzheimer's patients. However, with a full-time job and already volunteering at a children's hospital, Azer and his colleagues were strapped for time.
	Targeting depression with deep brain stimulation The darkest day of Marjorie Stowe's depression came when her long-time psychiatrist told her she obviously was choosing to resist the healing effects of one medication after another, psychotherapy, electric shock. "You must be getting some emotional payoff that prevents you from letting your depression go," he said. "Secretly, you must enjoy being this way."
	Can wearing orange-tinted glasses before bed help you sleep? I recently wrote about the terrible sleep habits of the characters in House of Cards. I disapproved of Frank Underwood's late-night computer work in the Oval Office, his new midnight iPad gaming habit and Claire taking her laptop to bed with her.
	Microneedle patch for measles vaccination could be a global game changer A new microneedle patch being developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could make it easier to vaccinate people against measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
Patient portals could widen health disparities Online sites that offer secure access to one's medical record, often referred to as patient portals, are increasingly important for doctor and patient communication and routine access to health care information. But patient portals could widen the gap in health disparities among the most vulnerable patients, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study.
	Cranberry juice helps ward off common infection University of Michigan researchers have identified one more health benefit of the tart, red berries we most often associate with the holidays.
	New material for creating artificial blood vessels Blocked blood vessels can quickly become dangerous. It is often necessary to replace a blood vessel – either by another vessel taken from the body or even by artificial vascular prostheses. Together, Vienna University of Technology and Vienna Medical University have developed artificial blood vessels made from a special elastomer material, which has excellent mechanical properties. Over time, these artificial blood vessels are replaced by endogenous material. At the end of this restorative process, a natural, fully functional vessel is once again in place. The method has already been used successfully in rats.
	A note of caution about health apps There's a running joke that if you check your symptoms on the Internet, it will probably diagnose you with cancer.
	The map of the body's proteins Finished after 12 years' work: A pictorial atlas of the body's building blocks; proteins. A total of 13 million images have been collected into a searchable database in a collaboration which has involved institutions including KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Uppsala University.
	Childhood obesity – one epidemic or two? New research has indicated that obesity in children has quite different causes at different ages. The research, led by the University of Exeter Medical School and part of the internationally respected EarlyBird Study, could have far-reaching implications for attempts to reduce the global epidemic of childhood obesity, as it indicates that very different approaches may be needed at various stages of development.
	Alzheimer's disease markers could be identified through protein water mobility A study of water mobility on the surface of tau protein fibres has been conducted by a global team of scientists using neutron scattering experiments at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France and the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Zentrum (MLZ) in Garching, Germany. The team, led by IBS scientists, found water mobility on the surface of tau protein fibres is increased; the findings, reported in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America), suggest that the movement of water molecules could be a marker for the presence of amyloid tau fibres and contribute to the detection of Alzheimer's disease.
	Action against antibiotic resistance begins with the community To combat antibiotic resistance, scientists need to understand the evolution of bacteria and examine this alongside the characteristics of the populations they infect, according to research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
	Research may accelerate rehabilitation post trauma or memory impairment, enable warfighter training  A new DARPA program aims to investigate the role of neural "replay" in the formation and recall of memory, with the goal of helping individuals better remember specific episodic events and learned skills. The 24-month fundamental research program, Restoring Active Memory Replay or RAM Replay, is designed to develop novel and rigorous computational methods to help investigators determine not only which brain components matter in memory formation and recall but also how much they matter. To ensure real-world relevance, those assessments will be validated through performance on DoD-relevant tasks instead of conventional computer-based behavioral paradigms commonly used to assess memory in laboratory settings. New knowledge and paradigms for memory assessment and formation could translate into improved rehabilitation and recovery for injured warfighters challenged by impaired memory.
	To combat 'superbugs,' immunologist suggests scientists think like pathogens With drug resistance on the rise and the emergence of increasingly deadly viral pathogens, scientists must develop a better understanding of the human immune system and its adaptability in order to take full advantage of it, writes a University at Buffalo immunologist.
	Immune gene variant magnifies Parkinson's risk from insecticide exposure Genetic variation and exposure to pesticides both appear to affect risk for Parkinson's disease. A new study has found a connection between these two risk factors, in a way that highlights a role for immune responses in progression of the disease.
	Research team identifies master switch for cancer-causing HER2 protein Herceptin has been touted as a wonder drug for women with HER2-positive breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease that is fueled by excess production of the HER2 protein. However, not all of these patients respond to the drug, and many who do respond eventually acquire resistance.
	Framing time in days instead of years could spur action toward goals People starting to plan for retirement or other big goals should pull out a calculator and multiply the years ahead by 365. Measuring time in days instead of months, or months instead of years, can make future events seem closer and thus more urgent, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Emergency department treatment for opioid addiction better than referrals Yale researchers conducted the first known randomized trial comparing three treatment strategies for opioid-dependent patients receiving emergency care. They found that patients given the medication buprenorphine were more likely to engage in addiction treatment and reduce their illicit opioid use.
Age at surgery and valve type in PVR key determinants of re-intervention in congenital heart disease Over the last 15 years, survival of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) has greatly improved, so that currently there are more adults than children living with CHD. Consequently, people with CHD of all ages are undergoing pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) with bioprosthetic valves. In this retrospective review of all patients with CHD who underwent bioprosthetic PVR over an 18-year period at Boston Children's Hospital, investigators found that young age and small body weight predisposed patients toward re-intervention, as did the type of valve used.
	As circumcision wounds heal, HIV-positive men may spread virus to female partners In the midst of an international campaign to slow the spread of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, the World Health Organization recommends male circumcision (the surgical removal of foreskin from the penis) which reduces HIV acquisition by 50-60%. However, scientists report that a new study of HIV-infected men in Uganda has identified a temporary, but potentially troublesome unintended consequence of the procedure: a possible increased risk of infecting female sexual partners while circumcision wounds heal.
	No single cut-off for parasite half-life can define artemisinin-resistant malaria Data from southeast Asia—where artemisinin-resistant malaria strains were first detected—broadly support WHO's 'working definition' for artemisinin resistance, but the currently used definitions require important refinements, according to a study by Lisa White and colleagues, from Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand, published this week in PLOS Medicine.
Researchers solve mystery of deadly transplant infection When Harlan Dorbin passed away from a rare infection one month after his successful lung transplant surgery, his surgeon turned to Dorbin's sister and made a promise.
Researchers develop new computer-based vision screening test for young children Many eye disorders in young children are asymptomatic and may remain undetected without testing. Since effective treatments are available for many of those conditions, early identification and intervention are critical to prevent potentially permanent vision problems. A new report published in the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) describes the effectiveness of a new computer-based vision-screening test, the Jaeb Visual Acuity Screener (JVAS), which is suitable for use in schools and pediatrician's offices.
	Research team developing bioactive gel to treat knee injuries Knee injuries are the bane of athletes everywhere, from professionals and college stars to weekend warriors. Current surgical options for repairing damaged cartilage caused by knee injuries are costly, can have complications, and often are not very effective in the long run. Even after surgery, cartilage degeneration can progress leading to painful arthritis.
	Keeping food visible throughout the house is linked to obesity Researchers have identified two seemingly unrelated but strong predictors of obesity: having low self-esteem related to one's weight and keeping food visibly available around the house, outside the kitchen.
	Scientists find new mutation that may lead to better diabetes medications and prevention An international team of scientists led by a Cedars-Sinai researcher has identified a new genetic mutation that appears to protect people from developing Type 2 diabetes.
	Genetic testing moves into world of employee health Your employer may one day help determine if your genes are why your jeans have become too snug.
	Polygamy increases risk of heart disease by more than four-fold APSC 2015 is being held in Abu Dhabi from 29 April to 2 May in conjunction with the XX World Congress of Echocardiography and Allied Techniques 2015 and the 6th Annual Emirates Cardiac Society Congress 2015. Experts from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) will present a special programme.
Study provides evidence that premature girls thrive more than premature boys A new study from Loyola University Medical Center provides further evidence that female infants tend to do better than males when born prematurely.
	New study links drinking behaviors with mortality A new University of Colorado Boulder study involving some 40,000 people indicates that social and psychological problems caused by drinking generally trump physically hazardous drinking behaviors when it comes to overall mortality rates.
	Senate panel advances bill to overhaul chemical regulation A bipartisan bill to update regulation of harmful chemicals for the first time in nearly 40 years won approval from a Senate committee Tuesday, moving it closer to a vote in the full Senate.
	Beijing Olympics study links pollution to lower birth weight Exposure to high levels of pollution can have a significant impact on fetal growth and development, that is the conclusion of research appearing today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The study found women who were pregnant during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when pollution levels were reduced by the Chinese government, gave birth to children with higher birth weights compared to those who were pregnant before and after the games.
	C. difficile rates highest in Northeast region, spring season Rates of infection with the deadly superbug Clostridium difficile were highest in the Northeast region of the country and in the spring season over the last 10 years, according to a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).
	Research shows brain differences in children with dyslexia and dysgraphia University of Washington research shows that using a single category of learning disability to qualify students with written language challenges for special education services is not scientifically supported. Some students only have writing disabilities, but some have both reading and writing disabilities.
Study finds gastric band and weight management therapies offer similar benefits Weight loss is never easy, but it's important for overweight people with type 2 diabetes seeking to control their blood sugar levels and optimize their health. A small clinical trial among such patients led by Joslin Diabetes Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers now has shown that two approaches—adjustable gastric band surgery and an intensive group-based medical diabetes and weight management program—achieved similar improvements in controlling blood sugar levels after one year.
	Church-based diabetes education program leads to healthier lifestyles among Latino adults Latino adults with diabetes who participated in a church-based education program reported eating less high-fat food and exercising more following a trial intervention program run by researchers from University of Chicago's Department of Medicine.
History of breastfeeding associated with reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence Women diagnosed with breast cancer who previously breastfed their babies had a 30 percent overall decreased risk of the disease recurring, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. In addition, researchers found that the protective effect of breastfeeding was more pronounced for tumors of particular genetic subtypes, including the most commonly diagnosed of all breast cancers.
	Genital-only screening misses many cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia in women Current public health guidelines recommend that only gay men and people with HIV should be routinely screened for extragenital gonorrhea and chlamydia, given the high burden of these sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in this at-risk population.
	Cocaine changes the brain and makes relapse more common in addicts Cocaine use causes 'profound changes' in the brain that lead to an increased risk of relapse due to stress - according to new research from the University of East Anglia.
	Lack of safety at school and poverty linked to childhood obesity A lack of safety at school is one of the correlates of childhood obesity, say researchers at the University of Montreal and its affiliated Research Centre at CHU Sainte Justine children's hospital. "Childhood obesity is caused and sustained by a complex range of factors. Our research reveals a complex intertwining of feelings of being unsafe and poverty with obesity," explained senior author Dr. Tracie Barnett. "Surprisingly, we have found that although victimization at school is linked to childhood obesity and more screen-time, screen-time itself was not correlated with obesity. This suggests a key role for feeling unsafe and victimization in perpetuating obesity."
	Gene discoveries could help rheumatoid arthritis treatment (HealthDay)—Genetic variations may hold clues to rheumatoid arthritis—suggesting not only who will develop the painful condition, but also predicting its severity and even who might die from it, a new study says.
	Few sickle cell patients receiving beneficial drug, study finds (HealthDay)—Few U.S. adults with sickle cell anemia are getting a recommended medication that can help them manage pain, breathing problems and other debilitating symptoms, according to a new study.
	Start healthy eating habits early to head off obesity in kids (HealthDay)—Though it may not always be easy, helping young children develop healthy eating habits is worth the effort, experts say.
	CDC: Surveillance system can help reduce health care injuries (HealthDay)—A surveillance system for health care facilities can be used to identify and help reduce the number of preventable injuries among health care personnel, according to research published in the April 24 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
	Capsule colonoscopy deemed 'adequate' alternative (HealthDay)—In an average-risk screening population, capsule colonoscopy seems adequate for patients who cannot undergo colonoscopy or who had incomplete colonoscopies, although additional research is needed to improve capsule detection, according to a study published in the May issue of Gastroenterology.
	Lasting mortality risk increase with hyperglycemic crises (HealthDay)—During the first six years of follow-up, geriatric patients with diabetes have a higher mortality risk after hyperglycemic crisis episode (HCE), according to a study published in the May issue of Diabetes Care.
	AAP advises doctors on how to identify child abuse (HealthDay)—The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has just released new guidance to help primary care doctors recognize the signs of child abuse. The clinical report was published online April 27 in Pediatrics.
	Make calorie labels compulsory on all alcoholic drinks, says public health expert Calorie counts should be mandatory on all alcoholic drinks as a matter of urgency, argues a leading public health doctor in The BMJ this week.
Chikungunya kills 25 in Colombia The virus chikungunya has killed 25 people in Colombia in less than a year, the National Health Institute said Monday.
Bill seeks to expand coverage for Hawaii fertility law A proposal in Hawaii's Legislature would expand a state mandate on fertility treatments to include same sex couples and single women, updating a law that now only offers such benefits to women who are married to men.
Judge says Vermont law on genetically modified food stands A Vermont law that could make the state the first in the country to require labeling of genetically modified food has been allowed by a federal judge to stand for now despite opposition by food industry groups.
The struggle between humans and parasites The battle between humanity and parasites is a constant struggle. As parasites grow stronger by developing immunities, new treatments must be created in response. On the frontlines of this struggle are parasitologists, scientists who specialize in studying various parasites (including insects, worms, viruses, and bacteria) and their hosts.
Researchers license technology to measure glucose in saliva, a potential boon for diabetics The 340 million diabetes sufferers in the world have plenty to worry about: eating well, getting exercise and regularly monitoring the amount of sugar in their bloodstream. That last step is a crucial tool in treating the condition and preventing complications over the long run.
Study will evaluate investigational medication for PTSD symptoms The University of Cincinnati (UC) is one of 25 sites nationwide for a clinical research study of an investigational medication for treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms related to military or police work.
	What's the harm in alternative therapies? We often see stories in the media about cancer patients who have chosen alternative treatments, either alongside or instead of conventional treatment.
	Healthcare on (un)equal terms? Healthcare on equal terms is the basis of good public health. As socially exposed groups find it increasingly difficult to enter the healthcare system, our entire society risks becoming weaker, says Professor Ragnar Westerling.
	The battle for the bedroom More and more of us are wishing each other goodnight by mobile phone. Unfortunately this means that we are sleeping increasingly badly. Now sleep researchers in Uppsala are creating an app to make us disconnect when it's time to unwind.
	Joint search for new antibiotics The WHO has identified antibiotic resistance as one of the three biggest threats to human health. Without new antibiotics, we risk returning to a situation in which every infection is life-threatening. The combined expertise of Europe is now aimed at stimulating development within an area that has long been seen as unprofitable for the pharmaceutical industry.
	Scientists confirm the impact of submicroscopic malarial infections during pregnancy A scientific study conducted in Benin by researchers from IRD and the Centre for study and research on pregnancy associated malaria and infancy (CERPAGE, Benin) confirms the harmful impact of submicroscopic malarial infections during pregnancy. These complications include maternal anaemia, premature births and low birthweights in children. Moreover, the researchers show that, in diagnosing malarial infections, molecular biology techniques are more sensitive than the classical microscopic examinations, with 40% of infections detected by the former as against 16% by the latter. These results, published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal, will permit drawing particular attention to these infections, in order to improve malarial prevention strategies for pregnant women and newborn babies, particularly those affected by the disease in Sub-Saharan Africa.
	Stopping HIV in its tracks Is the end of HIV near? Findings published this week in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy report that a novel, subdermal implant delivering potent antiretroviral (ARV) drugs shows extreme promise in stopping the spread of HIV.
WHO draws up plan to eradicate Ebola (Update) The World Health Organization on Tuesday unveiled a plan to eradicate the deadly Ebola virus, aiming to identify and isolate the dwindling number of new cases by the end of May.
	Tyson Foods hopes to rid US chicken of antibiotics by 2017 Tyson Foods intends to stop using human antibiotics in its domestic chicken flocks by September 2017, the company said Tuesday, and will explore doing the same for its beef, pork and turkey operations.
Living liver donors report lower sexual function in early months post-surgery A new study found that sexual function in adult living donors was lower at the evaluation phase and at three months following liver transplantation. Results published in Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society, suggest that donor education prior to surgery may improve recovery and ease concerns about sexual function following the transplant.
	Study: A minority of women seek health care after military sexual assault Despite growing public awareness of sexual assault of women during their military service and increased efforts by the Department of Defense to deter sexual crimes and encourage reporting and help-seeking, a Veterans Affairs study suggests most female service members who experience sexual assault are still unlikely to seek post-assault health care, at least in the short term.
	Majority of people unable to pay their medical bills skip medical care Difficulty paying medical bills is an important predictor of the likelihood that a person will forego medical and prescription drug care and can add to the impact of lack of health insurance and other factors such as income, education level, and health status, according to an article in Population Health Management, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.
First-of-its-kind clinical guide explains uses and limitations of public blood pressure kiosks High blood pressure affects one in three adults in the United States, and blood pressure measurement is the first step toward accurate diagnosis and management of the disease. The Food and Drug Administration acknowledges shortcomings of many public blood pressure kiosks (i.e., those found in pharmacies and supermarkets) and recommends the public seek doctors' advice when using blood pressure kiosks. However, there has been no published guide to which doctors can confidently refer for answers until now, with the publication of a first-of-its-kind clinical guide addressing use and validity of public blood pressure kiosks, entitled "Public Use Blood Pressure Kiosks: A Guide for Clinicians."
Study allays concerns that cardiothoracic physicians-in-training provide suboptimal care A conundrum in medical education is how to train residents in complex and technically difficult procedures without reducing the quality of patient care. In an analysis of prospective data from a study of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), no differences were found in short-term or one-year patient outcomes and patency of grafts between properly-supervised residents and attending surgeons. G. Hossein Almassi, MD, is presenting the results of this research at the 95th AATS Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA on April 28, 2015.
Bristol-Myers earnings jump 27 percent, but stock falls Higher sales of key new medicines and cost cuts helped lift drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s first-quarter profit by nearly 27 percent.
Elevated upper body position improves respiratory safety in women following childbirth A study published on April 23 in the Online First section of the journal Chest finds an elevated upper body position might improve respiratory safety in women early after childbirth without impairing sleep quality. Pregnancy-related maternal death occurs in 10 to 13 of 100,000 pregnancies and is attributable to anesthesia in 0.8 to 1.7 percent of the cases. A main cause of anesthesia-related maternal death is postpartum airway obstruction.
New studies examine the significant risk of blood clots in post-surgical lung cancer patients New evidence suggests that lung cancer surgery patients are at higher risk of developing venous thromboembolism, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), than previously thought, with elevated risks of complications or death. When thromboemboli occur, they may be asymptomatic or attributed to post-surgical pain or complications, and may reflect both the lung cancer itself as well as compromised lung function after surgery. These incidents may also be ascribed to an inconsistent approach to prevention that currently exists among thoracic surgeons and hematologists who care for these patients. Three presentations at the 95th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery explore the problem of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after surgery for lung cancer.
New meds help drugmakers weather strong dollar, other issues Revenue from important new medicines for various cancers, hepatitis C and more helped top U.S. drugmakers weather unfavorable currency exchange rates and other challenges. Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., which reported first-quarter results Tuesday, all derive at least half their revenue from selling products overseas. Because they're purchased in local currencies, the strong dollar is depressing the sales' value.

Biology news

	Locusts provide insight into brain response to stimuli, senses By training a type of grasshopper to recognize odors, a team of biomedical engineers at Washington University in St. Louis is learning more about the brain and how it processes information from its senses.
	Chromosome-folding theory shows promise Human chromosomes are much bigger and more complex than proteins, but like proteins, they appear to fold and unfold in an orderly process as they carry out their functions in cells.
	Researchers find proteins responsible for orchid shape (Phys.org)—A team of researchers with National Chung Hsing University in China has found the proteins responsible for determining the shape of orchid lips. In their paper published in the journal Nature Plants, the team describes how they unlocked the secret of orchid shape and by so doing were able to alter the shape of the plant on demand. Barbara Gravendeel and Anita Dirks-Mulder of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center and the University of Applied Sciences Leiden, Sylviusweg, The Netherland, have published a News & Views piece on the work done by the team in the same journal issue.
A CRISPR antiviral tool Emory scientists have adapted an antiviral enzyme from bacteria called Cas9 into an instrument for inhibiting hepatitis C virus in human cells.
	Diverse sea creatures evolved to reach same swimming solution The ability to move one's body rapidly through water is a key to existence for many species on this blue planet of ours. The Persian carpet flatworm, the cuttlefish and the black ghost knifefish look nothing like each other - their last common ancestor lived 550 million years ago, before the Cambrian period - but a new study uses a combination of computer simulations, a robotic fish and video footage of real fish to show that all three aquatic creatures have evolved to swim with elongated fins using the same mechanical motion that optimizes their speed, helping to ensure their survival.
Burmese python habitat use patterns may help control efforts The largest and longest Burmese Python tracking study of its kind—here or in its native range—is providing researchers and resource managers new information that may help target control efforts of this invasive snake, according to a new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey.
	Genetic markers for fetal overgrowth syndrome discovered Humans and cattle share a similar epigenetic fetal overgrowth disorder that occurs more commonly following assisted reproduction procedures. In humans, this disorder is called Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS), and in cattle it is called large offspring syndrome (LOS) and can result in the overgrowth of fetuses and enlarged babies. This naturally occurring, but rare syndrome can cause physical abnormalities in humans and cattle and often results in the deaths of newborn calves and birth-related injuries to their mothers.
	Bigger bang for your buck: Restoring fish habitat by removing barriers A few years ago, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Limnology created the first map of all the road crossings and dams blocking the tributary rivers that feed the five Great Lakes. These tributaries serve as migratory highways, providing fish like walleye and lake sturgeon access to headwater breeding grounds.
	Discovery of an unexpected function of a protein linked to neurodegenerative diseases Until today, the proteins known as ubiquitin receptors have been associated mainly with protein degradation, a basic cell cleaning process. A new function now described for the protein dDsk2 by the team headed by Ferran Azorín, group leader at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and CSIC research professor, links ubiquitin receptors for the first time with the regulation of gene expression. This discovery, published today in Nature Communications, opens up a double scenario, one focused on basic epigenomic research and the other biomedical, because of the link between dDsk2 and neurodegenerative diseases.
	Barking mad? Doggie DNA to track foulers in London A London borough—aptly named Barking and Dagenham—unveiled plans on Tuesday to crack down on irresponsible dog owners by checking their pet's poo against a DNA database it will build up.
Genetic variation is a necessity The Earth is constantly changing. For new species to be able to adapt and cope with the changes, there must be sufficient genetic diversity, or genetic variation, in the population. But what type of diversity is required and how large must the population be to survive? Jacob Höglund and his research group are investigating these important issues at the Evolutionary Biology Centre.
	Scientific survey shows modest improvement in blue crab stock The Virginia Marine Resources Commission today released the 2015 blue crab winter dredge survey, which showed moderate improvement in the health of the stock, despite a cold winter that killed an inordinately large number of crabs.
	Species' evolutionary choice—disperse or adapt? Dispersal and adaptation are two fundamental evolutionary strategies available to species given an environment. Generalists, like dandelions, send their offspring far and wide. Specialists, like alpine flowers, adapt to the conditions of a particular place.
	Scheduled bay closures proposed to protect Hawaiian spinner dolphins Hawaiian spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) driven out of sheltered bays by human activity at the popular tourist destination are unlikely to rest elsewhere, according to recent research.
Bigger beetles more likely to choose large females and to reject smaller ones Being bigger and bolder holds various benefits for male soldier beetles. They enjoy higher rates of successful courtship and more often land a larger, more fertile mate. These are some of the findings of a study led by Denson McLain of the Georgia Southern University in the US, published in Springer's journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.
	Crustaceans from the second largest river basin in South America A group of zoologists from Brazil and England presents a new guide for identification of planktonic calanoid copepods from the Diaptomidae family.
	New blueberry species found in the Colombian forests The description of five new species of blueberry relatives from Colombia highlights the country's great diversity of the plant family Ericaceae and the importance of field exploration. These new mortiños, as locally known, are added to the hundreds of blueberry relatives that are native to Colombia. The new additions are endemic species that exhibit morphological characters unparalleled within the genera in which they are classified. The study was published in the open access journal PhytoKeys.
	Snake lovers hit southern Illinois for annual migrations You don't have to be a herpetologist to savor the slice of this federal forest where a stunning array of reptiles and amphibians congregates beneath soaring limestone bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River.
	Drones and dogs deployed in battle to save the guacamole With the killers hiding in the trees, heat-sensing drones are launched into the air. When their whereabouts are narrowed, the dogs are sent in. When it comes to protecting the world's supply of guacamole, no weapon can be spared.
	Two new creeping water bug species found in Belize and Peru Two new insect species have been added to the 900,000+ species that have previously been described: Ambrysus cayo, which was found in streams in western Belize, and Procryphocricos pilcopata, which was found in streams in southeastern Peru. Both are true bugs in the suborder Heteroptera in the family Naucoridae and the subfamily Cryphocricinae—the saucer bugs (also called the creeping water bugs), so called because of their round, flat shape.
Study shows diversity of habitat needed around spotted owl reserves A study just published this week shows many bird species, including several of high conservation concern, aren't getting the habitat they need due to a focus on promoting California Spotted Owl habitat in the northern Sierra Nevada.
	Monkey droppings complement field observations, researchers report In South American rainforests, researchers can tell one saddle-back tamarin from another, but what's more difficult, is to see what the squirrel-sized monkeys are putting in their mouths. Researchers are beginning to rely on their droppings to find out what bugs and other invertebrates the monkeys munch on.
	Early separation of cow and calf has long-term effects on social behaviour Calves of dairy cows are generally separated from their mothers within the first 24 hours after birth. The majority of the milk thus enters the food market and not the stomachs of the calves. However, growing up without a mother has consequences. Scientists at the Vetmeduni Vienna studied the long-term effects of early maternal deprivation. Their study shows that calves which have contact to their mothers or to other cows during rearing become more sociable adults. The results of the study were published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science.
	Silicon: An important element in rice production Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element of the earth's crust after oxygen. It has long been neglected by ecologists, as it is not considered an essential nutrient for plants. However, research of recent years showed that it is beneficial for the growth of many plants, including important crops such as rice, wheat and barley.
	ONR: Helping to train the future canine force Canines have proven to be expert bomb detectors for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. But with combat operations winding down, the Office of Naval Research's (ONR) Expeditionary Canine Sciences program is taking a fresh look at how dogs are trained to identify different explosive devices—and their roles in future conflicts.
	Book on brown recluse spiders dispels myths and misconceptions The brown recluse spider is on a lot of minds. Usually between 6-11 millimeters in body length, this spider has a venomous bite. Just about everyone thinks he or she has seen this spider running through the house or claims to have been bitten by one or knows someone who received the bite.

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