Science X Newsletter Friday, Aug 21

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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for August 21, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Scientists explore the origins of energy in chemical reactions using experimental quantum chemistry
- Scientists grow high-quality graphene from tea tree extract
- Trio create artificial magnetic wormhole
- Porous material converts CO2 into carbon monoxide and oxygen
- Researchers get a look at neural networks supporting working memory
- Chestnut leaves yield extract that disarms deadly staph bacteria
- How DNA 'proofreader' proteins pick and edit their reading material
- Superlattice design realizes elusive multiferroic properties
- Inspired by venus flytrap, researchers develop folding 'snap' geometry
- A way has been found to interconnect quantum devices including preserving entanglement
- Graphene oxide's secret properties revealed at atomic level
- Connected sports shirt promises 'smart,' at a price
- New drug protects against the deadly effects of nuclear radiation 24 hours after exposure
- Anti-aging tricks from dietary supplement seen in mice
- Intel watchers await more details about Skylake chip

Astronomy & Space news

	Cassini's final breathtaking close views of Dione A pockmarked, icy landscape looms beneath NASA's Cassini spacecraft in new images of Saturn's moon Dione taken during the mission's last close approach to the small, icy world. Two of the new images show the surface of Dione at the best resolution ever.
	Do comet fractures drive surface evolution? Extreme thermal stresses experienced by a comet as it orbits around the Sun could explain the extensive fracturing thought to drive its long-term surface erosion, say Rosetta scientists analysing high-resolution images of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's surface.
	Drilling for data: Simulating the search for life on mars Toiling in barren rock fields in southern Spain under temperatures as high as 108 degrees Fahrenheit, a team from NASA's Ames Research Center, Honeybee Robotics, and Spain's Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB, INTA-CSIC) is changing dirt into data in a way that could one day be replicated on Mars.
	Here's why the Greenwich Prime Meridian is actually in the wrong place If you've ever been to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, it might come as a shock to learn that the Prime Meridian line located there is in the wrong place. In fact, it's out by about 100 metres.
	Curiosity snaps belly selfie at Buckskin Mountain base drill site NASA's Curiosity rover has snapped a stunningly beautiful, one of a kind 'belly selfie' amidst the painstaking 'Buckskin' drill campaign at the Martian mountain base marking the third anniversary since her touchdown on the Red Planet.
	Ariane 5's fourth launch of 2015 An Ariane 5 lifted off tonight from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and delivered two telecom satellites into their planned orbits.

Technology news

	Intel watchers await more details about Skylake chip Intel watchers have been keeping their eyes and ears open for any definitive news about its new platform Skylake. Flocking to San Francisco for the chip giant's annual IDF developer event on Tuesday, there were expectations of announcements transcending wearables. "Those expecting the full monty on how much the chips will cost, how many cores they'll have, and when you can buy a laptop with them will continue to be disappointed," said PC World.
	Connected sports shirt promises 'smart,' at a price A connected workout shirt from designer Ralph Lauren is hitting the market this month, promising to deliver "smart" fashion, at a hefty price.
	Five-minute charging for electric cars joins StoreDot agenda An Israeli startup looks to make a real difference in working up a five-minute charging solution for an electric car.
	Federal workers with sensitive jobs used cheating website U.S. government employees with sensitive jobs in national security or law enforcement were among hundreds of federal workers found to be using government networks to access and pay membership fees to the cheating website Ashley Madison, The Associated Press has learned.
AP Poll: No digital divide among black, white millennials A new poll finds African-American millennials say they are just as engaged in getting news online as their white counterparts, further debunking a long-held belief that people of color are at risk of being left behind technologically.
	Ashley Madison faces $578M Canadian class-action lawsuit Two Canadian law firms have filed a $578 million class-action lawsuit against the companies that run Ashley Madison after a hacker group's data breach exposed some 39 million memberships in the adultery website earlier this week.
IT industry's renewable energy procurement is significant, set to climb The percentage of renewable electricity purchased by U.S. companies in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector is growing and will likely increase significantly by the start of the next decade, according to a first-ever analysis by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Engineers improving safety, reliability of batteries The next big step forward in the quest for sustainable, more efficient energy is tantalizingly within reach thanks to research being led by UT's Joshua Sangoro.
	You'd never know it wasn't Bach (or even human) In her spare time, when she can find any, Donya Quick composes music, typically jazz, generally on the six-foot baby grand piano that dominates her apartment's living room. A baby grand isn't an all-hours option in a multi-unit building, so she also keeps a Yamaha silent guitar on hand, for the days when inspiration strikes late in the evening.
Chasing illegal movie downloaders proves an unprofitable exercise It has been a bad week for companies wanting to build businesses around make money from illegal movie downloaders. Last Friday saw an Australian judge refuse Voltage Pictures the rigth to send downloaders of Dallas Buyers Club a letter demanding an undisclosed payment. Justice Nye Perram decided that Voltage and its lawyers, were engaging in "speculative invoicing", a practice that is a form of legal blackmail: "pay us a large enough sum so that we don't take you to court where you will possibly face an even larger but unspecified fine".
	Life's short, have you had an affair? Today, millions of very nervous adults are furtively checking sites like "Have I been Pwned" to check if their account details at Ashley Madison have been leaked. Others are checking if their partners or acquaintances had accounts. The hacking and subsequent release of data from the world's biggest infidelity-focussed dating service continues to reverberate, provoking an interesting suite of ethical questions.
	Why there must be freedom to publish flaws and security vulnerabilities Two academics have been given permission to publish their security research which reveals vulnerabilities in a wireless car locking system. It comes two years after Volkswagen, one of the manufacturers using it, won a court injunction banning publication.
	Using sunlight to recharge the cooling system of trailer containers Betting on clean energy sources is the strategy of the Mexican group ISA Tracto C, which produced a series of energetically self-sustained boxes for the transport of perishable goods, with a cooling system that replaced the use of diesel with sunlight and kinetic energy.
Team develops app that makes texting easier A smartphone app that makes texting and emailing much easier – particularly for older people and those who have difficulty spelling – has been created by University of Strathclyde researchers.
Micro-hydropower electricity generation could save the water industry millions New research findings from Bangor University and Trinity College Dublin have highlighted the potential for further cost savings from micro-hydropower. Savings of up to an additional £1m a year in Wales alone could help keep water bills down.
	Traffic-management website for drones A pioneering website designed to prevent collisions and crashes among the rapidly growing number of drone aircraft has been developed by the Wright State Research Institute (WSRI).
Comcast reveals subscriber in online comments case Comcast Cable Communications has given a northern Illinois politician the identity of an Internet service subscriber whose account was used to post an anonymous comment online suggesting the politician molests children.
US safety agency probes Honda Accord air bag failures U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating reports that air bags on some older Honda Accords may not inflate in a crash.
	Spotify defends itself after outcry over data collection Online music streamer Spotify defended itself Friday after angry users accused it of abusive personal data collection by asking for access to their contacts and photos.
	Experts: Deleted online information never actually goes away The Ashley Madison hack is a big reminder to all Web users: If you submit private data online, chances are it will never fully be deleted.
	Google-Twitter deal on search moves to desktop Google and Twitter announced Friday their partnership placing tweets in online search results has been extended to desktop.
	Airbnb signs up more companies for business travel Airbnb said Friday more than 1,000 companies have joined its new program allowing business travelers to use the peer-to-peer-lodging service.
Ashley Madison hackers vow more attacks: report The hacking group behind the Ashley Madison breach compared the affair-seeking website to "a drug dealer abusing addicts" in an email exchange threatening to carry out more attacks.
Netflix facing protests over DVD-less baby benefit policy Netflix is getting jeered for excluding the employees in its DVD-by-mail service from a recently introduced benefit that gives up to a year of paid leave to most of its workers after the birth or adoption of a baby.
	Imaging technique for performance distribution of organic transistor arrays Researchers in Japan have developed a new imaging technique for collective inspection of performance distribution of organic transistors. The technique drastically reduces the inspection time in the manufacturing process for information terminal devices consisting of a vast number of transistors, including electronic papers and displays.
	Honeypots versus hackers Production processes are becoming increasingly interconnected with digital communications technologies, opening new gateways for criminals operating on the Internet. The IT Security Technology Field at Siemens Corporate Technology is developing sophisticated solutions to protect against cyber crime and is subjecting them to rigorous testing, in part using its own team of hackers.
	Things to know about Ashley Madison breach: Who's affected? The spectacular breach at adultery site Ashley Madison gave rise to sordid tales of horrified spouses rushing to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases, frantic phone calls to lawyers and torrid confrontations with spouses. But hard information has been hard to come by. Even the true number of people affected by the breach has been clouded by uncertainty over how many of the roughly 39 million members Ashley Madison claims to have are genuine.

Medicine & Health news

	Researchers get a look at neural networks supporting working memory (Medical Xpress)—Translating stored information into behaviorally appropriate responses is a pretty fundamental brain activity, supporting biological, social and survival behaviors. Researchers have long believed that the lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) is a hub of the working memory system, but haven't yet been able to establish whether working memory is supported by a single distributed network or if multiple specialized networks in the PFC express working memory function.
	Smile boosts chances of getting a microloan, say psychologists Positive emotions seem to drive decision-making in the world of microlending, Stanford psychologists have found.
	Anti-aging tricks from dietary supplement seen in mice In human cells, shortened telomeres, the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, are both a sign of aging and contribute to it. Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have found that the dietary supplement alpha lipoic acid (ALA) can stimulate telomerase, the enzyme that lengthens telomeres, with positive effects in a mouse model of atherosclerosis.
	New drug protects against the deadly effects of nuclear radiation 24 hours after exposure An interdisciplinary research team led by The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston reports a new breakthrough in countering the deadly effects of radiation exposure. A single injection of a regenerative peptide was shown to significantly increase survival in mice when given 24 hours after nuclear radiation exposure. The study currently appears in Laboratory Investigation, a journal in the Nature Publishing group.
	Nine risk factors may contribute to two-thirds of Alzheimer's cases worldwide Nine potentially modifiable risk factors may contribute to up to two thirds of Alzheimer's disease cases worldwide, suggests an analysis of the available evidence, published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.
	Psoriasis linked to higher risk of depression (HealthDay)—People with psoriasis may be twice as likely to experience depression as those without the common skin condition, regardless of its severity, a new study suggests.
Experts claim number of people with dementia in some Western European countries could be stabilizing In a Policy View published in The Lancet Neurology journal, a group of leading experts on the epidemiology of dementia state that the number of people with dementia - both new cases and total numbers with the disease - in some Western European countries is stabilising despite population ageing, in direct contrast to the "dementia epidemic" reported in some recent studies.
	Despite the headlines, dementia epidemic may not actually be getting worse The notion of a dementia epidemic has been a big concern in ageing societies across the globe for some time. With the extension of life expectancy it seems to be an inevitable disaster – one of the "greatest enemies of humanity", according to UK prime minister David Cameron.
	The biological origins of sexual orientation and gender identity Male? Female? The distinction is not always clear. Exploring the scientific evidence for the biological origins of sexual orientation and gender identity must continue to both enhance patient care and fight discrimination.
	Getting teens back to school year sleep routines It's the time of year when parents are celebrating the return to routine as their children go back to school -– unless you have a teenager. For parents of teens, getting their children to go to bed on time and get up on time can be a struggle. A lack of sleep can cause poor academic performance due to poor concentration, behavioral issues due to irritability, physical symptoms like fatigue and headaches, or mental issues like depression.
	CFD modeling confirms improved blood flow with new stent design Vascular surgeon Pat Kelly of Sanford Health knew his patients were doing better with the stent graft he designed, but he wanted a better understanding of the mechanics before testing the device more widely in a clinical trial. For that, he reached out to SDSU.
	Single and happy? Your view on relationships may be key (HealthDay)—Single people can be just as happy as those in romantic relationships—but it may depend on their temperament, a new study suggests.
Physician support key to successful weight loss, study shows A review of survey data from more than 300 obese people who participated in a federally funded weight loss clinical trial found that although the overall weight loss rates were modest, those who rated their primary care doctor's support as particularly helpful lost about twice as many pounds as those who didn't.
	Study may show the way to more effective vaccines Scientists at the University of Bonn, together with colleagues from the USA and Japan, have shed light on an important immune mechanism. Their work shows how the body provides the important killer cells with a helper in the case of an infection.  The study could point the way to better vaccines in the future. The work has been published in the renowned journal Cell.
Test new hearing aids in 'virtual sound room' Holly Smith recently tested new hearing aids at a cocktail party, a noisy restaurant and a concert venue—all without leaving the comfort of her audiologist's office.
Something to chew on – millions of lives blighted by smokeless tobacco More than a quarter of a million people die each year from using smokeless tobacco, researchers at the University of York have concluded.
	New diagnostic tools for dehydration severity in children Dehydration from diarrhea, either from viral infection or cholera, accounts for 10 percent of all child deaths worldwide. Though it's a pervasive problem, there are no clinical guidelines that perform better than chance for assessing dehydration severity. In a new study, researchers report that they statistically derived two simple diagnostic tools with high sensitivity and specificity from the cases of 771 children aged 0 to 5 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
	In hospitals, a little bit of rudeness can be a very big deal When someone makes a nasty quip, cuts us off in traffic, ignores our suggestions or takes credit for our work, we get mad, sad and even angry. Rudeness, even just little, can really hurt. We know these reactions can be harmful, both to ourselves and those around us, but recent research suggests that the emotional reactions we have to rudeness tell only half of the story. There are cognitive effects we are not even aware of. In fact, this is what I study – how experiencing rudeness can damage performance by affecting our thinking and decision-making.
	Start of school year calls for vaccine check (HealthDay)—With the start of a new school year, many parents are searching for vaccination records and hoping they're current, but what does "up-to-date" look like these days?
	Healthy breakfast is essential for kids (HealthDay)—Kids who skip breakfast will be nutritionally short-changed all day, an expert says.
	Nine factors you can control may be key to Alzheimer's risk (HealthDay)—Up to two-thirds of Alzheimer's cases worldwide may stem from any of nine conditions that often result from lifestyle choices, a broad research review suggests.
	Patient navigators tied to shorter hospital stays (HealthDay)—Use of patient navigators (PNs) as inpatient care facilitators shortens hospital length of stay, according to a study published online Aug. 10 in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
High sugar consumption among children relates to poor family functioning, study finds The quality of general family functioning is a major determinant of healthy dietary habits - according to new research published in the Journal of Caries Research and led by Queen Mary University of London.
	Why collaboration may encourage corporate corruption While the benefits of cooperation in human society are clear, new research from The University of Nottingham suggests it also has a dark side - one that encourages corrupt behaviour.
	Passion for your job? If not, it's attainable People who have not found their perfect fit in a career can take heart: There is more than one way to attain passion for work.
Germany sees highest number of births in over a decade Germany recorded its highest number of births last year in more than a decade, an encouraging sign for a country facing a demographic crisis.
	Study finds that genetic ancestry partially explains one racial sleep difference A new study clearly establishes a partial genetic basis underlying racial differences in slow-wave sleep, suggesting that it may be possible to develop sleep-related therapies that target specific genetic variants.
Improving cardiorespiratory fitness reduces risk of arrhythmia recurrence Obese atrial fibrillation patients have a lower chance of arrhythmia recurrence if they have high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, and risk continues to decline as exercise capacity increases as part of treatment, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Study finds tests used to measure internal bleeding for patients may not be reliable A recently-published study found that while internal bleeding may be uncommon as a result of taking blood thinners such as Xarelto (rivaroxaban) and Eliquis (apixaban), the normal coagulation tests physicians use to check for the side effect of bleeding may not be reliable.
How can we improve data sharing of biomedical research across the globe? With the globalization of biomedical research and growing concerns about possible pandemics of diseases such as HIV, SARS, and Ebola, international data-sharing practices are of growing interest to the biomedical science community. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of sharing data in low and middle-income settings? What challenges stand in the way for researchers in countries such as India, Kenya, and Vietnam? A new special issue of SAGE's Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics (JERHRE) presents guidelines, protocols, models, and new resources to improve data sharing across the globe.
	MS researchers link cognition with limited activity and participation Kessler Foundation researchers found that processing speed is the primary limiting factor associated with activity and participation in everyday life among people with multiple sclerosis (MS). "Factors that moderate activity limitation and participation restriction in people with multiple sclerosis" was published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy. This is the first MS study of cognition and measures of activity and participation. The authors are Yael Goverover, PhD, of New York University and visiting professor at Kessler Foundation, and Lauren Strober, PhD, Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, and John DeLuca, PhD, of Kessler Foundation.
	Impact of sleep disturbance on recovery in veterans with PTSD and TBI Poor sleep may impact treatment and recovery in veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). A review of extensive research on sleep in TBI and PTSD has found that sleep-focused interventions can improve treatment outcomes in veterans.
Review shows feds misstated Arizona insurance co-op results A federal government analysis that said Arizona's health insurance co-op had gotten just a fraction of its projected enrollment last year missed thousands of signups and incorrectly showed the state nonprofit set up under the Affordable Care Act signed up only 4 percent of the people it expected in 2014.

Biology news

	Chameleons' swiveling eyes not as independent as once thought Well known among nature's best tricksters for their ability to change color to fit their background, chameleons have yet another talent up their lizardly sleeves – eyes that swivel around and appear to be looking in two directions at once.
	Tunable riboregulator switches for post-translational control of gene expression Recent work by Los Alamos National Laboratory experimental and theoretical biologists describes a new method of controlling gene expression. The key is a tunable switch made from a small non-coding RNA molecule that could have value for medical and even biofuel production purposes.
	How DNA 'proofreader' proteins pick and edit their reading material Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered how two important proofreader proteins know where to look for errors during DNA replication and how they work together to signal the body's repair mechanism.
GM—'the most critical technology' for feeding the world, expert says A former adviser to the US Secretary of State says that genetic modification (GM) is the most critical technology in agriculture for meeting the challenges of feeding a growing global population, writing in the open access journal Agriculture & Food Security.
	Without humans, the whole world could look like Serengeti The fact that the greatest diversity of large mammals is found in Africa reflects past human activities - and not climatic or other environmental constraints. This is determined in a new study, which presents what the world map of mammals would look like if modern man (Homo sapiens) had never existed.
	Q&A: Southwest struggles to stem fire-fueling invasive plant The tiny seedling was brought over from Eastern Europe and parts of Asia nearly 200 years ago and planted along riverbanks across the United States, mostly in the Southwest, to prevent erosion. It grew fast, its thick branches and oily leaves spreading across five states.
	'They're in everything': Bug outbreak irks California towns The gas station's ground was covered with the small winged bugs. Piles of carcasses, inches deep, sat swept to the sides.
	Persist and shout: Male bluebirds alter songs to be heard over increased acoustic noise Birds 'shout' to be heard over the noise produced by man-made activity, new research has shown.
Is pesticide exposure reducing amphibian populations? There have been noticeable population declines in both reptiles and amphibians because of habitat destruction and disease. In addition to immune-suppressing insecticides, the fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, continues to invade the natural environment of amphibians and cause widespread disease. A study was conducted to test if the development and survival of Gray Treefrogs would be influenced by B. dendrobatidis, malathion (an insecticide), or a combination of both.
	Northern bald ibises fit for their journey to Tuscany January 2014 saw the launch of one of Europe's largest species conservation projects. The project's aim is to reintroduce the northern bald ibis, a species of migratory bird, to Europe by the year 2019. Veterinarians from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, make sure the animals are fit for their journey to the south. 31 hand-raised northern bald ibises are healthy and will begin their migration coming Saturday, following an ultralight aircraft towards Tuscany. Other 17 juvenile birds raised by their parents will follow experienced adult birds.
	Using fungi to harvest microalgae for biofuels Microalgae are a promising feedstock for biofuels, but current methods of harvesting and dewatering them are unsustainable. Now researchers have shown that growing the algae with certain filamentous fungi to form lichens can reduce both cost and the energy input.
	The regulation of meiotic crossover in plants In the July issue of PLOS Genetics, the regulation of meiotic crossover in plants was investigated by Varas et al.
Scientists develop method for discovering rare cells Scientists of the Hubrecht Institute Utrecht developed a new method for identifying rare cell types by single-cell mRNA sequencing. The newly developed algorithm, called RaceID, is very useful for identifying rare cell types in normal and diseased tissue. The research, funded by an NWO Vici grant, is published ahead of print on the website of Nature the 19th of August 2015.
	NOAA declares deaths of large whales in Gulf of Alaska an unusual mortality event NOAA is declaring the recent deaths of 30 large whales in the western Gulf of Alaska an "unusual mortality event," triggering a focused, expert investigation into the cause. An unusual mortality event is a stranding event that is unexpected, involves a significant die-off of a marine mammal population, and demands immediate response.
	Key protein in cilia assembly identified The group led by ICREA Research Professor Cayetano Gonzalez at IRB Barcelona, in collaboration with the group of Professor Giuliano Callaini from the University of Siena in Italy, has published a new study in Current Biology that contributes to understanding how cilia are assembled.
Feds release extra water to save Klamath salmon from disease With water scarce in Northern California's Klamath Basin, a federal agency is again releasing cool, clean water into the Klamath River to prevent a repeat of the 2002 fish kill that left tens of thousands of adult salmon dead.
	Fluorescent turn-on probe identifies the 'wake-up protein' in witchweed seeds A molecular approach has been used to identify the protein responsible for germination of Striga seeds through visualization by green fluorescence. Striga, a parasitic plant known as witchweed has seriously affected millions of hectares of crop fields in Africa that poses a major threat to food security. Nevertheless, the exact mechanism on how Striga seeds detect host crops has not been fully clear up to now. In a new study reported in Science, ITbM's chemists and biologists have come together to develop a new visualizing molecule to examine the process of Striga germination. The outcome of this study is expected to accelerate research to control Striga growth and to save crop losses worth of billions of U.S. dollars every year.
	Marksmen kill endangered species in New Zealand bird cull A bird cull on a New Zealand island has been abruptly halted after marksmen killed four rare takahe, an endangered species with only 300 known to exist, officials said Friday.
	Introducing Gulfsnow, a new peach variety from ARS A new peach variety developed by an Agricultural Research Service scientist in cooperation with the University of Georgia and the University of Florida requires less winter chilling and will give growers in the southeastern lower coastal plain an edge and consumers a more reliable supply of early summertime peaches.

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