Science X Newsletter Wednesday, Sep 2

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Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for September 2, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Probing the limits of wind power generation
- CT scan of Earth links deep mantle plumes with volcanic hotspots
- For 2-D boron, it's all about that base
- Graphene made superconductive by doping with lithium atoms
- The first two-way, 2-D, ultra-high mobility Si (111) transistor
- Evidence that Earth's first mass extinction was caused by critters not catastrophe
- Scientists discover key clues in turtle evolution
- Change in environment can lead to rapid evolution, researchers say
- Team uses artificial intelligence to crowdsource interactive fiction
- Team develops targeted drug delivery to lung
- Could common diabetes drugs help fight leukemia?
- Study provides insights into the mechanisms of fine-tuning of wheat to diverse environments
- Scientists see motor neurons 'walking' in real time
- Feeling blue and seeing blue: Sadness may impair color perception
- Mutated p53 tumor suppressor protein uses epigenetics to drive aggressive cancer growth

Astronomy & Space news

	Soyuz carrying 3-man crew blasts off for orbiting station A Soyuz spacecraft carrying a Russian, a Dane and a Kazakh blasted off on Wednesday for a two-day trip to the International Space Station.
	Prawn Nebula: Cosmic recycling Dominating this image is part of the nebula Gum 56, illuminated by the hot bright young stars that were born within it. For millions of years stars have been created out of the gas in this nebula, material which is later returned to the stellar nursery when the aging stars either expel their material into space or eject it as supernova explosions. This image was taken with the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope in Chile.
	Comet Hitchhiker would take tour of small bodies Catching a ride from one solar system body to another isn't easy. You have to figure out how to land your spacecraft safely and then get it on its way to the next destination. The landing part is especially tricky for asteroids and comets, which have low gravitational pull.
	Move over Milky Way, elliptical galaxies are the most habitable in the cosmos The search for extraterrestrial life is surely one of the most important tasks we humans can undertake. However, the cosmos is vast and we don't really have any idea which bits of it are actually habitable. But what if we could target the search? We have built the first-ever "cosmobiological" model mapping the galaxies in our local universe to help us understand which ones are habitable. Surprisingly, we found that our own galaxy was not one of the top candidates.
	What happened to early Mars' atmosphere? New study eliminates one theory Scientists may be closer to solving the mystery of how Mars changed from a world with surface water billions of years ago to the arid Red Planet of today.
	At Saturn, one of these rings is not like the others When the sun set on Saturn's rings in August 2009, scientists on NASA's Cassini mission were watching closely. It was the equinox—one of two times in the Saturnian year when the sun illuminates the planet's enormous ring system edge-on. The event provided an extraordinary opportunity for the orbiting Cassini spacecraft to observe short-lived changes in the rings that reveal details about their nature.
	LISA Pathfinder set for launch site LISA Pathfinder, ESA's demonstrator for spaceborne observations of gravitational waves, is ready to leave for Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
	Photographer captures an ISS transit of a solar prominence When you're Thierry Legault and you want to challenge yourself, the bar is set pretty high.
First Dane in space begins long trip to repositioned ISS The first Dane in space accompanied by 26 custom-made figurines from Danish toymaker Lego blasted off from Kazakhstan on Wednesday as part of a three-man team on an unusually long two-day mission to the International Space Station.
	NASA image: Good night from space Earth's thin atmosphere stands out against the blackness of space in this photo shared on Aug. 31, 2015, by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly on board the International Space Station.
ESA video: Iriss liftoff ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, commander Sergei Volkov and Aidyn Aimbetov were launched into space this morning 2 September at 04:37:43 GMT (06:37:43 CEST) from Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

Technology news

	Not another new phone! But Nextbit's Robin is smarter San Francisco-based Nextbit wants you to meet Robin, which they consider as the smarter smartphone. Their premise is that no one is making a smart smartphone; when you get so big it's hard to see the forest through the trees. let alone the cloud from the forest. They are here to make the difference.
	Transparent lithium-ion battery that recharges via the sun demonstrated A team of researchers with Kogakuin University has demonstrated a lithium ion battery which is not only nearly transparent, but can also be recharged with direct sunlight alone. The battery was demonstrated at Innovation Japan 2015, where the leader of the team, and president of the university explained the goals of their battery research and the benefits consumers might eventually see from it.
	Team develops targeted drug delivery to lung Researchers from Columbia Engineering and Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have developed a new method that can target delivery of very small volumes of drugs into the lung. Their approach, in which micro-liters of liquid containing a drug are instilled into the lung, distributed as a thin film in the predetermined region of the lung airway, and absorbed locally, may provide much more effective treatment of lung disease. The work was published in the August 31 online Early Edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
	Team uses artificial intelligence to crowdsource interactive fiction Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have developed a new artificially intelligent system that crowdsources plots for interactive stories, which are popular in video games and let players choose different branching story options.
	Info tool on weather-related road conditions aids driver safety Now drivers can be better warned of potentially dangerous weather-related road conditions with a new product from INRIX.
	CEOs big news can cause ripple effects for company Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is promising to be away from the job for just a "limited time" when she gives birth to twins later this year, but the development only adds to the uncertainty some investors have long had about Yahoo.
	Court sides with Uber drivers to expand case over pay A federal judge granted class-action status Tuesday to a lawsuit in California against Uber over the payment of its drivers, upping the stakes for the ride-hailing company in the case.
	Sleeker smartwatches to shine at Berlin mega gadget fair Sleeker and sexier smartwatches are expected to premiere this week in Berlin at one of the world's biggest consumer electronics shows, with both phone manufacturers and watchmakers jostling for a share of the fast-growing market.
In Virginia, TechShop lets 'makers' tinker, innovate It's hard to miss the plane that sits triumphantly in the midst of a store in Washington's suburbs. But there are no wings, cockpit or motor attached to its shiny fuselage.
	India SUV maker rides into US market ... on a scooter India's largest SUV maker is ready to make its debut on U.S. roads. But it's starting with two wheels, not four.
	Land Rover to demonstrate pioneering see-through trailer research at Burghley Horse Trials Land Rover is developing a see-through trailer concept that would completely remove the blind spot created when towing a caravan or trailer. This transparent view would allow the driver to clearly see vehicles coming up behind and help driver confidence by improving visibility whilst manoeuvring.
	LG unveils smart home products LG Electronics will showcase its latest smart home technology at IFA 2015 in Berlin this week to enhance the lives of consumers. LG's new SmartThinQ Sensor can be attached to many traditional home appliances to make them "smart-aware". What's more, LG will unveil their Smart Lightwave Oven and Smart Air Conditioner that are compatible with AllJoyn, an open platform for the internet of things (IoT) developed by the Allseen Alliance.
	ORNL-developed building efficiency software now available A set of automated calibration techniques for tuning residential and commercial building energy efficiency software models to match measured data is now available as an open source code. The Autotune code, developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is available on GitHub.
	Tinder-tinkering artificial intelligence could lessen left-swiping An artificial intelligence programme to improve Tinder suggestions has been developed by Harm de Vries, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Montreal who was sick of swiping left. Signing up for an account was one of the first things he did upon arriving in the city in August 2014, but he was disappointed with the results. "Tinder kept offering me photos of women with lots of tattoos and piercings, even though I'd never chosen a single one. I don't want to offend anyone, they're simply not my type," he explained. Noting that the app failed to take note of his user history in order to better target the women he might like, he developed new software, the details of which he published on Arxiv. His work is supervised by professors Aaron Courville and Roland Memisevic who are with Yoshua Bengio's lab in the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research.
	Turning clothing into information displays Researchers from Holst Centre (set up by TNO and imec), imec and CMST, imec's associated lab at Ghent University, have demonstrated the world's first stretchable and conformable thin-film transistor (TFT) driven LED display laminated into textiles. This paves the way to wearable displays in clothing providing users with feedback.
	Americans cutting down on daily trips Americans spend 10 percent less time making trips for daily activities than they did a decade ago, says a University of Michigan researcher.
	Hacking the body—the scientific counter-culture of the DIYbio movement Science and biology are slowly, but smoothly, being co-opted by a DIY approach that's looking an awful lot like the start of the tech start-up boom.
	Firms that exploit the dark side of technology will find it leads to losses as well as gains Has technology enabled us, or enslaved us? This is a question posed by recent coverage of the apparently unsettling working practices and work culture at Amazon, among others. The employee monitoring, long hours and continuous performance measurement reported in the New York Times wouldn't be possible without modern information technology. It seems for some the world of office work has become, as the article states: "more nimble and more productive, but harsher and less forgiving".
	Report: Malware targeting Android smartphones on the rise Malicious software targeting smartphones with the Android operating system is becoming more common, with some handsets already infected when they're bought.
	New microwell design allows more robust protocols and reduced mess Incremental changes can reap big rewards. Ask any gardener using a shovel. The shovel is itself a handy tool, but consider how much easier to use and more efficient it became when the ledge was added to the top of the spade. Hand digging became faster, more forceful and less prone to fatigue just by adding a more comfortable place to push. So it is with many of our scientific tools.
Amazon adds more Dash buttons after rollout Amazon's futuristic "Dash" buttons appear here to stay.
Pulses for better posture In an effort to find a better treatment for spinal curvature in children and young people, the EU's "StimulAIS" project is focused on electrostimulation of muscles. Fraunhofer scientists worked with partners from industry and research to develop a prototype implant that would do the job.
Gas sensors sound the smoldering fire alarm Smoke detectors are everywhere, but still thousands of people die in fires annually. Fire gas detectors, which detect carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, identify fires at an early stage. Thanks to a new measurement principle developed by Fraunhofer researchers, these costly sensors will soon be inexpensive and ready for the mass market.
Wastewater to irrigate, fertilize and generate energy To meet the requirements of Asian cities, researchers are adapting an idea they have already applied in Germany for comprehensive water management: They are developing a concept for reducing water use, treating wastewater and extracting fertilizer for a strip of coastline in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang.
Efficient heating for electric cars If you don't want to freeze in your electric car, you have to make a few concessions, because heating devours a substantial portion of power supply. Fraunhofer researchers will exhibit the demo model of a highly energy-efficient heating system for electric cars at the IAA: a coated film that produces a broad, radiant heat.
	3-D printing revives bronze-age music Billy Ó Foghlú, from The Australian National University (ANU), has found evidence that the artifact may have been a mouthpiece from an iron-age horn and not a spear-butt as previously thought.
Report: Some top baby monitors lack basic security features Several of the most popular Internet-connected baby monitors lack basic security features, making them vulnerable to even the most basic hacking attempts, according to a new report from a cybersecurity firm.
	Apple wants to guide your news consumption with News app Apple wants to be a central part of how you consume news.
Judge to move forward with suit over NSA's bulk collection (Update) A federal judge said Wednesday he plans to push ahead with a challenge to the National Security Agency's bulk collection of telephone data on hundreds of millions of Americans, even as the program is set to expire at the end of November.
	Wikipedia blocks accounts linked to paid edits Wikipedia on Wednesday said that it has blocked more than 300 accounts being used by people being paid to create or tweak entries at the communally sourced online encyclopedia.
French electric car-sharing service launches in US An electric car-sharing service took to the streets of Indianapolis on Wednesday as its French owner hopes to plug into the vast US market.
Hulu launches $12 ad-free streaming service Video-streaming company Hulu is introducing an ad-free version of its subscription service for $4 extra a month as competition for streaming customers heats up.
Venture capital investing boom neglects startups tackling poverty The venture capital investing boom has sent billions of dollars to startups that serve the upper crust of society with an app to deliver your laundry or order a valet to park your car, yet many VCs continue to resist investing in viable businesses bringing toilets, water and electricity to the rural poor.
	A preview of new gear China's military showing off at parade When China rolls out its latest armaments Thursday for a lavish parade commemorating the defeat of Japan in World War II, defense experts and foreign armies will be watching closely for any revelations about new military capabilities.
	New collision avoidance system promises to increase mining safety Mining sites are considered as some of the most dangerous workplaces in the world. The operation of large machines with limited visibility poses a constant threat to both miners and their machines, to the point where, in the USA, it is responsible for 22 % of all coal mining related fatalities. Industry and government officials increasingly agree that CAS could help curb this trend, and some legislative changes are already paving the way for their wider adoption in the US, India or South Africa.
	A coding curriculum for beginners and their teachers Microsoft has released a new computer science curriculum designed for teens who may not have expressed much interest in computer programming – and teachers who don't necessarily have any background in the field, either.
	New talking scientific calculator breaks down barriers for blind students Orbit Research and the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) today unveiled the Orion TI-30XS MultiView Talking Scientific Calculator, the world's first fully accessible multi-line scientific calculator, created for students who are visually impaired, and available for the upcoming school year. Based on the popular TI-30XS Multiview scientific calculator from Texas Instruments, the Orion TI-30XS represents a breakthrough in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education for students with vision impairment.
	IU researchers lead effort to unlock economic potential of maker movement Hacking, crafting, making, tinkering, "DIY." A wide range of terms reflect a growing international culture of creativity related to making physical objects.
	News Corp confirms return of Rebekah Brooks in top role News Corp, Rupert Murdoch's media empire, has confirmed that Rebekah Brooks is returning to the top spot in London more than a year after she was acquitted of charges in a hacking scandal that shocked the U.K.
New collars monitor pets for pain, problems You can use wearables with GPS to keep track of wandering dogs. Others help you track animals' physical activity.

Medicine & Health news

	Flu study, on hold, yields new vaccine technology Vaccines to protect against an avian influenza pandemic as well as seasonal flu may be mass produced more quickly and efficiently using technology described today by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the journal Nature Communications.
	Forensic examiners pass the face matching test The first study to test the skills of FBI agents and other law enforcers who have been trained in facial recognition has provided a reassuring result - they perform better than the average person or even computers on this difficult task.
	Scientists see motor neurons 'walking' in real time When you're taking a walk around the block, your body is mostly on autopilot—you don't have to consciously think about alternating which leg you step with or which muscles it takes to lift a foot and put it back down. That's thanks to a set of cells in your spinal cord that help translate messages between your brain and your motor neurons, which control muscles.
	Scientists move closer to curing common eye disorder Scientists at the University of Manchester have successfully restored the site of laboratory mice suffering from a common cause of blindness in people.
	Feeling blue and seeing blue: Sadness may impair color perception The world might seem a little grayer than usual when we're down in the dumps and we often talk about "feeling blue"—new research suggests that the associations we make between emotion and color go beyond mere metaphor. The results of two studies indicate that feeling sadness may actually change how we perceive color. Specifically, researchers found that participants who were induced to feel sad were less accurate in identifying colors on the blue-yellow axis than those who were led to feel amused or emotionally neutral.
	Mutated p53 tumor suppressor protein uses epigenetics to drive aggressive cancer growth Aggressive cancer growth and alterations in gene activity without changes in DNA sequence (epigenetics) are associated with mutant p53 proteins, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The international team describes their results and implications for difficult-to-treat cancers this week in Nature online ahead of print. The investigation was led by Shelley Berger, PhD, the Daniel S. Och University Professor in the departments of Cell & Developmental Biology, Genetics, and Biology, along with first author Jiajun Zhu, a PhD student in the Berger lab, and colleagues from the University of Toronto.
	Disruption of a crucial cellular machine may kill the engine of deadly cancers In a way, cancer resembles a runaway car with a gas pedal stuck to the floor, hurling out of control. Most new targeted cancer therapies seek to fix the gas pedal itself, and thus thwart the aggressive behavior of the tumor. But for many types of cancers, the pedal simply cannot be repaired, so new alternatives are desperately needed. A team at Baylor College of Medicine has discovered a way to step on the brakes of some of the deadliest cancers.
Team developing new drug against leading causes of death—sepsis and ARDS Scientists at Queen's University Belfast are developing a potential revolutionary new treatment for Sepsis and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), which are among the leading causes of death in hospitalised patients in the UK.
	Researchers report long-term remissions in first personalized cell therapy trial Eight of 14 patients in the first trial of the University of Pennsylvania's personalized cellular therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) responded to the therapy, with some complete remissions continuing past four and a half years. These results, published today in Science Translational Medicine, represent the most mature data from clinical trials of an approach known as CTL019, developed by a team from Penn's Abramson Cancer Center and the Perelman School of Medicine.
	Neuron responsible for alcoholism found Scientists have pinpointed a population of neurons in the brain that influences whether one drink leads to two, which could ultimately lead to a cure for alcoholism and other addictions.
	Reward, aversion behaviors activated through same brain pathways New research may help explain why drug treatments for addiction and depression don't work for some patients.
	New hope for rare 'stone man' disease, where flesh turns to bone Researchers working with mice believe there's hope for patients with a rare genetic disorder that turns their muscle into bone, in essence immobilizing them in an extra skeleton.
	Could common diabetes drugs help fight leukemia? Common diabetes drugs might help eradicate drug-resistant cancer cells in a certain form of leukemia when added to standard treatment, a small new study suggests.
	Cellular recycling complexes may hold key to chemotherapy resistance Altering the protein recycling complexes in human cells, including cancer cells, allows the cells to resist treatment with a class of drugs known as proteasome inhibitors, according to Whitehead Institute scientists.
Scientists discover a common diabetes drug could prevent hemorrhage and fatal blood loss A new study, published today in the British Journal of Pharmacology, by scientists from Royal Holloway, University of London, St George's, University of London and University of Surrey have identified that a drug related to commonly used diabetes treatments provides protection against terminal blood loss.
	A bold move to save a man's hand: Tucking it into his tummy Casey Reyes struggled for a way to explain the "sci-fi" surgery doctors were proposing to save her 87-year-old grandfather's badly burned hand.
	Tracking down the causes of Alzheimer's Genes are not only important for regular memory performance, but also for the development of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at the University of Basel now identified a specific group of genes that plays a central role in both processes. This group of molecules controls the concentration of calcium ions inside the cell. Their results appear in the current issue of the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
Prophylactic surgery nearly doubles in men with breast cancer The number of men with breast cancer who undergo surgery to remove the unaffected breast has risen sharply, according to a new report by American Cancer Society and Dana Farber Cancer Institute researchers. The report, appearing in JAMA Surgery, is the first to identify the trend, which mirrors a trend seen in U.S. women over the past two decades.
	How protein tangles accumulate in the brain and cause neurological disorders A new Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) study takes a step forward in understanding how similar, yet genetically unrelated neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, frontal temporal dementia, and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) are caused by the protein tau. The findings, published today in Neuron, create new opportunities to target this key protein that leads to the brain lesions found in patients with impaired motor functions and dementia.
Finding a treatment for Parkinson's disease dementia University of Adelaide neuroscientists are leading a world-first study into a form of dementia experienced by many Parkinson's disease suffers, which is expected to ultimately lead to a new therapy for the condition.
	Researchers create a promising new treatment for the deadliest form of brain cancer UCLA scientists have developed a potentially promising new combination therapy for glioblastoma, the most common and deadliest form of brain cancer.
	Doctors perform life-changing surgery on woman plagued by internal sounds of her body The sounds in Rachel Pyne's ears were deafening and inescapable. Her footsteps rumbled through her head like thunder. She could hear the thump of her heartbeat, her food digesting, and even the shifting of her eyes.
	Bisexual and questioning women have higher risk of eating disorders than straight and lesbian peers Young women who are attracted to both sexes or who are unsure about who they are attracted to are more likely to develop an eating disorder than those attracted to only one sex, according to a new study from Drexel University.
	Multidisciplinary team brings novel solutions to a wide array of health challenges Most medical researchers focus tightly on a narrow set of diseases or technologies. Jeffrey Karp looks instead across a broad smorgasbord of medical issues where innovative bioengineering can make a big difference in a relatively small amount of time.
	From sounds to the meaning Without understanding the "referential function" of language (words as "verbal labels," symbolizing other things), it is impossible to learn a language. Is this implicit knowledge already present early in infants? A study conducted by the Language, Cognition and Development Lab of SISSA says it is.
	Understanding the genetics of inflammation The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology is an international centre of excellence for researching inflammation in the body, from causes to treatments. Professor Irina Udalova is the Institute's principal investigator of the genomics of inflammation. Her latest research has found that a protein known as Interferon Lambda Two (IFN-λ2) could restrict the development of debilitating inflammation, like that found in rheumatoid arthritis.
	Researcher has pioneered the use of laser technology to noninvasively detect and treat oral cancers Ever since her student days in the dental clinic at Guy's Hospital in London, Dr. Petra Wilder-Smith has been looking for ways to do things differently.
Predicting the risk of cognitive impairment in children born prematurely via MRI School age children who are born prematurely are more likely to have low mathematical achievement, thought to be associated with reduced working memory and number skills, according to a new study published today in the neurology journal Brain.
	Ballooning platelets and the future of anti-thrombotic drugs Membrane ballooning in platelets during the blood-clotting process is driven by a coordinated system of salt and water entry which may be modified pharmacologically, a new study from the University of Bristol has found. The research could ultimately lead to the development of better 'blood-thinning' drugs for patients who experience complications with or are resistant to existing antiplatelet drugs such as aspirin.
	Exposure to phthalates could be linked to pregnancy loss A new study of more than 300 women suggests that exposure to certain phthalates—substances commonly used in food packaging, personal-care and other everyday products—could be associated with miscarriage, mostly between 5 and 13 weeks of pregnancy. The research, appearing in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology, is the first epidemiological study on non-work-related exposure to phthalates to provide evidence for the possible link among a general population.
	New symptom may help ID sleep apnea in older women The results of a new study suggest that nocturnal enuresis, or bedwetting, may be an additional symptom that doctors can look for when assessing post-menopausal women for obstructive sleep apnea. That condition left untreated can lead to serious medical problems, such as cardiovascular disease, as organs are undersupplied with oxygen.
	New genetic mutation identified in melanoma cancer cells There is strong evidence that the protein complex APC/C may function as a tumor suppressor in multiple cancers including lymphoma, colorectal and breast cancer, and now melanoma. A new study has revealed that a genetic mutation leading to repression of a specific protein, Cdh1, which interacts with APC/C, is present in melanoma cancer cells.
Newly discovered protein may protect kidney cells from injury A new discovery by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers may change how kidney disease is treated in the future.
Men in China face increasing tobacco-related cancer risks In China, smoking now causes nearly a quarter of all cancers in adult males. The finding comes from a large study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, as part of a Special Issue on Lung Cancer in China. High uptake rates of cigarette smoking in teenaged males and continued use in adulthood foreshadow even greater tobacco-related cancer risks for the nation.
	Studies show exercise is safe, improves quality of life for pulmonary hypertension patients Exercise training for patients with pulmonary hypertension was shown to be safe and to improve quality of life, according to an analysis by UT Southwestern Medical Center cardiologists of studies involving more than 400 participants.
	Driving with central visual field loss Vision researchers in Boston have published the second paper of a study designed to determine if a driver who suffers from loss of central vision is able to detect pedestrians in a timely manner when driving. Central visual field loss, a scotoma or blind area in central vision, is found most commonly in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Patients with AMD may drive provided their visual acuity at least meets the requirements for a restricted license. However, the size and location of the blind area are usually not considered when making licensing decisions. The purpose of the study was to evaluate how much these blind areas delayed responses to pedestrian hazards in the safe environment of a driving simulator.
Lowering sugar-sweetened beverage intake by children linked to favorable HDL-C changes In the first study to investigate blood lipid levels in association with consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in a racially and ethnically diverse sample of Boston area schoolchildren, researchers found there was an inverse association between SSB intake changes and HDL-cholesterol increases (HDL-C is the "good cholesterol"). The study's results also showed that a higher intake of SSBs was associated with a higher triglyceride concentration.
	Manipulation of food structure could lead the way to a healthier diet A new study led by scientists at King's College London shows that preserving the natural structure of dietary fibre during food production can help to slow the rise in blood sugar levels after a meal.
	Diabetes and brain tangles may be linked independently of Alzheimer's disease Diabetes may be linked to the buildup of tangles or tau in the brain, separate from Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study published in the September 2, 2015, online version of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Telomerase targeting drug demonstrates benefit in myelofibrosis treatment Imetelstat, a novel drug that targets telomerase, has demonstrated potential value in treating patients with myelofibrosis, according to the results of a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
	'Guilting' teens into exercise won't increase activity Just like attempts at influencing hairstyles or clothing can backfire, adults who try to guilt middle-schoolers into exercising won't get them to be any more active, according to a new study by University of Georgia researchers.
Food insecurity linked to adolescent obesity, metabolic syndrome New research indicates that household food insecurity dramatically increases the likelihood of metabolic diseases in children, with many showing chronic disease markers before they graduate from high school. The study published today in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.
Researchers identify a new approach for lowering harmful lipids Xian-Cheng Jiang, PhD, professor of cell biology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, has led a study identifying a new approach for lowering "bad" lipids in blood circulation, a critical means to combat devastating cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. The research was published in the online edition of Gastroenterology.
Scientists discover mechanism for air pollution-induced liver disease A research team led by Kezhong Zhang, Ph.D., at the Wayne State University School of Medicine's Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, has discovered that exposure to air pollution has a direct adverse health effect on the liver and causes liver fibrosis, an illness associated with metabolic disease and liver cancer.
Anti-nausea drug approved (HealthDay)—Varubi (rolapitant) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat nausea and vomiting among adults undergoing cancer chemotherapy.
	More Americans getting knees replaced, and at younger ages (HealthDay)—Aging baby boomers are getting bum knees replaced at a greater rate, and at a younger age, than ever before, a new U.S. study confirms.
	FDA issues warning about skin lighteners (HealthDay)—Injectable skin-lightening products are potentially unsafe and ineffective, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns.
	Study compares hospitalized infection risk for biologics in RA (HealthDay)—For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with prior biologic exposure, the risk of hospitalized infection is increased with etanercept, infliximab, and rituximab versus abatacept, according to a study published online Aug. 28 in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
	Older cancer patients heavily use health care services (HealthDay)—Older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are intense users of health care services and rarely use palliative care and hospice services, according to a study published in the August issue of Cancer.
Novartis, Amgen partner on Alzheimer's, migraine treatment Swiss drug maker Novartis says it will cooperate with California-based biotech giant Amgen to develop and sell neuroscience treatments for illnesses and ailments like Alzheimer's disease and migraine headaches.
	Workplaces friendly to breastfeeding on rise in Louisiana With the many advantages of breastfeeding babies, many working moms are finding that their employers have opted to show support for breastfeeding employees by complying with the federal "Break Time for Nursing Mothers" law.
	To test cancer sooner, we need the government to invest in the NHS Too many people are diagnosed with late-stage cancer each year.
	Everything you need to know about social determinants of health you can learn from IKEA It's that time of year again. Summer is ending, undergrads are flooding university campuses, and people are moving. When people move, a few things become mandatory, for example, pizza or some other reward for those who help you move.
Ukraine reports polio outbreak, first cases in Europe since 2010: WHO (Update) Two polio cases have been confirmed in western Ukraine, the first to be recorded in Europe since 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
How technology can augment obesity therapy Obesity is recognized as one of the largest preventable risk factors for many other diseases and health problems. It has been declared a national epidemic. Behavioral solutions are needed to provide patients with the skills and support necessary to make healthful behavior change. This includes taking into account psychological and social factors like income, education, culture, and race—factors outside of the patient's control. Rates of obesity are much higher in medically vulnerable populations. The clinical solution to obesity has traditionally required individuals to keep meticulous records of everything they eat and drink, as well as their exercise over 6-12 months. For those who are struggling to make ends meet, raise children on their own, or have limited transportation options, how do we find practical solutions for them? Technology can help.
Psychological consequences remain profound among coastal communities devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake A second round of aggregate findings from a study by Tohoku University's Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo) has revealed that depressive symptoms continue to be higher in coastal areas than in inland areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami that followed.
Seven die from Legionnaires' disease at Illinois veterans home The death toll from a Legionnaires' disease outbreak at a western Illinois veterans home has climbed to seven, and the state's public health director has warned that more fatalities could occur.
	Two years on for pioneering TRACERx lung cancer study It should have been a dream holiday – a perfect escape from England's January chills for a retired couple. Terrence, 75, was relaxing on deck with a book as the cruise ship slid through sapphire waters between Bali and Singapore.
	Researchers pioneering new research into maternal trauma and wellbeing New research projects from the Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research at City University London are exploring how to help women following birth trauma as well as improve wellbeing during pregnancy.
	Japonica Array: Improved genotype imputation by designing a population-specific SNP array A research group, led by Professor Masao Nagasaki and Senior Assistant Professor Yosuke Kawai at Tohoku University Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, has successfully designed the first ever SNP array that has been optimized for the Japanese population.
New study discovers immune system protein can fix cystic fibrosis cells Scientific experiments examining what happens to the faulty channel protein that causes cystic fibrosis during inflammation have yielded unexpected and exciting results. The study, conducted by Sara Bitam and her colleagues at INSERM in France, has just passed peer review on open science publishing platform F1000Research.
Valeant will buy eye surgery device maker Synergetics Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals said Wednesday it will buy eye surgery product maker Synergetics USA for as much as $192 million.
Watchdog: 900,000 vets may have pending health care requests Nearly 900,000 military veterans have officially pending applications for health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the department's inspector general said Wednesday, but "serious" problems with enrollment data make it impossible to determine how many veterans were actively seeking VA health care.

Biology news

	Male seahorse and human pregnancies remarkably alike Their pregnancies are carried by the males but, when it comes to breeding, seahorses have more in common with humans than previously thought, new research from the University of Sydney reveals.
	Climate to cause lesser of two weevils, study says Rising temperatures may shift the gender balance of Mediterranean weevils in favour of females, said a study Wednesday into a bizarre consequence of global warming.
	Time-lapse analysis offers new look at how cells repair DNA damage Time-lapse imaging can make complicated processes easier to grasp—think of a stitched-together sequence of photos that chronicles the construction of a building. Now, scientists from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) are using a similar approach to study how cells repair DNA damage.
	Scanning study suggests sawteeth in chondrichthyan likely not related to real teeth (Phys.org)—A small team of researchers with members from the Natural Museum of London, King's College, and the University of London has conducted a study of the toothlike skin denticles exhibited by many chondrichthyan and has determined that they are not likely related to real teeth. In their paper published in Royal Society Open Science, the team describes their scanning study and their results.
	Study provides insights into the mechanisms of fine-tuning of wheat to diverse environments A Kansas State University wheat geneticist is part of a breakthrough study that identifies one of the wheat genes that controls response to low temperature exposure, a process called vernalization. Natural variation in vernalization genes defines when the plant begins to flower and is critical for adaptation to different environments.
	Scientists discover key clues in turtle evolution A research team led by NYIT scientist Gaberiel Bever has determined that a 260-million year-old fossil species found in South Africa's Karoo Basin provides a long awaited glimpse into the murky origins of turtles.
	Change in environment can lead to rapid evolution, researchers say A new Florida State University study is giving researchers a glimpse at how organisms from fish to flowers to tumors evolve in response to rapid environmental change.
	Animal without synapses feeds by external digestion using global, local cellular control A multicellular marine animal without organs, Trichoplax's feeding behavior may include cellular coordination, resulting in external food digestion, according to a study published September 2, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Carolyn Smith and colleagues from the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD.
	Study reveals how distinctive termite mounds are ventilated, could offer lessons to human architects As animal architects go, the average termite doesn't have many tools at their disposal - just their bodies, soil and saliva. And as guidance, variations in wind speed and direction and daily fluctuations in temperature as the sun rises and sets.
	Human genome-editing research should proceed, say leading UK science bodies A group of leading UK research organisations has today issued an initial joint statement in support of the continued use of CRISPR-Cas9 and other genome-editing techniques in preclinical research. This includes the use of the technology for research purposes in human reproductive cells and early embryos, where this is fully justified, scientifically and ethically, and within the confines of the law.
	Terabytes of mosquito pictures help enhance mosquito netting Researchers at the University of Warwick's School of Engineering are using imaging technologies, that are normally applied to automotive engines and sprays, to image thousands of mosquitoes to help develop better netting and physical protection against the malaria spreading insect.
	Potential of disk-shaped coccolith structures to promote efficient bioenergy production Researchers at Hiroshima University and the University of Tsukuba showed that coccolith disks made of calcium carbonate in Emiliania huxleyi, one of the promising biomass resources, potentially perform roles in reducing and enhancing the light that enters the cell by light scattering. Elucidation of the physiological significance of coccolith formation in E. huxleyi can help promote efficient bioenergy production using microalgae.
	How does your microbiome grow? It is increasingly clear that the thousands of different bacteria living in our intestinal tract - our microbiome - have a major impact on our health. But the details of the microbiome's effects are still fairly murky. A Weizmann Institute study that recently appeared in Science suggests approaching this topic from a new angle: Assess how fast the various bacteria grow.
	Microbial diversity insights are often strongly biased Substantial methodological biases in soil fungal diversity were demonstrated by an Estonian-German research consortium (University of Tartu and EMBL). It turns out that even sophisticated and innovative approaches such as DNA barcoding and PCR-free analyses are likely to end up with biased information when researching the taxonomic community composition of soil biota. The study is published in both open access journal MycoKeys and Science magazine.
Many North American birds may lose part of range under climate change scenarios Over 50% of nearly 600 surveyed bird species may lose more than half of their current geographic range across three climate change scenarios through the end of the century in North America, according to a study published September 2, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Gary Langham and colleagues from the National Audubon Society.
	Seal pups listen for long distance calls to locate their mothers Antarctic fur seal pups identify the mother's vocal pitch at longer distance and use other components of the vocal signature at closer range to identify their mother in densely populated breeding colonies, according to a study published September 2, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Thierry Aubin from University of Paris-Sud and colleagues.
	Loons return faithfully to the same wintering sites year after year Common Loons (Gavia immer) nest on lakes across Canada and the northern U.S., but every winter they disperse, many to the open ocean where they're difficult to track. It's been well established that many loons return to the same nesting sites every spring, but new research in The Condor: Ornithological Applications shows for the first time that they are similarly faithful to their wintering sites. Over the course of nearly 15 years, James Paruk of the Biodiversity Research Institute and his colleagues used a combination of methods to investigate winter site fidelity at four locations across North America and found that birds had an 85% chance of returning to a site in subsequent years. Because loons' coastal wintering habitats can be severely impacted by oil spills and other human activities, this information has important implications for wildlife managers.
	Patrols keep US boaters in line, protect killer whales Against a backdrop of rocky bluffs, a pod of orcas jumped out of the emerald waters of the Puget Sound before splashing their massive black-and-white bodies back into the water.
	Researcher innovates method that detects pathogens in food in less than 24 hours In the province of Ontario in the Canadian city London, the Mexican researcher Yadira Tejeda has developed a method for detecting contamination of meat products with Escherichia coli-O157, a bacterium that causes intestinal infection, in less than 24 hours.
	Nightly human-fox encounters in West Vienna Vienna's inhabitants have reported about 300 foxes in the urban area to the internet platform www.stadtwildtiere.at during the last three months. These reports demonstrate that wild animals do not only live in remote woods, but more and more also in cities. Wildlife ecologist Theresa Walter from the Vetmeduni Vienna investigated when and where in Vienna it is most likely to meet a fox. First analyses show that foxes are primarily sighted in the western districts such as Hietzing and Penzing, particularly at night. The results will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society in Göttingen on 2 and 3 September 2015.
	Changing the biological data visualization world Scientists at TGAC, alongside European partners, have created a cutting-edge, open source community for the lifesciences. BioJavaScript (BioJS) is a free, accessible software library that develops visualization tools for different types of biological data. Data visualization allows researchers to present their data to communicate key scientific hypotheses and concepts to a wider audience. Helping us to understand complex biological systems in relation to improving plant, animal and human health.

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