Science X Newsletter Monday, Jul 20

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for July 20, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Scientists propose 3D graphene-like 'hyper-honeycomb' structures
- Best of Last Week – Peaks on Pluto, fastest ever flexible diode and sleep deprivation's impact on ability to read faces
- Researchers investigate altered neural computation in autism
- How the legs of water striders repel water
- Plastic, sustainable and quick: Road idea seeks takeoff
- IBM Watson here to help you construct words you won't regret
- Record heat for globe in June: US scientists
- Rare form: Novel structures built from DNA emerge
- Patients' own genetically altered immune cells show promise in fighting blood cancer
- University of Michigan opens test "city" for autonomous cars
- Spintronics just got faster
- Team links gene expression, immune system with cancer survival rates
- Failed strut caused SpaceX rocket blast: CEO Elon Musk
- IBD genetically similar in Europeans and non-Europeans
- Cool summer of 2013 boosted Arctic sea ice

Astronomy & Space news

	Dead galaxies in Coma Cluster may be packed with dark matter Galaxies in a cluster roughly 300 million light years from Earth could contain as much as 100 times more dark matter than visible matter, according to an Australian study.
	Image: Hubble uncovering the secrets of the Quintuplet Cluster Although this cluster of stars gained its name due to its five brightest stars, it is home to hundreds more. The huge number of massive young stars in the cluster is clearly captured in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image.
	Scientists say comet lander may have shifted position Scientists say the Philae spacecraft that landed on a comet last year may have shifted its position, making it harder to communicate with the probe.
	The planetary sweet spot: Abundance of elements in the Earth dictate whether plate tectonics can happen Planet Earth is situated in what astronomers call the Goldilocks Zone—a sweet spot in a solar system where a planet's surface temperature is neither too hot nor too cold. An ideal distance from a home star—in Earth's case, the sun - this habitable zone, as it is also known, creates optimal conditions that prevent water from freezing and generating a global icehouse or evaporating into space and creating a runaway greenhouse.
	Failed strut caused SpaceX rocket blast: CEO Elon Musk The SpaceX Falcon 9 explosion was caused by a failed strut that allowed a helium bottle to burst free inside the rocket's liquid oxygen tank, CEO Elon Musk said Monday.
	Image: Frozen carbon monoxide in Pluto's 'heart' Peering closely at the "heart of Pluto," in the western half of what mission scientists have informally named Tombaugh Regio  (Tombaugh Region), New Horizons' Ralph instrument revealed evidence of carbon monoxide ice.
	A step closer to reusable rockets Danylo Malyuta and four other mechanical engineering students have developed an unusual miniature rocket equipped with an onboard system for modifying its attitude mid-flight. This represents a small step towards rockets that can land vertically.
	A handshake in space changed US-Russia relations: how long will it last? Exactly 40 years ago, a historic handshake took place between Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Leonov and US astronaut Tom Stafford during a joint USSR-American docking mission, kicking off a successful collaboration between the two countries in space. That cooperation has lasted, even when relationships on the ground deteriorated. But now that there are more international entrants in the field of space exploration, how firm will the US-Russia bond hold, especially as political tensions rise?
	Scientist planning to send microscopic worms into space for muscle development study A University of Exeter scientist is set to send thousands of microscopic worms on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in an experiment aimed at increasing our understanding of what triggers the body to build and lose muscle.
	Image: Prepping the last Vela satellite The Vela series of satellites, which spanned 1963-1984, carried Los Alamos-designed-and-built sensors for detecting x-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, and the natural background of radiation in space.
	Image: The Argo's hidden cargo The constellation of the great ship Argo Navis used to bob along the watery southern horizon of the Mediterranean during times of antiquity.
Crowdfunding project aims to save Neil Armstrong's spacesuit The National Air and Space Museum is launching a crowdfunding campaign to conserve the spacesuit Neil Armstrong wore on the moon.
	Research investigates whether solar events could trigger birth defects on Earth Studies find airplane crews at high altitude are exposed to potentially harmful levels of radiation from cosmic rays.
	NASA satellite camera provides 'EPIC' view of Earth A NASA camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite has returned its first view of the entire sunlit side of Earth from one million miles away.
Technique may reveal the age of moon rocks during spaceflight Researchers are developing instruments and methods for measuring the ages of rocks encountered during space missions to the Moon or other planets. Many of the techniques used to date rocks on Earth are not practical in spaceflight, but a technique called laser ablation resonance ionization mass spectrometry can avoid the need for sophisticated sample preparation.
	Preparing to build ESA's Jupiter mission Airbus Defence & Space in France has been selected as the prime industrial contractor for ESA's Juice mission to Jupiter and its icy moons.

Technology news

	IBM Watson here to help you construct words you won't regret The office door closes; the boss sits down to his PC and takes a deep breath. Time for employee memos. We're closing the Miami office. Pulling the plug on London's project. Forget the show in Vegas.
	Plastic, sustainable and quick: Road idea seeks takeoff The word "plastic" has a general—and rather unpopular—connotation of everything that is not green and not sustainable. (Plastics supporters point out that only 4 percent of the world's oil production is used for plastics and much less energy is used to produce it, compared to other materials. Plastics are durable yet lightweight and thus save weight in cars, aircraft, packaging and pipework.)
	'Ludicrous Mode'? Tesla adds power to already-fast Model S Tesla Motors says it's adding a new "Ludicrous Mode" to high-performance versions of its Model S electric car.
	Solar tech team from YOLK crowdfunds phone charger A sunny offer on Kickstarter: Solar Paper is an item that charges an iPhone fairly fast, and it's from a company called YOLK. Among its impressive qualities are two key features: It's very light and it's very thin.
	Moov Now wearable helps you move to higher levels What if you are serious about a level-building sport? What if your resolve goes far beyond mind-clearing walks to burn off one too many snacks? What if you could improve the chosen sport with a personal trainer by your side, instructions and comments coming at you via wrist or ankle?
	Ford developing advanced illumination system and Spot Lighting Ford is working on advanced lighting technologies to make night driving safer. These are advancements that make use of a regular camera and an infrared camera to detect cyclists, animals such as dogs and deer, and pedestrians on or near the roadway, and to determine whether the car is getting close to an intersection or a roundabout.
Moore's Law is 50 years old but will it continue? It's been 50 years since Gordon Moore, one of the founders of the microprocessor company Intel, gave us Moore's Law. This says that the complexity of computer chips ought to double roughly every two years.
	Opinion: When Chrome, YouTube and Firefox drop it like it's hot, Flash is a dead plugin walking After more than 20 years making the web a slightly more interesting and interactive place, albeit one that pandered to designers' worst excesses and (in pre-broadband days) led to interminable download waiting times, the word on the net is that Adobe Flash Must Die.
	3D-printed 'smart cap' uses electronics to sense spoiled food It might not be long before consumers can just hit "print" to create an electronic circuit or wireless sensor in the comfort of their homes.
	University of Michigan opens test "city" for autonomous cars Automakers and researchers say a new simulated city at the University of Michigan could help speed the development of driverless and connected cars.
Major cyberattack targets UCLA hospital system A months-long cyberattack on the University of California, Los Angeles hospital system put at risk the personal information for up to 4.5 million people, officials said Friday.
Uber vs. de Blasio in fight over access to NYC streets A dispute is simmering between the ride-booking service Uber and Mayor Bill de Blaiso's City Hall, an increasingly pitched disagreement playing out on smartphones, over the airwaves and in the press over a fundamental question: Who controls access to the streets of the nation's largest city?
Yahoo gives Alibaba spinoff a name: Aabaco Yahoo is moving forward with the spinoff of its sizable stake in China's Alibaba Group, and announced a name for it: Aabaco.
	Google shareholders revel in record 1-day windfall of $65.1B Google's stock roared out of a long slumber Friday to produce the biggest shareholder windfall in U.S. history as investors rewarded the Internet company for promising to curb its spending on risky projects.
Galapagos airport evolves to renewable energy only The Galapagos islands are known, of course, for those lumbering, giant tortoises and as the inspiration for Darwin's theory of evolution.
	Polish video game 'The Witcher' enchants world Poland's new ambassador is a scar-faced hit man armed with two swords and potions against monsters and dragons. His name is Geralt, hero of a Polish role-playing video game bewitching the world.
	Reddit takes back reins from users at a risk Reddit became one of the most visited websites in the world on the backs of users devoted to the online bulletin board where people could post just about anything.
	High-tech aerospace exhibit starts world tour at Smithsonian With space shuttles now housed in history museums, innovators in aerospace are thinking of newer, better ways humans could reach space. One idea: What about a space elevator?
	Apple Watch could need time: analysts Is Apple Watch a dud? Nearly three months after the launch of Apple's fashionably smart wrist wear, some analysts say it's not a mainstream mega-hit. But others see promise in its popularity with Internet-savvy young people.
Research reveals how advertisers play the online bidding game When an ad pops up in your Web browser, there's a lot going on behind the scenes. Advertisers are competing for the space in front of you in what amounts to an auction. In milliseconds, their computers have to decide how much they are willing to pay for a few seconds of your attention, while the website's computers choose which advertisers' bids to accept.
	Cool paint job could blow away air con costs A cool discovery from QUT researchers has found that a special roof coating could bring Queenslanders relief from sweltering summers as well as lower electricity bills.
	Ashley Madison adultery website hacked for user data The adultery website Ashley Madison said Monday that customers' data had been stolen by hackers and said the breach had been fixed, though media reports said users' information had been briefly posted online.
Is Facebook use always associated with poorer body image and risky dieting? College women who are more emotionally invested in Facebook and have lots of Facebook friends are less concerned with body size and shape and less likely to engage in risky dieting behaviors. But that's only if they aren't using Facebook to compare their bodies to their friends' bodies, according to the authors of a surprising new study at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
	Russian social network VK launches photo sharing app Russia's most popular social network VK has launched a photo-sharing mobile application to rival Facebook's popular Instagram service.
	Apple has cash cow in iPhone even as phone industry slows Smartphone sales may be slowing for some tech companies, but not for Apple.
	Gawker editors quit after controversial article pulled The top two editors of the New York-based gossip site Gawker resigned Monday, protesting the removal of an article about a media executive's private life.
Photo sites remain offline in wake of possible hack The online photo websites of Rite Aid, CVS, Costco and Wal-Mart Canada remain offline in the wake of a possible data breach at the company that hosts all four sites.
	Lockheed Martin to buy Sikorsky Aircraft for $9 billion Lockheed Martin will spend $9 billion to acquire Black Hawk helicopter maker Sikorsky Aircraft.
	Malaysia blocks UK-based whistle-blower website Malaysian authorities said they had blocked a UK-based website that had published corruption allegations against Prime Minister Najib Razak, but the portal vowed Monday to press on with its exposes.
	IS bans private internet access in Syria bastion: activists The Islamic State group is banning private internet access in its Syrian bastion Raqa, forcing residents and even its own fighters to use internet cafes where they can be monitored, activists say.
	Beijing police detain 4 for sex video that spread online Four people have been detained in connection with a sex video purportedly taken inside a Uniqlo fitting room that spread rapidly online, Beijing police said.
PayPal jumps in first trades after spinoff (Update) Shares in PayPal jumped Monday in the first day after being spun off by eBay, with the online payments group seeing a market value higher than its former parent.
	NIST calculates high cost of hydrogen pipelines, shows how to reduce it The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has put firm numbers on the high costs of installing pipelines to transport hydrogen fuel—and also found a way to reduce those costs.
Grooveshark co-founder discovered dead at Gainesville home A co-founder of the defunct music streaming service Grooveshark has been found dead at his Florida home.

Medicine & Health news

	Researchers investigate altered neural computation in autism (Medical Xpress)—In recent decades, autism diagnoses have dramatically increased in prevalence, and people with autism in the United States are now believed to number one in 68. Correspondingly, an increasing number of research efforts seek genetic, epigenetic, neurological and other foundational causes of autism.
	Self-proclaimed experts more vulnerable to the illusion of knowledge New research reveals that the more people think they know about a topic in general, the more likely they are to allege knowledge of completely made-up information and false facts, a phenomenon known as "overclaiming." The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
	Exciting results from cancer immunoagent study (Medical Xpress)—Cancer therapies have improved incrementally over the years, but cancer treatment largely remains analogous to forest fire suppression, in which the spread of fire is contained with deliberate controlled burns in surrounding greenery. The goal of oncology research is the development of therapies and pharmaceuticals that treat cancerous cells while leaving normal, healthy cells intact.
	Earliest evidence of dental cavity manipulation found A large team of researchers with members from institutions in Italy, Germany and Australia has found what they claim is the earliest example of dental cavity manipulation. In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, the team describes their work on studying the tooth from a 14,000 year old human skeleton uncovered back 1988, and the techniques they used to show that the marks they found were caused by human intervention.
	One night of sleep loss can alter clock genes in your tissues Swedish researchers at Uppsala University and the Karolinska Institute have found that genes that control the biological clocks in cells throughout the body are altered after losing a single night of sleep, in a study that is to be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
	'Pill on a string' could help spot early signs of cancer of the gullet A 'pill on a string' developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge could help doctors detect oesophageal cancer - cancer of the gullet - at an early stage, helping them overcome the problem of wide variation between biopsies, suggests research published today in the journal Nature Genetics.
Patients' own genetically altered immune cells show promise in fighting blood cancer July 20, 2015. In recent years, immunotherapy has emerged as a promising treatment for certain cancers. Now this strategy, which uses patients' own immune cells, genetically engineered to target tumors, has shown significant success against multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells that is largely incurable. The results appeared in a study published online today in Nature Medicine.
Team links gene expression, immune system with cancer survival rates Physicians have long sought a way to accurately predict cancer patients' survival outcomes by looking at biological details of the specific cancers they have. But despite concerted efforts, no such clinical crystal ball exists for the majority of cancers.
IBD genetically similar in Europeans and non-Europeans The first genetic study of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to include individuals from diverse populations has shown that the regions of the genome underlying the disease are consistent around the world. This study, conducted under the auspices of the International IBD Genetics Consortium, included nearly 10,000 DNA samples from people of East Asian, Indian or Iranian descent and an existing set of 86,640 samples drawn from across Europe, North America and Oceania.
	New stem cell therapy counters the effects of osteoporosis in mice Osteoporosis is a condition marked by weak and brittle bones often leading to devastating bone fractures and other injuries. Millions of people worldwide are diagnosed with osteoporosis.
	How music alters the teenage brain Music training, begun as late as high school, may help improve the teenage brain's responses to sound and sharpen hearing and language skills, suggests a new Northwestern University study.
	Uncovering the secrets of immune system invaders The human immune system is a powerful and wonderful creation. If you cut your skin, your body mobilizes a series of different proteins and cells to heal the cut. If you are infected by a virus or bacteria, your immune system responds with a series of cells that attack the invader and neutralize it.
	Lack of knowledge on animal disease leaves humans at risk Researchers from the University of Sydney have painted the most detailed picture to date of major infectious diseases shared between wildlife and livestock, and found a huge gap in knowledge about diseases which could spread to humans.
Coaches can be a strong influence in preventing football injuries, say researchers Teaching coaches about injury prevention and contact restrictions pays off, say researchers who tracked injury rates among youth football players during the 2014 season.
Antibiotic exposure could increase the risk of juvenile arthritis Taking antibiotics may increase the risk that a child will develop juvenile arthritis, according to a study from Rutgers University, University of Pennsylvania and Nemours A.I. duPont Hospital for Children published today in Pediatrics.
	Study finds that testosterone therapy is not linked with blood clot disorders in veins A new study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston of more than 30,000 commercially insured men is the first large comparative analysis to show that there is no link between testosterone therapy and blood clots in veins. The study found that middle-aged and older men who receive testosterone therapy are not at increased risk of this illness. The findings are detailed in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
	Families hit by rare early Alzheimer's push for research Alzheimer's has ravaged generations of Dean DeMoe's family—his grandmother, father, siblings—all in their 40s and 50s.
Experts urge shift in HIV treatment at global meet in Canada AIDS researchers released a call to action Sunday for a worldwide shift in HIV treatment, to providing medication immediately after diagnosis instead of first watching for signs of illness to appear.
Video: Transport therapists create calm in the skies (w/ Video) If your loved one is facing an emergent health crisis, you want the right team by their side. For nearly 30 years, UNC Carolina Air Care has swooped in to provide life-saving support for thousands of adult and pediatric patients.
	Public Health England recommends halving sugar consumption targets Sugar has been heavily sprinkled over the headlines this week. It's an ever-present ingredient in kitchen cupboards, drinks and lunchboxes up and down the country. And the UK has a particularly sweet tooth, with data suggesting we consume so-called 'free' sugars – those artificially added to food – at such high rates it can adversely impact on our health.
	Immediate diagnosis of concussions better protects youth athletes Athletes under the age of 18 are the most vulnerable when it comes to sustaining concussions. Accurately diagnosing concussions on the field of play is an important way to protect them, according to research published this month in the Journal of Child Neurology.
	Can something as simple as a colored bulb promote sleep in the hospital? There's a lot in the hospital that gets in the way of a good night's sleep: bedding, noise, personal cleanliness, distressing neighbors and temperature extremes among them. But it's well-documented, too, that sleep is critical to healing, promoting renewal and the growth of red bloodcells, and that light – too much of it, or exposure to it at rest and night time – also has a role to play.
	Simple but elusive – why are we still talking about HIV drug delivery? My main memory of the last IAS conference I attended, held in Vienna in 2010, was a resounding standing ovation for a presentation (including this video) by one of my colleagues working in Mozambique. In a situation where antiretroviral therapy (ART) had not been extensively decentralised, and where drug supply limitations meant people had to attend a clinic every month to pick up their drugs, a simple idea had transformed the way that patients received their HIV care. In short, people living near each other had got together and agreed to take it in turns to pick up each other's drugs. This resulted in less time spent at the clinic and lower transport costs for patients and an immediate reduction in workload for clinic staff.
	The case for unlimited tablet time for toddlers This sounds extreme, but first let me ask: how many parents do you think actually keep track of their kids' screen time? If the TV is on but one of the children wanders out of the room, does that count? What if they're following along to a yoga video? What if the kid borrows Mom's phone at dinner to ask Google what snails eat?
	Power can increase generosity to future generations, according to research Conventional wisdom suggests power can lead to corruption, but new research from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business suggests power can bring with it some previously unseen benevolence.
Irish teenagers unable to identify depression Many Irish teenagers are unable to identify signs of depression or suicidal thoughts, according to new research on mental health literacy among adolescents conducted by psychologists at Trinity College Dublin.
	Immune system 'on switch' breakthrough could lead to new targeted drugs A crucial 'on switch' that boosts the body's defences against infections has been successfully identified in new scientific research.
Study finds autism, ADHD run high in children of chemically intolerant mothers A new study from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio found that mothers with chemical intolerances are two to three times more likely than other women to have a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
	Novel treatments emerging for human mitochondrial diseases Using existing drugs, such as lithium, to restore basic biological processes in human cells and animal models, researchers may have broken a long-standing logjam in devising effective treatments for human mitochondrial diseases.
Global conference pushes plain cigarette packaging Ministers from 10 countries gathered in Paris Monday to launch a common drive to introduce plain cigarette packaging with the aim of stubbing out high smoking rates among young people.
	U.S. E. coli O157 outbreaks mainly due to food (HealthDay)—Outbreaks of Shiga toxin-producing bacterium Escherichia coli O157 infection are mainly caused by food, especially beef and leafy vegetables, according to a study published in the August issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Emerging Infectious Diseases.
	Channel length key in percutaneous thrombin injection (HealthDay)—About 15 percent of patients with post-catheterization femoral pseudoaneurysm who undergo sonographic-guided percutaneous thrombin injection have complications, mainly arterial microembolization, according to a study published online July 14 in the Journal of Clinical Ultrasound.
	CVD risk similar for metformin + insulin or sulfonylureas (HealthDay)—For patients with type 2 diabetes, the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke is similar for treatment with insulin or sulfonylureas in combination with metformin, according to a study published online July 14 in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.
	Picosecond-domain laser safe for removing decorative tattoos (HealthDay)—Picosecond-domain Nd:YAG laser incorporating a potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) frequency-doubling crystal is safe and effective for removing decorative tattoos, according to a study published online July 14 in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.
	Universal health literacy precautions recommended (HealthDay)—Universal health literacy precautions should be used to provide understandable information for all patients, according to an article published in the July 15 issue of American Family Physician.
	Many low-risk prostate cancer cases upgraded at prostatectomy (HealthDay)—Many clinically low-risk prostate cancer patients are upgraded at prostatectomy, according to a study published in the August issue of The Journal of Urology.
	Antibiotic stewardship program improves antibiotic use in china (HealthDay)—An antibiotic stewardship program with pharmacist participation can promote improved antibiotic use and decrease costs in clean urological procedures, according to a study published in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics.
	Could a saliva test help spot alzheimer's? (HealthDay)—It's still very early, but scientists say a test based on a patient's saliva might someday help detect Alzheimer's disease.
	Many don't tell docs about using alternative therapies for pain (HealthDay)—Many Americans with chronic pain who use alternative therapies—such as acupuncture—don't discuss these treatments with their doctors, a new study finds.
Too much TV, too little exercise when young may hasten mental decline later (HealthDay)—Take heed, couch potatoes: Excessive TV time in young adulthood might raise your odds for mental decline decades later, a new study suggests.
	Antibiotics myths still common among parents (HealthDay)—Many American parents still have misconceptions about when their children should receive antibiotics and what the medications do, a new study finds.
	Stopping malaria in its tracks A new drug acts as a roadblock for malaria, curing mice of established infection, according to a study in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Treatment was not associated with obvious side effects, suggesting that the drug may also be safe and effective in humans.
Differences in brain structure development may explain test score gap for poor children Low-income children had atypical structural brain development and lower standardized test scores, with as much as an estimated 20 percent in the achievement gap explained by development lags in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics.
Child's home address predicts hospitalization risk for common respiratory diseases Children who require hospitalization for several common respiratory illnesses tend to live in inner-city neighborhoods with less than optimal socioeconomic conditions, according to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center researchers who studied census tract data and hospitalization records.
Keep fears at bay by learning something new Exposure therapy is a commonly used and effective treatment for anxiety disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias.
Researchers beat untreatable eczema with arthritis drug Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have successfully treated patients with moderate to severe eczema using a rheumatoid arthritis drug recently shown to reverse two other disfiguring skin conditions, vitiligo and alopecia areata. The study is evidence of a potential new era in eczema treatment, they report.
How neurons remember: A Calcium-dependent mechanism of neuronal information storage Research findings obtained over the past decades increasingly indicate that stored memories are coded as permanent changes of neuronal communciation and the strength of neuronalinterconnections. The learning process evokes a specific pattern of electrical activity in these cells, which influences the response behavior to incoming signals, the expression of genes and the cellular morphology beyond the learning process itself.
New study suggests evidence for serotonergic dissociation between anxiety and fear Researchers from the Institute and Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, (Brazil); the Imperial College of London, (UK); the University of Western Australia (Australia) and the University of Toronto (Canada) have just published a study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggesting that what had been clustered as anxiety disorders is not homogenous in terms of functioning of the serotonergic system.
New study sheds new light on mind-brain relationship A new Dartmouth study sheds light on how the mind and brain work together to visualize the world.
Discovered a cause of mental retardation and autism The term intellectual disability covers a large number of clinical entities, some with known cause and others of uncertain origin. For example Down syndrome is due to an extra copy of chromosome 21 and Rett syndrome is in part caused by a mutation in the control switch gene called MeCP2.
Adolescent friendship study confirms 'birds of a feather flock together—stay together' No one likes to lose a friend, especially adolescents. But why do friendships end? Researchers in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University sought to answer this question with a study examining whether adolescent friendships end because of undesirable characteristics of friends, because of differences between friends, or both. Findings from this long-term longitudinal study of 410 adolescents involved in 573 friendships are published in the current issue of Psychological Science.
Study shows promise of precision medicine for most common type of lymphoma A clinical trial has shown that patients with a specific molecular subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are more likely to respond to the drug ibrutinib (Imbruvica) than patients with another molecular subtype of the disease. The study appeared online July 20, 2015, in Nature Medicine.
	Computer interface helps disabled patients set tone of musical performance Pioneering technology has been used to unite a string quartet and four people living with severe disability for a world first in musical performance.
Life-saving breast cancer drugs going untaken in Appalachia Nearly a third of breast cancer survivors in Appalachia are not taking the critical, potentially life-saving follow-up treatment - despite having insurance that would pay for it, a troubling new study has found.
Study finds state regulations linked to late cancer diagnoses States' regulations of health insurance and practitioners significantly influence when patients receive colorectal or breast cancer diagnoses, especially among people younger than the Medicare-eligible age of 65, according to a new study by researchers at Georgia State University's School of Public Health and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
	Teens' overall substance use declining, but marijuana use rising Marijuana use in teenagers is on the rise, while cigarette and alcohol use are stable or declining, according to health statistics researchers. In particular, black teens are using more marijuana than in recent decades.
For kids with injured ankles, less treatment may be more Emergency physicians can safely reduce x-rays in children with hurt ankles by as much as 23 percent and save emergency patients both money and time. The results of a cost analysis of the Low Risk Ankle Rule (LRAR) were published online Tuesday in Annals of Emergency Medicine "Cost Consequence Analysis of Implementing the Low Risk Ankle Rule in Emergency Departments".
	Future obesity is predicted by today's trending food stories What you're reading now secretly tells you whether your country will be skinnier or fatter in three years. After analyzing 50 years of all the food words mentioned in major newspapers like the New York Times and London Times, a new Cornell study shows that the food words trending today in 2015 will predict a country's obesity level in three years - in 2018.
	3-D printing process could help treat incurable diseases A team of Binghamton University researchers are creating a 3-D printing process to build implantable tissues and organs to treat otherwise incurable diseases.
Quick, affordable and accurate test to diagnose debilitating Lyme disease Focus On Lyme, an initiative sponsored by the Leadership Children's Foundation of Gilbert, Ariz., has donated $75,000 to the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) to support research into the development of a quick, affordable and accurate method of diagnosing Lyme disease.
Mouse model tests health risks of circadian disturbances People who work outside of the normal 9-5 schedule or experience frequent jet lag have been found to be at an increased risk for everything from weight gain to cancer, but there are too many variables involved to conduct multi-decade, controlled studies in humans to confirm whether sleep pattern disruption is a correlation or the cause.
Study uncovers key differences among ALS patients Researchers on Mayo Clinic's Florida campus have identified key differences between patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and those with the most common genetic form of ALS, a mutation in the C9orf72 gene.
	The Angelina Jolie Effect on breast cancer screening Angelina Jolie received widespread media attention in 2013 when she told the public that she'd tested positive for BRCA1, a gene associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancers, and subsequently had a double mastectomy. Now research shows that this publicity did influence some women's intentions to seek out similar genetic testing.
	Inflammatory link discovered between arthritis and heart valve disease Australian researchers have used models to identify a potential link between excess production of inflammatory proteins that cause rheumatoid arthritis and the development of heart valve disease.
Rresearchers find prawn solution to spread of deadly disease A deadly disease may have met its match: a bug-eyed, pint-sized crustacean.
Gut worms protect babies' brains from inflammation A Duke University study in rats finds that gut worms can protect babies' brains from long-term learning and memory problems caused by newborn infections.
	Research suggests football helmet tests may not account for concussion-prone actions When modern football helmets were introduced, they all but eliminated traumatic skull fractures caused by blunt force impacts. Mounting evidence, however, suggests that concussions are caused by a different type of head motion, namely brain and skull rotation.
Studies: Better sleep may be important for Alzheimer's risk To sleep, perchance to... ward off Alzheimer's? New research suggests poor sleep may increase people's risk of Alzheimer's disease, by spurring a brain-clogging gunk that in turn further interrupts shut-eye.
Teen in remission from HIV 12 years after stopping meds A French teenager born with HIV has been in remission for 12 years after stopping her medication, a world first that renews hope for the prospect of early treatment, researchers said Monday.
	Infants use expectations to shape their brains Infants can use their expectations about the world to rapidly shape their developing brains, researchers have found.
Novel monoclonal antibodies show promise for Alzheimer's disease treatment Scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center's Center for Cognitive Neurology have evidence that monoclonal antibodies they developed may provide the blueprint for effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease.
African-Americans face twice the rate of sudden cardiac arrest, compared to Caucasians Compared to Caucasians, African-Americans face twice the rate of sudden cardiac arrest, according to a new study from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.
	Stem cell therapy shows promise in small clinical trial for rare lung disease Canadian researchers have published promising results of the first clinical trial in the world of a genetically-enhanced stem cell therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This rare and deadly disease mainly affects young women, and is characterized by very high pressure in the arteries supplying blood to the lungs. In some cases, PAH is caused by a defective gene, but in many cases the cause is unknown. Currently available drugs can modestly improve symptoms and exercise capacity (at best), but cannot repair the blood vessel damage to the lungs or cure the disease.
Genomic fingerprint may predict aggressive prostate cancer in African-Americans African American men are more likely to develop prostate cancer than European American men, and are also more than twice as likely to die from it. Although there are many reasons that contribute to this health disparity, new research shows that African American men may have a distinctly different type of prostate cancer than European American men, according to new genomic fingerprinting results.
Study finds one-third of colorectal cancers diagnosed before 35 are hereditary Hereditary colorectal cancers, caused by inherited gene mutations, are relatively rare for most patients. However, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a particularly high prevalence of hereditary cancers among those diagnosed with the disease before the age of 35. They suggest that these patients should undergo genetic counseling to determine if their families may be at an elevated risk.
New Pap smear schedule led to fewer chlamydia tests, new study suggests It's a tale of two tests: one for early signs of cervical cancer, the other for a sexually transmitted disease. But a new study suggests that a change in the recommended schedule for one may have dramatically lowered the chances that young women would get the other.
Scientists see iron-containing inflammatory cells in Alzheimer's brains Examining post-mortem tissue from the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease, Stanford University School of Medicine investigators identified what appear to be iron-containing microglia—specialized scavenger cells that sometimes become inflammatory—in a particular part of the hippocampus, a key brain structure whose integrity is critical to memory formation.
Health-care providers a major contributor to problem of antibiotic overuse 10 percent of health care providers write an antibiotic prescription for nearly every patient (95 percent or more) who walks in with a cold, bronchitis or other acute respiratory infection (ARI), according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-supported study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine and led by the Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System and the University of Utah. The figure is at one end of a spectrum showing the remarkable variation in how providers use antibiotics. At the low end, 10 percent of providers prescribe antibiotics during 40 percent or fewer patient visits.
Cognitive decline may be uncommon after heart procedures A systematic evidence review published in Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that cognitive decline following regularly performed invasive heart procedures may be uncommon in older adults. However, researchers stress that evidence was limited and individual study quality was low.
What is a good looking penis? In a new study, women considered the position and shape of the urethral opening to be the least important aspects of a penis' appearance.
	Mom's weight during first pregnancy may impact second child A woman's weight during her first pregnancy can affect how her second baby fares, Saint Louis University research finds.
How effective is total knee replacement in patients with rheumatoid arthritis? Studies that have assessed the effects of total knee replacement on quality of life are scarce and have been almost exclusively limited to patients with osteoarthritis, even though rheumatoid arthritis is the most common inflammatory arthritis for which the surgery is indicated.
Alcohol consumption linked to lower disability in patients with chronic pain In a study of 2239 individuals with chronic widespread pain, the key feature of fibromyalgia, those who regularly consumed alcohol had lower levels of disability than those who never or rarely drank.
Normality returns to hospital at centre of Korea MERS crisis The hospital at the epicentre of South Korea's deadly MERS outbreak started to resume normal operations Monday, as officials moved closer to declaring a formal end to a crisis that triggered widespread panic and choked the local economy.
	The ingenuity of refugees is celebrated The Refugee Studies Centre has based the report on research conducted in Jordan, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, and the United States into how refugees are engaged in creative problem-solving and entrepreneurship.
	Too little opportunity in the destination country for migrant health care workers A recent intercontinental study, conducted by the Centre for Public Health, Department of General Medicine of MedUni Vienna using the example of women from sub-Saharan Africa has shown that, on the one hand, there is a shortage of qualified healthcare professionals but, on the other, huge obstacles are put in the way of qualified medical staff with a migrant background when they want to work abroad.
UN needs $20 million to battle bird flu in West Africa The UN appealed on Monday for $20 million to stem outbreaks of bird flu in West Africa, a region still weakened by the Ebola crisis.
Romanian music fest gives free tickets in exchange for blood Romania is tapping into the Dracula legend, offering concert-goers free tickets in exchange for their blood.
	Family spokesman: Depression may have led to Tenn. killings A family representative says the Kuwait-born man who shot and killed five service members in Tennessee was first treated by a child psychiatrist for depression when he was 12 or 13 years old.
	CMS may adopt doctors' calls for end-of-life counseling (HealthDay)—A proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would implement physicians' calls to pay for end-of-life counseling, according to a report published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
	Carotid fluoro-2-doxyglucose uptake predicts CV events (HealthDay)—For asymptomatic adults, carotid fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) uptake is a predictor of cardio-cerebrovascular events, according to a study published online July 15 in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.
	Families face tough decisions as cost of elder care soars Doris Ranzman had followed the expert advice, planning ahead in case she wound up unable to care for herself one day. But when a nursing-home bill tops $14,000 a month, the best-laid plans get tossed aside.
HPTN 067 demonstrates high-risk populations adhere well to daily PrEP regimen Results from HPTN 067, a Phase II, randomized, open-label study, demonstrate most study participants had higher coverage of sex events and better adherence when they were assigned to the daily dosing arm, investigators from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) reported today at the 8th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Vancouver, Canada. HPTN 067, also known as the ADAPT Study, was designed to evaluate the feasibility of non-daily pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) regimens. The study evaluated acceptability and use of three different oral PrEP regimens: daily, twice weekly with a dose after sex, and one dose before and another after sex. The study was not designed to assess the efficacy of the different regimens in preventing HIV, and participants were informed that only the daily regimen has been proven effective to prevent HIV infection.
HPTN 052 demonstrates sustained benefit of early antiretroviral therapy Antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV infection provides lasting protection against the sexual transmission of the virus from infected men and women to their HIV-uninfected sexual partners, investigators from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) reported today at the 8th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Vancouver, Canada.
	National multi-center study of pre-school and school-aged children with autism Yale School of Medicine researchers will lead a national multi-center study of preschool and school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to identify non-invasive biological markers (biomarkers) that could help physicians diagnose, track, and assess treatments in autism patients.
USDA secretary not ready to declare bird flu outbreak over U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday that he's not ready to declare the Midwest bird flu outbreak over even though no new cases of the H5N2 virus have been detected over for over a month.
GOP presidential hopeful Walker signs abortion ban bill Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, one week after launching his bid for the 2016 presidential nomination, signed a bill Monday that outlaws non-emergency abortions at or beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Tekmira suspends work on Ebola drug, will change name One of the companies that had been studying a potential treatment for the Ebola virus said Monday it will suspend its research on Ebola drugs and change its name.

Biology news

	Citizen science for salamanders in Southwest New Hampshire Every spring, as the earth thaws and warm rains drench New England, thousands of amphibians make their way to vernal pools to breed. It's a magical time. For the salamanders and frogs undertaking their annual migration, it's also a dangerous one. One study in western and central Massachusetts found that roadkill rates on even relatively quiet roads could lead to extirpation of local spotted salamander populations in as few as 25 years. Another study reported that 50-100% of salamanders attempting to cross a paved rural road in upstate New York didn't survive the trek.
	Baboons follow the majority Baboons live together in hierarchical groups. However, important decisions are not dictated by the highest-ranking group members but are instead made democratically. This was discovered by a team of scientists including Iain Couzin from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell. The researchers monitored the movements of a baboon community using GPS devices with to-the-second precision. This enabled them to observe how the animals make decisions and the direction in which the group moves. The process is triggered by individuals who propose a direction. If opinions are divided, the undecided baboons follow the majority. This process is entirely democratic and takes place irrespective of which direction the dominant animals have chosen.
Rejuvenating the comparative approach in modern neuroscience 65 years ago, the famed behavioral endocrinologist Frank Beach wrote an article in The American Psychologist entitled 'The Snark was a Boojum'. The title refers to Lewis Carroll's poem 'The Hunting of the Snark', in which several characters embark on a voyage to hunt species of the genus Snark. There are many different types of Snarks, some that have feathers and bite, and others that have whiskers and scratch. But, as we learn in Carroll's poem, some Snarks are Boojums! Beach paraphrases Carroll's writing outlining the problem with Boojums:
	Marine travellers best able to adapt to warming waters Marine species that already roam far and wide throughout our oceans are extending their territories further and faster in response to climate change, according to new research involving the University of Southampton and an international team of biodiversity experts.
New techniques improve specificity of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing tools To overcome the off-target mutations that commonly occur with CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing methods, researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital have developed two strategies that greatly improve the specificity of RNA-guided nucleases for the DNA region targeted to be cut and repaired. A description of these new techniques and their successful use to modify human cancer cells and embryonic stem cells is described in a special issue on genome editing in Human Gene Therapy.
New tool for investigating RNA gone awry RNA is a fundamental ingredient in all known forms of life—so when RNA goes awry, a lot can go wrong. RNA misregulation plays a critical role in the development of many disorders, such as mental disability, autism and cancer.
	Basketmakers' tradition of storing black ash logs in water effective in killing EAB Using a combination of traditional ecological knowledge and science, a USDA Forest Service research team has demonstrated that the traditional method of storing black ash logs can save one of the emerald ash borer's potential causalities - the traditional art of ash basketmaking.
	Endangered dragonflies, raised in captivity, being released Federally endangered dragonflies that have been raised in a laboratory over the past several years are being released at a forest preserve this week in Illinois, where scientists believe they'll be a good match with the small population still there.
Chronic wasting disease containment demands vigilance, common sense A positive case of chronic wasting disease was recently verified in a captive white-tailed deer in Medina County, and hunters are advised to learn precautionary measures.
	Cluster roots attract phosphorus in nutrient-poor soils Scientists are one step closer to understanding how plants that naturally occur on soils with very low phosphorus levels manage to acquire this essential nutrient.
	Expansion of golden jackal across Europe creates tricky legal issues For a long time jackals have been known to most Europeans only through documentaries on African wildlife. But one species – the golden jackal (canis aureus) – is now advancing northward and westward across Europe from its traditional range along the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts as far as Switzerland and Estonia. This has resulted in considerable confusion – should jackals be protected as a native species everywhere in Europe? Yes, says legal scholar Arie Trouwborst of Tilburg University.
	Fungi—key to tree survival in warming forest Much like healthy bacteria in one's gut supports health of the human body, fungus in soil can be integral to survival of trees. NAU researcher Catherine Gehring reached this conclusion while studying pinyon-juniper woodlands in northern Arizona, which support nearly 1,000 unique species.
	Clemson scientists stopping small insects from doing big damage to corn There are almost 275,000 acres of corn planted in South Carolina, with an economic impact of approximately $130 million. Though this is dwarfed by Midwest states such as Iowa (13.7 million acres, $8.75 billion), it's still a lot of corn - enough, at least, to make a person think S.C. would be a utopia for the insects that like to feast on tasty yellow kernels.
Global study of seed consumption uncovers wider risk to plant species The first worldwide study of animals and the seeds they eat has overturned a long-held assumption - that large animals mainly eat large seeds.
	Keystone species: Which are the most important functional genes in an ecosystem? Microbial ecosystems such as biological wastewater treatment plants and the human gastrointestinal tract are home to a vast diversity of bacterial species. Scientists of the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) and the Life Science Research Unit (LSRU) of the University of Luxembourg, in collaboration with US researchers, have now succeeded for the first time in determining key functional genes and the organisms encoding these in such ecological systems, working from extensive data of bacterial genetics and bacterial metabolism.
Better off apart: Wasp genera Microplitis and Snellenius revised and proved separate Dr. Jose Fernandez-Triana and his team revised the wasp genera Microplitis and Snellenius, which at time have proven to be difficult to recognize. Their findings provide new evidence for them being separate genera. The scientists also added as many as 28 new species of moth predators between the two groups.
New insights into biofilm formation could lead to better therapies, but mysteries remain July 20, 2015 - Biofilms are tough, opportunistic, highly antibiotic resistant bacterial coatings that form on catheters and on medical devices implanted within the body. University of Maryland investigators have now shown that a "messenger molecule" produced by the opportunistic human pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, encourages bacteria to colonize catheters in the bladders of laboratory mice, where they form biofilms. The research appears July 20th in the Journal of Bacteriology, a publication of the American Society for Microbiology.
Michelangelo likely used mathematics when painting the creation of Adam New research provides mathematical evidence that Michelangelo used the Golden Ratio of 1.6 when painting The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The Golden Ratio is found when you divide a line into two parts so that the longer part divided by the smaller part is equal to the whole length divided by the longer part.
	Malaysia's 'black panthers' finally reveal their leopard's spots From the frozen forests of Russia to the scorching sands of the Kalahari Desert, leopards are the most widely distributed large cat on earth. Their iconic spotted coat has been admired and coveted by humans for millennia. But in one part in their vast range - the Malay Peninsula - leopards are almost entirely black in colour.
	SeaWorld staffer allegedly spied on animal rights group US theme park SeaWorld has suspended an employee who allegedly infiltrated the animal rights group PETA—but activists denounced the move as cosmetic and said they could unmask more spies.
CRISPR-based genome editing technologies poised to revolutionize medicine and industry CRISPR/Cas systems for genome editing have revolutionized biological research over the past three years, and their ability to make targeted changes in DNA sequences in living cells with relative ease and affordability is now being applied to clinical medicine and will have a significant impact on advances in drug and other therapies, agriculture, and food products. The power and promise of this innovation are presented in the Review article "The Bacterial Origins of the CRISPR Genome-Editing Revolution," published in a special issue of Human Gene Therapy.
	Founder of 1 of North America's largest bird sanctuary dies Walter "Stormy" Crawford Jr., whose founding of one of North America's largest bird conservation and rehabilitation centers was fueled by a childhood spent in Venezuela fascinated by exotic jungle birds, has died in Missouri. He was 70.

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