Science X Newsletter Sunday, Nov 1

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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for November 1, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Finding new worlds with a play of light and shadow
- Saturn's geyser moon shines in close flyby views
- Renewables key in race against climate change clock
- Dead comet with skull face to hurtle by Earth on Halloween
- Whose fault? Self-driving vehicles in crashes studied
- A Prkci gene keeps stem cells in check
- Researchers invent automated method for designing 3-D-printable connectors
- Mass gains of Antarctic Ice Sheet greater than losses, NASA study reports
- New computational strategy finds brain tumor-shrinking molecules
- Researchers use multigrid method to dramatically speed up cloth simulation
- Arctic snow not darkening due to soot, dust, study finds
- Desalination study authors explore fabricated membrane

Astronomy & Space news

	Finding new worlds with a play of light and shadow Astronomers have used many different methods to discover planets beyond the solar system, but the most successful by far is transit photometry, which measures changes in a star's brightness caused by a mini-eclipse. When a planet crosses in front of its star along our line of sight, it blocks some of the star's light. If the dimming lasts for a set amount of time and occurs at regular intervals, it likely means an exoplanet is passing in front of, or transiting, the star once every orbital period.
	Dead comet with skull face to hurtle by Earth on Halloween A massive space rock that will shave by Earth on Halloween looks like a dead comet with a skull face, NASA said after gaining a closer look at the spooky space object.
	Saturn's geyser moon shines in close flyby views NASA's Cassini spacecraft has begun transmitting its latest images of Saturn's icy, geologically active moon Enceladus, acquired during the dramatic Oct. 28 flyby in which the probe passed about 30 miles (49 kilometers) above the moon's south polar region. The spacecraft will continue transmitting its data from the encounter for the next several days.

Technology news

	Researchers use multigrid method to dramatically speed up cloth simulation Simulating the behavior of clothing and other fabrics in animated films requires animators to make tradeoffs between a realistic look and a reasonable amount of computing time. Researchers at Walt Disney Animation Studios now have developed a method that can shift the balance toward greater realism.
	Researchers invent automated method for designing 3-D-printable connectors Want to mount a smartphone on your car's dashboard? On the arm of a chair? On your guitar? The choice is yours with a new method invented at Disney Research that automatically designs a custom connector that can then be produced with a 3D printer.
	Whose fault? Self-driving vehicles in crashes studied If you are still troubled over the thought of driverless cars moving in traffic on our future highways, then you might want to move on over to stories about bats, beetles and bone findings.
	Renewables key in race against climate change clock Any plausible game plan for capping the rise of Earth's surface temperature depends on replacing fossil fuels with energy sources that generate little or no carbon pollution.
	Desalination study authors explore fabricated membrane Have scientists found a new way to purify sea water with materials that don't rely on electricity and are cheap enough to be manufactured in most countries? Might their work contribute to the search for a new, inexpensive water source?
	Research shows Cuba's Internet issues In December 2014, President Barack Obama made history by reestablishing diplomatic relations with Cuba, which included loosening its economic embargoes. Two months later, American companies like Netflix and Airbnb announced plans to expand into the once-banned island.
	Puzzle lamps attain new dimensions with Disney Research computer design tool Puzzle lamps capture the imagination - and the eye - by combining identical, interlocking flat elements to create a wide range of shapes. An interactive design tool developed by Disney Research now makes it easier to use this approach to create ever more intricate decorations.
	Hacker group plans to 'unhood' KKK members Hacker group Anonymous is planning to reveal the identities of up to 1,000 Ku Klux Klan members, the latest twist in an ongoing cyber-war on the white supremacist group.
In reversal, SXSW festival plans online harassment event The SXSW Interactive technology festival said Friday that it will hold an "online harassment summit" after it was criticized for bowing to threats and canceling two panels related to video games and online harassment.
Honda recall affects 2016 CR-Vs over potential air bag issue Honda is recalling some 2016 CR-V SUVs to replace Takata air bags that could rupture in a crash and send metal fragments flying.
	Silicon Valley granddaddy HP readies breakup Seventy-seven years after Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard began tinkering in a Palo Alto garage, the company that became the foundation for Silicon Valley is breaking up.
	Britain to unveil new online spying laws Britain's government gave the first details Sunday of contested plans to update Internet spying laws to keep pace with the digital age.
	South Korea pulls plug on child monitoring app The most widely used child surveillance app in South Korea is being quietly pulled from the market after security specialists raised serious concerns about the program's safety.
Holograms go mainstream, with future full of possibility Concert promoters hoping to bring out legends such as Whitney Houston, Billie Holiday and Elvis Presley used to face an obvious problem—the singers are dead.
	Bare breasts versus race-baiting in German Facebook protest A Facebook campaign featuring a topless woman and a man holding up a racist sign has gone viral in Germany, as its creator said Friday the social network needed to rein in hate speech.

Medicine & Health news

	New computational strategy finds brain tumor-shrinking molecules Patients with glioblastoma, a type of malignant brain tumor, usually survive fewer than 15 months following diagnosis. Since there are no effective treatments for the deadly disease, University of California, San Diego researchers developed a new computational strategy to search for molecules that could be developed into glioblastoma drugs. In mouse models of human glioblastoma, one molecule they found shrank the average tumor size by half. The study is published October 30 by Oncotarget.
New study finds that everyday activities empower young people in care Simply going shopping, playing in the park or reading are the kind of everyday activities that give young people in care a better sense of value and well-being.
	Tumor RNA in platelets may diagnose and classify cancer, identify treatment strategies Analysis of tumor RNA carried in platelets - blood components best known for their role in clotting - may prove to be more useful than other "liquid biopsy" technologies for diagnosing cancer and determining its primary location and potential therapeutic approaches. In a paper published in the journal Cancer Cell, an international research team describes finding that the RNA profiles of tumor-educated platelets - those that have taken up molecules shed by tumors - can distinguish among blood samples of healthy individuals and those of patients with six types of cancer, determine the location of the primary tumor and identify tumors carrying mutations that can guide therapeutic decision making.
Cologuard stool DNA test accurate in screening for colorectal cancer in Alaska Native people Cologuard stool DNA testing for colorectal cancer was found to be an accurate noninvasive screening option for Alaska Native people, a population with one of world's highest rates of colorectal cancer, concluded researchers from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Mayo Clinic.
	Email, text or web portal? Study probes patients' preferences for receiving test results The results of common medical tests are sometimes delivered to patients by email, letters or voice mail, but are these the most preferred methods? According to one of the first studies to look at this question, the answer is no.
	Sleep interruptions worse for mood than overall reduced amount of sleep, study finds A study led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers suggests that awakening several times throughout the night is more detrimental to people's positive moods than getting the same shortened amount of sleep without interruption.
	Forget counting sheep—Therapy could help chronic pain sufferers get a good night's sleep Research conducted at the University of Warwick indicates that chronic pain sufferers could benefit from therapy to help them sleep better.
Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 dependent nuclear entry of factor inhibiting HIF-1 The role of FIH-1 in the regulation of HIF-1 transcriptional activity has been known for some time, but is limited to the understanding that in the nucleus FIH-1 hydrolyzes asparagine at the C-terminus of HIF-1α to prevent the interaction between HIF-1α and associated cofactors, resulting in suppressed activation of HIF-1. FIH-1 is a cytoplasmic protein. When does FIH-1 move into the nucleus? This was specifically addressed in Dr. Y. James Kang's laboratory in the Regenerative Medicine Research Center at Sichuan University in China and is reported in the November 2015 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine.
	'Everything in moderation' diet advice may lead to poor metabolic health in US adults Diet diversity, as defined by less similarity among the foods people eat, may be linked to lower diet quality and worse metabolic health, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. The study was published today in PLOS ONE.
US reaches settlement with 457 hospitals over cardiac device The Justice Department said Friday that it had reached settlements totaling more than $250 million with hundreds of hospitals where doctors implanted cardiac devices in violation of Medicare coverage requirements.
	Heat-activated 'grenade' to target cancer Researchers have developed cancer drug-packed 'grenades' armed with heat sensitive triggers, allowing for treatment to be targeted directly at tumours, according to two studies due to be presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool.
	Skin cancer causing fusion gene identified Angiosarcoma is a malignant cancer of the endothelial cells of blood or lymphatic vessels. Cutaneous angiosarcoma, a form of skin cancer, commonly occurs on the scalp of elderly people and can rapidly metastasize to the liver, lungs or lymph nodes. Its five-year survival rate is famously poor at 20-30%, meaning that new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are highly sought after.
	Vitamin D pill a day may improve exercise performance and lower risk of heart disease Taking vitamin D supplements can improve exercise performance and lower the risk of heart disease, according to the findings of a preliminary study presented today at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh.
'Water on the knee' could be early sign of Lyme disease Spontaneous knee effusion, also known as "water on the knee," can be a primary symptom of Lyme disease, even when patients do not exhibit a "bull's eye" rash, another common Lyme disease symptom. According to a literature review appearing in the November issue of The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS), early diagnosis and antibiotic treatment can prevent the development of Lyme disease's more severe symptoms.
	Move to spur pint-sized medical devices to treat sick kids Improvise isn't a word parents want to hear from their kid's doctor. Yet pediatric specialists too often have to jury-rig care because many of the medical devices needed to treat sick children were built for adults.
	More cases of E. coli in Washington, Oregon expected Health officials expect the number of people sickened by an E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle restaurants in Washington state and Oregon to grow while they investigate the cause of the infection.
The Miriam Hospital recruiting for clinical trial of device to treat heart failure The Miriam Hospital is actively recruiting local participants for a U.S. clinical trial of the Parachute device for treating heart failure. The study is focused on determining if the new minimally invasive catheter-based device can slow the progression of heart failure, reduce repeat hospitalizations and death, and significantly improve quality of life for patients who experience enlargement of the left ventricle after a heart attack. The only site in Rhode Island to take part in the study, The Miriam has already completed the Parachute implant on two local patients. The Parachute device, an experimental treatment, is the first of its kind in the U.S.
Faulty eye product costs 13 Spaniards their sight: officials A faulty substance used in eye operations has cost 13 Spaniards their sight in one eye and left 28 other patients also suffering injuries, health authorities announced Saturday.
Iraq combats cholera with massive vaccination campaign Iraq is carrying out a major vaccination campaign to combat a cholera outbreak that has infected more than 2,200 people, the health ministry said on Sunday.
One cosmetic surgery every two minutes for Brazil men: report Once taboo, cosmetic surgery for Brazilian men is advancing at a rapid pace, with one male going under the knife every two minutes, experts said in an article Sunday.

Biology news

	A Prkci gene keeps stem cells in check When it comes to stem cells, too much of a good thing isn't wonderful: producing too many new stem cells may lead to cancer; producing too few inhibits the repair and maintenance of the body.
New technique could prevent biofilms on catheters and medical implants Biofilms—mats of bacteria similar to the plaque that grows on teeth—frequently coat the surfaces of catheters, and of various medical implants and prostheses, where they can threaten lives or lead to failure of the implants. Antibiotics are impotent against biofilms. Now Jakub Kwiecinski, PhD, Tao Jin, MD, PhD, and collaborators show that coating implants with "tissue plasminogen activator" can prevent Staphylococcus aureus, the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections, from forming biofilms. The research is published 30 October in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
Everglades' alligator numbers drop after dry years Alligators and the Everglades go hand-in-hand, and as water conditions change in the greater Everglades ecosystem, gators are one of the key species that could be affected.
	Sumatran Rhino begins US-Asia trip to ancestral home The last Sumatran rhino in the Western Hemisphere began a journey Friday from Ohio to its ancestral southeast Asian homeland on a mission to help preserve the critically endangered species.
	Drought pushes endangered California salmon to the brink Chinook salmon were already endangered in California's Sacramento River, but the record drought parching the western United States has brought the iconic fish even closer to extinction.
	US-born Sumatran rhino in Indonesia on mating mission A U.S.-born male Sumatran rhino arrived in his ancestral home of Indonesia on Sunday, making the long journey from Cincinnati, Ohio, on a mission to mate to help save his critically endangered species from extinction.
Removals of grizzly bears up in Yellowstone so far in 2015 Wildlife managers have euthanized 24 grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem so far this year, the highest number in the past five years.

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