Science X Newsletter Friday, Oct 30

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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for October 30, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Scientists design full-scale architecture for quantum computer in silicon
- Euclid: Observing the unseen
- Engineers reveal record-setting flexible phototransistor
- Thin film allows for scaling up perovskite cells and also raises efficiency
- New concepts emerge for generating clean, inexpensive fuel from water
- Scientists get first glimpse of conductivity that could break size barriers for memory
- MIT group explores bacteria use for comfort wear
- How we use our smartphones twice as much as we think
- Fire in engine doomed Orbital rocket on space station flight (Update)
- New metal alloy could yield green cooling technologies
- Study explores what we know about how neonicotinoids affect bees
- Solving 80-year-old mystery, chemist discovers way to isolate single-crystal ice surfaces
- UT study: Lack of ZZZZs may zap cell growth, brain activity
- Chemical complexity promises improved structural alloys for next-gen nuclear energy
- Some like it hot: Moth and butterfly species respond differently to climate change

Astronomy & Space news

	Euclid: Observing the unseen (Phys.org)—In a notorious hunt for elusive dark matter, seeing the unseen is the key to scientific success. The latest addition to the fleet of probes searching for dark matter, European Space Agency's (ESA) Euclid spacecraft, is being designed to bring breakthrough results while observing the yet unobserved.
	A full view of Pluto's stunning crescent from New Horizons In September, the New Horizons team released a stunning but incomplete image of Pluto's crescent. Thanks to new processing work by the science team, New Horizons is releasing the entire, breathtaking image of Pluto.
	Image: The youngest crater on Charon? New Horizons scientists have discovered a striking contrast between one of the fresh craters on Pluto's largest moon Charon and a neighboring crater dotting the moon's Pluto-facing hemisphere.
	Cassini plunged into icy plumes of Enceladus The Cassini spacecraft took a daring plunge into the icy geysers of Saturn's moon Enceladus this week in search of telltale signs of a habitable environment.
	Rewrite of onboard memory planned for NASA Mars orbiter Tables stored in flash memory aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) tell locations of Earth and the sun for the past 10 years, but not their locations next year. That needs to be changed. Carefully.
	Fire in engine doomed Orbital rocket on space station flight (Update) A fire and explosion in a rocket engine are being blamed for a botched commercial space station shipment last October.
	Venus considered for clues on early Earth geology Imagine thousands of huge asteroids raining down on ancient Earth, smashing craters as big as metropolitan Perth and a few much larger rocks which gouged holes as big as Australia into the planet.
	Dawn starts steep descent to most dazzling orbit of Ceres The most dazzling views ever seen of dwarf planet Ceres and its mysterious bright spots are what's on tap by year's end as NASA's amazing Dawn spacecraft starts a gradual but steep descent over the next two months to its lowest and final orbit around the bizarre icy body.
	Results of the Rosetta mission before perihelion Astronomy & Astrophysics is publishing a special feature of 46 articles that present the results obtained by the Rosetta mission before the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko reached its perihelion.
	A Halloween season 'Taurid meteor swarm' on tap for 2015? Asteroid 2015 TB145 isn't the only cosmic visitor paying our planet a trick-or-treat visit over the coming week. With any luck, the Northern Taurid meteor shower may put on a fine once a decade show heading into early November.

Technology news

	Thin film allows for scaling up perovskite cells and also raises efficiency A team of Swiss, Chinese and Japanese researchers has found a way to scale up perovskite solar cells without a loss of stability. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes their technique and how the results were verified by representatives with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
	MIT group explores bacteria use for comfort wear Is "bio" the new interface? What is all this talk about actuators being made out of biological matter such as bacteria?
	Simple mathematical formula models lithium-ion battery aging Hybrid electric vehicles, cell phones, digital cameras, and the Mars Curiosity rover are just a few of the many devices that use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Now a team of Penn State researchers has a simple mathematical formula to predict what factors most influence lithium-ion battery aging.
	How we use our smartphones twice as much as we think People use their smartphones for an average of five hours a day – about a third of the time they are awake – and check the about 85 times a day, research suggests.
China search giant Baidu sees lift from travel deal Chinese search giant Baidu said Thursday it expects a new travel services partnership to help drive future revenue as the country's middle class grows, after it reported better-than-expected third quarter earnings.
	Video: The next generation of 3-D holograms Imagine watching the World Cup or the Super Bowl in 3-D in the comfort of your own home. That option may be available sooner than you think. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), optical scientist Nasser Peyghambarian and his team at the University of Arizona are working to make next-generation holograms possible. The researchers foresee the day, possibly within the next decade, when laser-generated holograms will be transmitted anywhere in the world, in real time.
	HP, a Silicon Valley icon, is ready for its break-up One of the nation's most storied tech companies will split in two this weekend, another casualty of seismic shifts in the way people use technology—and big-company sluggishness in responding.
UK police arrest 16-year-old over Talk Talk telecoms hack British police have arrested a 16-year-old boy in London over a cyberattack on telecoms firm Talk Talk.
Online services in the EU: Both local and global, with the US as the dominant supplier Online services in the EU are highly fragmented: Europeans surf mostly on US-based websites which account for about 54% of online activity, while activity on EU-based websites accounts for 42%, according to a new JRC report. Only 4% of the EU's online services activity takes place on websites from other parts of the world.

Medicine & Health news

	Neuroscientists identify brain region that holds objects in memory until they are spotted Imagine you are looking for your wallet on a cluttered desk. As you scan the area, you hold in your mind a mental picture of what your wallet looks like.
	Master gene orchestrates regeneration of damaged peripheral nerves​ One of the big challenges with spinal cord injuries is that spinal cord neurons don't have the ability to regrow after an injury. That's why most spinal paralysis in patients is permanent.
Researchers identify association between reproductive factors and risk of death Reproductive factors in women, such as a later starting age of menstruation, having children, breastfeeding and use of oral contraceptives, are associated with a reduced risk of death, according to research published in the open access journal BMC Medicine. A better understanding of how these factors can influence long-term health could help in the development of clinical strategies to improve women's health.
Kids meals, toys, and TV advertising: A triple threat to child health Fast food companies advertise children's meals on TV with ads that feature toy premiums, and it has been suggested that the use of these toy premiums may prompt children to request eating at fast food restaurants. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers found that the more children watched television channels that aired ads for children's fast food meals, the more frequently their families visited those fast food restaurants.
Treatment of severe acne hampered by antibiotic overuse and delays in prescribing more potent medication A medical records analysis by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center concludes that physicians who treat severe acne leave too many patients on ineffective antibiotics for far too long before prescribing more potent needed therapy with the medication isotretinoin, sometimes known by its former brand name Accutane.
	Pregnancy antibiotics no cause for concern, study shows The four out of ten women who use antibiotics during pregnancy can breathe easy, as a comprehensive new study shows that the two most often prescribed drugs have no adverse outcome on the child's physical development. The researchers, led by Anick Bérard of the University of Montreal and its affiliated CHU Sainte-Justine children's hospital, and Hedvig Nordeng of the University of Oslo, looked at macrolides, a type of antibiotics.
Oregon public health officials: Teen girl has bubonic plague A teen girl from eastern Oregon has contracted the bubonic plague, health officials said.
	Self-injury—raising the profile of a dangerous behavior Self-injury so often occurs in private, an important reason why solid statistics are hard to come by. But researchers estimate between 10 and 40 percent of adolescents, and up to 10 percent of adults, harm themselves physically – usually by cutting or burning their skin.
Young patients help lead fresh approach to skin conditions Young people with severe acne, atopic eczema and psoriasis are working with scientists to find out how they can stop these conditions having a major impact on their lives.
	Testing of oculomotor nerve function may aid in concussion diagnosis There are approximately three million sports-related concussions reported each year in the U. S., and the rate of diagnosed concussions continues to rise. Concussions can have lasting impacts on injured athletes, including compromised nerve function weeks after the initial trauma, according to a recent Penn State study.
	Qualities admired in another from far away can be threatening as that person approaches, according to research What people believe they want and what they might actually prefer are not always the same thing. And in the case of being outperformed as an element of romantic attraction, the difference between genuine affinity and apparent desirability becomes clearer as the distance between two people gets smaller.
	Blocking Ebola virus budding by regulating calcium signaling The Ebola virus acts fast. The course of infection, from exposure to recovery, or death, can take as little as two weeks. That may not leave enough time for the immune system to mount an effective response.
	Experts offer tips for taking advantage of daylight saving time With daylight saving time set for Sunday morning, UT experts at the are encouraging people to take advantage of the extra hour.
	Researchers discover protein that causes pre-diabetes The western world is getting fatter and this has resulted in the development of a relatively new disease called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is present in around 60 per cent of obese adults. The disease, which puts the person at very high risk of developing diabetes, is also on the increase in Asian countries where a prevalence of 15 per cent has been reported.
	Biologist uncovers fundamental new strategy for destroying cancer cells University of Virginia cell biologist John Herr believes that the most ground-breaking findings always start with an insight built on basic science. He would know; his steady research on the development of sperm and eggs has lead to numerous breakthroughs in reproductive health, and now he believes his team has discovered a revolutionary strategy to treat cancer.
Possible genetic explanation for why some lymphoma patients don't respond to treatment An important regulator that controls the ability of tumour cells to hide from the immune system in lymphoma patients, making them unlikely to respond to standard treatment, has been discovered by scientists at the University of Oxford.
	Underlying processes of working memory are more complex than previously thought In order to retain a piece of information for a short time, working memory is required. The underlying processes are considerably more complex than hitherto assumed, as researchers from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and Bonn University report in the journal Cell Reports. Two brain states must alternate rhythmically in order for a piece of information to be successfully maintained.
Computational models to sort out the genetic chaos of cancer cells Scientists of the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine of the University of Luxembourg have developed a method for analysing the genome of cancer cells more precisely than ever before. The team led by Prof. Antonio del Sol, head of the research group Computational Biology, is employing bioinformatics: Using novel computing processes, the researchers have created models of the genome of cancer cells based on known changes to the genome. These models are useful for determining the structure of DNA in tumours. "If we know this structure, we can study how cancer develops and spreads," says del Sol. "This gives us clues about possible starting points for developing new anticancer drugs and better individual therapy for cancer patients."
	Brain turns down volume of background noise in a busy cafe In a busy cafe, on the street, on the telephone or even in a lecture theatre: speech sounds are often lost in a sea of background noise. However our brain still manages to fill in the 'gaps'. You seem to hear softer word sounds right through loud noises. How does our brain do that? Neuroscientist Lars Riecke from Maastricht University discovered that this is due to the automatic suppression of neural responses to hearing disruptions. It is as if the slides on a sound mixer in our head open and close. Riecke carried out his research with a Veni grant from the NWO Talent Scheme programme.
	Interpreting the language of touch We have surprisingly little understanding of how much our sense of touch contributes to our everyday lives, but Sydney biomedical engineer Dr Heba Khamis has discovered a way to interpret the language of touch.
	Hearing ghost voices relies on pseudoscience and fallibility of human perception Nontrivial numbers of Americans believe in the paranormal. These beliefs have spawned thousands of groups dedicated to investigating paranormal phenomena and a proliferation of ghost-hunting entries in the reality television market. Anecdotal evidence even suggests that ghost-hunting reality shows have increased public openness to paranormal research, which usually entails a small group traipsing through reportedly haunted locales at night with various ghost-hunting technologies.
	Food insects for reptile pets shuttle allergens into homes Reptiles are often chosen as pets when an allergy risk exists within a family and the choice is made to avoid potentially allergenic pets such as dogs, cats or guinea pigs. Researchers at the Messerli Research Institute, however, recently described a noteworthy clinical case in which an eight-year-old boy developed nightly attacks of severe shortness of breath four months after the purchase of a bearded dragon.
The eyes have it—promising outlook for psychiatric test A pioneering test to help diagnose mental health disorders is a step closer to being used in hospitals and clinics.
	Obese pregnant women who lose weight save money, have healthier newborns A recent study conducted by The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston shows that severely obese women who maintained or lost weight during pregnancy had healthier babies and lower health care costs.
	Researchers discover simple, affordable diagnostic kit for chikungunya A novel and affordable diagnostic test for chikungunya will soon be available thanks to the work of researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in partnership with a commercial lab.
	Researchers discover new way to measure if a person is pre-diabetic A panel of markers have been discovered that helps identify if a person is pre-diabetic by measuring the fatty acids in their blood. This discovery by University of Hawai'i Cancer Center researchers may allow physicians to warn patients years before the onset of diabetes, therefore allowing them to change their lifestyle patterns potentially avoiding the diagnosis of a chronic disease.
	The lying game University of Huddersfield investigative psychology lecturer Dr Chris Street is making breakthroughs that are leading towards a clearer understanding of how humans tell lies and how their deceptions can be detected. For more than 30 years it has been said that we should trust our hunches and unconscious knowledge of body language. Yet his work, described in a new journal article, shows that we would be better off consciously relying on a single "cue", such as whether or not a person is plainly thinking hard.
	It's back to standard time this weekend (HealthDay)—When the clocks slide back an hour this Sunday, some people may have trouble adjusting to the change.
	Ex-NFL star helps spread the word on risks posed by painkillers (HealthDay)—During his 12 seasons as a fullback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 6-foot-1, 250-pound Mike Alstott was known as "The A-Train"—a punishing runner and blocker and fan favorite.
	Dry eye disease often diagnosed in alopecia areata (HealthDay)—Many patients with alopecia areata are diagnosed with dry eye disease (DED), and patients should be referred for an ophthalmic evaluation, according to a study published in the November issue of the International Journal of Dermatology.
	Acupuncture improves gait function in Parkinson's disease (HealthDay)—For patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), acupuncture is associated with improvement in gait function, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
	Anorexia nervosa linked to some markers of oxidative stress (HealthDay)—Some markers of oxidative stress are increased in anorexia nervosa (AN), according to a review published in the November issue of the International Journal of Eating Disorders.
	AAFP encourages family doctors to consider prescribing naloxone (HealthDay)—A resource has been produced to encourage family physicians to consider prescribing naloxone to patients, their family members, or close friends when there is a risk of opioid overdose, according to a report published by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).
	Dose-response pattern for smoking, colorectal neoplasm (HealthDay)—Colorectal neoplasm (CRN) is associated with smoking in a dose-response manner, but not with alcohol intake, according to a study published online Oct. 19 in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
	Income level doesn't substantially impact CPAP use (HealthDay)—Among patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), patient neighborhood income level is not significantly associated with purchase of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device, and the overall rate of uptake remains low, according to a study published online Oct. 16 in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
Divorce rate doesn't go up as families of children with disabilities grow Couples raising a child with developmental disabilities do not face a higher risk of divorce if they have larger families, according to a new study by researchers from the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Major collaborative study explores information poverty amongst young first-time mothers Support for young first-time mothers in access to information on health, social care and education is to be explored in a study led at the University of Strathclyde.
California appeals court rejects right-to-die lawsuit A California appeals court on Thursday rejected a lawsuit by three terminally ill patients that sought to clear the way for doctors to prescribe fatal medication to them and others like them who want the option of taking their lives.
CVS, Express Scripts cut ties with Valeant-linked pharmacy The nation's two largest pharmacy benefit providers said Thursday they are severing ties with a mail-order pharmacy affiliated with embattled drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals after a review of the pharmacy's business practices.
	Doctor who helped launch modern paramedic system dies at 98 As a cardiologist in Los Angeles during the 1960s, Dr. Walter S. Graf became alarmed by the number of heart attack sufferers who died while en route to hospitals.
Russian to double spending on HIV care next year Russia's health minister says Russia will double its spending on HIV care and prevention next year.
	Sex differences in preclinical neuroscience research A little over a year ago, the NIH Director, Dr. Francis Collins and the Director of NIH Office of Research on Women's Health, Dr. Janine Clayton expressed their concern about the stark imbalance in the sex of animals used in preclinical research and the implications of this imbalance on clinical practice. While the NIH has released a notice to fix this issue, more awareness is needed to encourage preclinical scientists to genuinely acknowledge the value of considering both sexes in their experimental designs.
	Language a factor in Aboriginal obesity Australian aboriginals who use their own language at home are less likely to be obese than those who speak only English.
	First look at concussions in water polo UC Irvine physiologist James Hicks' three sons all played water polo. Watching them compete, he noticed how physical the sport can be—elbows, head butts, the ball flying at high speeds. His oldest son once had to be dragged out of the pool after suffering a blow.
	Valeant cutting ties with Philidor Valeant Pharmaceuticals, a company that has come under intense scrutiny for its drug prices, has cut ties with Philidor following accusations that it was a "phantom pharmacy" used solely to artificially boost sales.
Pulse oximetry screening in newborns: Hint of benefit for critical congenital heart defect There is a hint of a benefit of pulse oximetry screening as an add-on test to existing standard examinations for detection of critical congenital heart defects in newborns: More cases are detected by additional screening than by the two clinical examinations U1 and U2 alone. This means that newborns can be treated at an early stage and may be protected from severe late complications.
Uruguay: Heaven for meat eaters, hell for vegetarians It is not easy being a vegetarian in Uruguay—one of the largest exporters of meat in the world.
	Increasing numbers of med school applicants, enrollees (HealthDay)—There has been a 25 percent increase in the number of medical school enrollees since 2002, with the number reaching an all-time high of 20,630 this year, according to a report published online Oct. 22 by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

Biology news

	Some like it hot: Moth and butterfly species respond differently to climate change New research led by ecologists at the University of York shows that certain species of moths and butterflies are becoming more common, and others rarer, as species differ in how they respond to climate change.
	Study explores what we know about how neonicotinoids affect bees An international group of pollination experts - including a University of Guelph professor - has published a second summary in as many years on the scientific evidence about the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on bees.
UT study: Lack of ZZZZs may zap cell growth, brain activity Lack of adequate sleep can do more than just make you tired. It can short-circuit your system and interfere with a fundamental cellular process that drives physical growth, physiological adaptation and even brain activity, according to a new study from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
	Researcher investigates the mysteries of Washington's San Juan Islands bats As Halloween approaches, bats can be found everywhere from costumes to decorations. But during the rest of the year, bats are frequently under-appreciated and over-looked. Washington state is home to 15 species of bats, and yet not much is known about these mammals and their distribution. Along with their amazing biological adaptations, bats perform a variety of important ecological roles. Bats are a primary predator for nocturnal insects, many of which are crop-destroying pests. The health of many of our ecosystems depends upon the wellbeing of bats. Habitat or land fragmentation occurs when habitat loss creates smaller, divided areas of land. Often this is a result of human activities, like agriculture, urbanization and pollution. While usually considered less susceptible to the perils of habitat fragmentation because of their ability to fly, bats remain at risk to the loss of their resources and environments to land fragmentati! on.
	Human handouts could be spreading disease from birds to people People feeding white ibises at public parks are turning the normally independent birds into beggars, and now researchers at the University of Georgia say it might also be helping spread disease.
	Are vampire bats nature's misunderstood monsters? Werewolves, ghosts, and vampires—with the days getting shorter and colder, and Halloween fast approaching, our imaginations turn to the ghouls that supposedly come out around this time of year. Vampires, one of history's most popular monsters, are portrayed in many stories as evil, bloodsucking fiends. However, new scientific research on the real-life vampires of the animal kingdom, Desmodus rotundus, the vampire bat, may reveal a gentler side to these creatures.
	Ornithological ninjas infiltrate the woods on behalf of endangered woodpeckers It was a stealth operation. A group of highly trained specialists infiltrated the area at dark, quietly deploying a range of technical apparatus to neutralize and secure eight carefully selected individuals, then whisking their captives miles away to a set of safe houses.
Seagrass restoration paying off for eastern shore Seagrasses are crucial to the health of shallow coastal marine environments, in Virginia and worldwide. Seagrass meadows provide habitat and serve as nursery and feeding grounds to a diverse range of sea creatures – crustaceans, scallops, mollusks and fish. The meadows, made up primarily of eelgrass, are the basis of the food chain and help clear water of sediments that are detrimental to the growth of the grass itself, as well as to the animal species that depend on the meadows.
	Meet the ghost sharks and deep-sea demons that will haunt your dreams Sharks can be scary. But while most of us fear sharks such as the great white (not me, I'm fascinated by them), few are aware of what is lurking in even deeper waters. There, at depths of up to 3,000m, live the real monsters of the sea: elusive demon cat sharks, deep-sea dogfish and ghost sharks.
Mechanical forces control the architecture of bacterial biofilms As hide-outs for bacteria, biofilms cause problems for antibiotic treatment or the cleaning of medical tubes. They contribute to the spreading of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. A biofilm is created when bacteria attach to surfaces and multiply. Gradually, bacterial subpopulations can develop different properties although they originated from the same cell. However, very little is known about how this heterogeneity contributes to the development of structure in such biofilms.
	African lion survival may be dependent on corridor creation Across Africa, lion populations are threatened by continued reductions in their range and associated genetic isolation.
Experts urge cautious approach on Great Lakes fish farming If Michigan allows commercial fish farming in the Great Lakes, the industry should begin on a small and experimental scale to enable careful monitoring of the effect on the environment and wild fish populations, scientists said in a report to state officials.
	Spooktacular! Town of Monster opens 'batbridge' In a freaky twist of the calendar, a new bridge to provide a safe haven for bats has just opened days before Halloween in a Dutch town called ... Monster.
	Innovative company reduces mortality in poultry and pigs with original supplement After 20 years of research and two patent requests in Mexico, the United States, China, Europe and Brazil, Mexican researcher Jorge Alberto Reyes Esparza has successfully marketed a molecular complex that reduces the death rate of pigs and poultry, improves and maintains the weight of the animals, and increases production without using hormones or antibiotics.
	Unique mechanism for symbiont acquisition in stink bugs, a group of notorious pest insect Yoshitomo Kikuchi and research collaborators have shown that stink bugs, known as agricultural pests, select only a specific symbiotic bacterium among various bacteria ingested with food by the narrow segment developing in their gastrointestinal tract, and take the bacterium into their symbiotic organ.

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