Science X Newsletter Week 18

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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 18:

	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.
	Scientists achieve critical steps to building first practical quantum computer IBM scientists today unveiled two critical advances towards the realization of a practical quantum computer. For the first time, they showed the ability to detect and measure both kinds of quantum errors simultaneously, as well as demonstrated a new, square quantum bit circuit design that is the only physical architecture that could successfully scale to larger dimensions.
	Fonkraft modular smartphone makes crowdfunding debut Many smartphone ads start their promotions stating their distinctive looks and novel features but save the phone's battery life stats for last. Fonkraft's video abandons the formula and rushes to the point.
	Thai customs make new three-tonne ivory seizure More than three tonnes of elephant ivory have been found at a Thai port stashed in a container shipped from Kenya, customs said Monday, the second huge haul of tusks from Africa in less than a week.
Detection of critical heart disease before birth lags among poor Parents-to-be often look forward to prenatal ultrasounds, when they get the first glimpse of their baby and perhaps learn their child's sex. Ultrasound technology also allows for the detection of birth defects and other abnormalities before a baby is born.
	Bats use both sides of brain to listen—just like humans Researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center and American University have shown that, like humans, mustached bats use the left and right sides of their brains to process different aspects of sounds. Aside from humans, no other animal that has been studied, not even monkeys or apes, has proved to use such hemispheric specialization for sound processing—meaning that the left brain is better at processing fast sounds, and the right processing slow ones.
	Upside down and inside out Researchers have captured the first 3D video of a living algal embryo turning itself inside out, from a sphere to a mushroom shape and back again. The results could help unravel the mechanical processes at work during a similar process in animals, which has been called the "most important time in your life."
	Common back problems may be caused by evolution of human locomotion A common spinal disease could be the result of some people's vertebrae, the bones that make up the spine, sharing similarities in shape to a non-human primate. The research, published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, suggests that the relatively quick evolution of the ability to walk on two legs may have had a substantial impact on modern human health.
Persistent swollen neck glands could indicate cancer Referring patients with unexplained swollen neck glands for specialist investigations could help to avoid some of the thousands of deaths each year from lymphoma, a type of cancer.
New Zealand stoats provide an ark for genetic diversity British stoats suffered a dramatic loss in genetic diversity in the 20th Century but extinct British genes were preserved in the stoat population of New Zealand, a new study has found.
Bullying leads to depression and suicidal thoughts in teens High school students subjected to bullying and other forms of harassment are more likely to report being seriously depressed, consider suicide and carry weapons to school, according to findings from a trio of studies reported at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in San Diego.
Health insurance coverage among cancer patients varies greatly by demographics and cancer type A new analysis has found that, among patients with cancer, rates of health insurance coverage vary by patient demographics and by cancer type. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings suggest that the expansion of coverage through the Affordable Care Act may disproportionally benefit certain patient populations.
Outsmarting smartphones: Technology reduces distracted driving among teens Technology can bolster efforts by parents, lawmakers and insurance companies to reduce distracted driving among novice teen drivers, according to a study to be presented Monday, April 27 at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in San Diego.
	Ambiguous situations make it easier to justify ethical transgressions To maintain the idea that we are moral people, we tend to lie or cheat only to the extent that we can justify our transgressions. New research suggests that situational ambiguity is one such avenue for justification that helps us preserve our sparkling self-image. Findings from two related experiments show that people are apt to cheat on a task in favor of their self-interest but only when the situation is ambiguous enough to provide moral cover.
Could smell hold the key to ending pesticide use? UK scientists may have uncovered a natural way of avoiding the use of pesticides and help save plants from attack by recreating a natural insect repellent.
Capgemini to buy IGATE in $4 billion US expansion push French IT services and consulting company Capgemini said Monday it was buying New Jersey-based IGATE for $4 billion (3.7 billion euros), boosting US-generated business to nearly a third of its total activity.
Hawaii telescope website taken down in apparent cyberattack An apparent cyberattack Sunday temporarily disrupted the main website of Thirty Meter Telescope, the organization trying to construct one of the world's largest telescopes near the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island.
	Mathematical model seeks functional cure for HIV (Medical Xpress)—Individuals with the natural ability to control HIV infection in the absence of treatment are referred to as elite controllers (ECs). Such individuals maintain undetectable viral loads less than 50 copies per mL without therapy. Elite controllers have clinical characteristics that differ from noncontrollers, including protective HLA alleles and a tendency to maintain a much stronger cytotoxic lymphocyte (CTL) response.
	Secret life of penguins revealed To mark World Penguin Day (25 April 2015) citizen science project Penguin Watch will release 500,000 new images of penguins and reveal secrets from a year of spying on penguins.
	Avoid 'crape murder' with limited pruning Efforts to prevent people from committing "crape murder" are reducing the number of unsightly, knobby-knuckled branch ends but may leave people wondering how to correctly shape crape myrtles.

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