Science X Newsletter Monday, Jan 25

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for January 25, 2016:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Modern-day metabolism could have originated in 4-billion-year-old oceans
- No more insulin injections? Encapsulated pancreatic cells offer possible new diabetes treatment
- Study shows animals with larger brains are best problem solvers
- A new quantum approach to big data
- In galaxy clustering, mass may not be the only thing that matters
- Graphene composite may keep wings ice-free
- Working out how to catch sarcasm on the Internet
- Theorists propose a new method to probe the beginning of the universe
- Scientists shed new light on workings of genetic regulation
- Highly organized structures discovered in microbial communities
- Researchers uncover how dopamine transports within the brain
- Novel 4-D printing method blossoms from botanical inspiration
- Study finds shark hotspots overlap with commercial fishing locations
- Ocean warming underestimated, study finds
- A new model emerges for monsoons in a changing global climate

Astronomy & Space news

	Theorists propose a new method to probe the beginning of the universe How did the universe begin? And what came before the Big Bang? Cosmologists have asked these questions ever since discovering that our universe is expanding. The answers aren't easy to determine. The beginning of the cosmos is cloaked and hidden from the view of our most powerful telescopes. Yet observations we make today can give clues to the universe's origin. New research suggests a novel way of probing the beginning of space and time to determine which of the competing theories is correct.
	Bezos space firm duplicates reusable rocket breakthrough Two months after the breakthrough launch and vertical landing of a reusable rocket, the space firm created by Internet entrepreneur Jeff Bezos did it again.
	Voyager mission celebrates 30 years since Uranus Humanity has visited Uranus only once, and that was 30 years ago. NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft got its closest look at the mysterious, distant, gaseous planet on Jan. 24, 1986.
	Hubble spies a rebel Most galaxies possess a majestic spiral or elliptical structure. About a quarter of galaxies, though, defy such conventional, rounded aesthetics, instead sporting a messy, indefinable shape. Known as irregular galaxies, this group includes NGC 5408, the galaxy that has been snapped here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
	Fishing for answers on bone loss in space During spaceflight, astronauts lose bone mineral density, but it is not clear exactly what causes this loss. Scientists trying to understand why recently went fishing for answers. They reared small freshwater fish aboard the International Space Station for 56 days and examined the animals' jawbones and teeth for any potential effects from microgravity.
	LISA Pathfinder arrives at its worksite After a six-week journey, LISA Pathfinder arrived at its destination today, an orbit around a point of balance in space where it will soon start testing technologies crucial for exploring the gravitational Universe.
	What makes a planet, a planet? A ninth planet? Astronomer Rob Cockcroft has heard it all before.
	NASA's MMS Spotted from Tokyo Looking like artificial shooting stars, the four Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, spacecraft appear as greenish streaks in this series of photos taken with a DSLR camera from Japan on Nov. 30, 2015, at 2:11 p.m. EST (Dec. 1, 2015, at 4:11 a.m. local time). The spacecraft appear lit up to our eyes, because they reflect sunlight coming in from over the horizon.
	Claims about new planets that turned out to be wrong—and why 'Planet Nine' may be different There's a real buzz among planetary scientists after a new study suggested that an unseen planet, dubbed "Planet Nine", of about ten times the Earth's mass could be lurking in the Kuiper belt, a band of icy objects beyond Neptune. The latest theory was put forward after scientists noticed that six objects in the belt were behaving strangely, something that they said could be explained by the existence of a new planet.
	Comet landscape: Exploring Imhotep This beautiful landscape feels within arm's reach in this stunning view across the Imhotep region on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
	Counting down: First SpaceDataHighway laser node set for launch The first node of the European Data Relay System will be launched on 29 January from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

Technology news

	Working out how to catch sarcasm on the Internet "Oh, lovely. Now there's a surprise. How charitable of her. What could possibly go wrong? What a genius." These are remarks you usually read on the Internet and most of the time they are uttered with a full package of snark intended. Most of the time.
Thanks to big data, US parties know all about voters If you're an American voter and have provided personal information to a company, chances are data groups have shared it with political parties to help them target potential supporters.
	Stroller can move itself, play lullaby while parent enjoys run Smartbe is the name of an intelligent stroller, intelligent in the way it deploys a motion tracking sensor system and follows the stroller's parent or caregiver. The stroller can follow when the person walks, stops, steps backwards, or continues walking forward.
	Bitcoin study reveals false beliefs on ease of use and privacy People who have used Bitcoin, and those who don't have any experience with it, have something in common: Both groups share misconceptions about how the controversial digital currency actually works.
	Rapid, affordable energy transformation possible, study says The United States could slash greenhouse gas emissions from power production by up to 78 percent below 1990 levels within 15 years while meeting increased demand, according to a new study by NOAA and University of Colorado Boulder researchers.
	Spotify readies to launch video Spotify said Monday it will imminently launch video content as the music streaming leader seeks ways to build an audience in the increasingly competitive sector.
	Living in the '90s? So are underwater wireless networks Like Beanie Babies and Steve Urkel, the systems we use to transmit information through water bring to mind the 1990s.
Nevada board gives final approval to Faraday tax incentives A Nevada board gave final approval Friday to tax incentives to attract electric carmaker Faraday Future to Nevada, formalizing a deal that state lawmakers authorized in a special session last month.
Head of Apple electric car team to leave: report The head of Apple's automotive team plans to leave the company, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.
	'Unicorns' may be mauled by bear market After a year in which free-flowing capital fueled unprecedented growth in so-called tech "unicorns," the sector is bracing for a slowdown which could thin the herd.
	CEO confirms major shakeup of Twitter's top ranks Twitter is overhauling its top management in a major shakeup, as the social network struggles to boost its profitability and growth prospects, company CEO Jack Dorsey confirmed on Monday.
	Surprisingly, the online advertising industry's future may lie in offering more privacy, not less The online advertising industry has faced a considerable backlash recently as a greater understanding of how the practices of data scraping, aggregation, mining and user profiling are carried out behind the scenes. From Edward Snowden's revelations of governments using social media to perform mass surveillance, to the often creepy presence of targeted adverts that slow mobile web browsing to a crawl, we're now much more aware and concerned about who knows what about us.
Easy prey for hackers—navigation systems When it comes to route planning, drivers have almost blind faith in GPS; the technology plays a crucial role in identifying location and time in the industry as well as in other areas. If hackers attack the system, they can cause great damage. Deploying several GPS receivers at the same time could solve the problem in certain areas of application.
	Siemens sees profit rise sharply in final quarter of 2015 Siemens AG, maker of trains, power turbines and medical machines, says net profit rose 42 percent in the company's most recent quarter compared with a year earlier.
	Apple's iPhone success may be reaching its peak Apple could soon face one of its biggest challenges to date: Peak iPhone.
Apple to open apps center in Naples; CEO Cook meets Renzi Apple has chosen Naples, Italy, to establish Europe's first iOS App Development Center.
Uber to resume chopper flights despite sheriff's order Uber plans to resume helicopter flights at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday in spite of a cease-and-desist order from a Utah sheriff who says he could arrest pilots who land near Park City.
Sprint cutting 2,500 and closing call centers to cut costs Cellphone company Sprint is eliminating more jobs as it seeks to cut costs and turn around its business.
	Realistic data needed to evolve the 21st century power grid Say you have a great new theory or technology to improve the nation's energy backbone—the electric grid. Wouldn't it be great to test it against a model complete with details that would tell you how your ideas would work? But it's a challenge, because existing sets of data are too small or outdated; and you don't have access to real data from the grid because of security and privacy issues.

Medicine & Health news

	No more insulin injections? Encapsulated pancreatic cells offer possible new diabetes treatment In patients suffering from Type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks the pancreas, eventually leaving patients without the ability to naturally control blood sugar. These patients must carefully monitor the amount of sugar in their blood, measuring it several times a day and then injecting themselves with insulin to keep their blood sugar levels within a healthy range. However, precise control of blood sugar is difficult to achieve, and patients face a range of long-term medical problems as a result.
	Helmet wearing increases risk taking and sensation seeking Wearing a helmet in an effort to stay safe is likely to increase sensation seeking and could conversely make us less safe and more inclined to take risks, according to a significant new study from our researchers.
	Child obesity an 'exploding nightmare' in developing world: WHO Childhood obesity has reached alarming rates globally and become an "exploding nightmare" in the developing world, including Africa where the number of obese and overweight children under five has nearly doubled since 1990, a WHO commission said Monday.
	Team deciphers sugar's siren song Sugar's sweetness and calorie content combine to give it lethal power to destroy diets, many scientists have assumed. However, new study by Yale University researchers says the brain responds to taste and calorie counts in fundamentally different ways. And only one of these responses explains why most New Years' resolutions have already disappeared under a deluge of Boston Crème Pies.
	Researchers discover ten new lupus genes in Asian population study An international coalition of researchers led by Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist Swapan Nath, Ph.D., has identified 10 new genes associated with the autoimmune disease lupus. The findings were published in the Jan. 25, 2016 issue of Nature Genetics.
Discovery reveals how protective immune cells protect themselves Researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered the mechanism by which immune cells called regulatory T cells keep themselves intact and functional during their demanding task of holding the immune system in check. Such T cells are key to preventing the immune system from attacking the body in autoimmune disease.
	Mom's in control—even before you're born Researchers have uncovered previously unappreciated means by which epigenetic information contained in the egg influences the development of the placenta during pregnancy. The research, which was performed in mice, indicates that a mother's health, even before conception, may influence the health of her fetus, and opens questions on how a mother's age may influence placental development.
	Acid-sensitive molecular changes contribute to the emergence of pandemic influenza St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified a molecular property of the hemagglutinin protein that contributed to the emergence of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza virus. The findings may help officials recognize and control flu viruses that pose the greatest risk to humans. The study appears today in the online, early edition of the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
	Transgenic monkeys could aid study of autism Scientists in China have engineered monkeys with a human autism gene and symptoms, in the hopes of unlocking a treatment for the debilitating but little-understood disorder, a study in Nature said Monday.
New mouse-human modeling system enables study of disease development in vivo Whitehead Institute researchers have created a new mouse-human modeling platform that could be used to study neural crest development as well as the modeling of a variety of diseases, including such cancers as melanoma and neurofibromatosis.
	The connection between excess iron and Parkinson's disease It's long been known that excess iron is found in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), an incurable neurodegenerative condition that affects motor function. The mechanism by which the iron wreaks damage on neurons involved in PD has not been clear. Research from the Andersen lab at the Buck Institute suggests that the damage stems from an impairment in the lysosome, the organelle that acts as a cellular recycling center for damaged proteins. Scientists report the impairment allows excess iron to escape into the neurons where it causes toxic oxidative stress. The research will be published online in The Journal of Neuroscience on Jan. 27, 2016.
	New study creates first 3-D vision of cancer target A team from the University of Leicester has for the first time published a detailed description of a protein linked to many types of cancer.
	Understanding speech not just a matter of believing one's ears Even if we just hear part of what someone has said, when we are familiar with the context, we automatically add the missing information ourselves. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt and the Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig have now succeeded in demonstrating how we do this.
	Interneuron plasticity ensuring long-term memory formation Understanding learning and memory processes is of fundamental importance to the study of brain function and provides valuable insights for disorders where these processes are disturbed. The current study of Pico Caroni from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, identifies plasticity induced at the time of learning, which is necessary during 12-14 hours after acquisition for long-term memory formation. It shows how learning-induced changes in parvalbumin basket cells are sustained by dopamine signaling for several hours and how basket cell plasticity 12 hours after the learning experience is required for enhanced network activity and long-term memory formation.
	Researchers uncover how dopamine transports within the brain Researchers at University of Florida Health have discovered the mechanics of how dopamine transports into and out of brain cells, a finding that could someday lead to more effective treatment of drug addictions and neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease.
	Potential therapeutic targets identified for multiple sclerosis Treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other inflammatory diseases may benefit by new findings from a study that identified potential therapeutic targets for a devastating disease striking some 2.3 million people worldwide.
	Newfound strength in regenerative medicine Researchers in the field of mechanobiology are evolving our understanding of health by revealing new insights into how the body's physical forces and mechanics impact development, physiological health, and prevention and treatment of disease. At the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, engineers and biomedical scientists have assembled to form collaborative teams that are helping to drive this exciting area of research forward toward real-world applications. Now, a new study suggests mechanically-driven therapies that promote skeletal muscle regeneration through direct physical stimulation could one day replace or enhance drug and cell-based regenerative treatments. Discovered by a team at the Wyss Institute and the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the finding was published on January 25 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Three people test positive for Zika in New York: authorities Three people in New York have tested positive for the Zika virus, which has been blamed for a surge in babies born with abnormally small heads in Latin America, city officials said Friday.
	Pediatric nasopharyngeal CA has different patient demographic (HealthDay)—Pediatric patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are more often black and present with stage IV disease, but they have lower mortality than adult patients, according to a study published online Jan. 14 in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.
	Focused cardiac ultrasonography can discriminate LVSF (HealthDay)—Focused cardiac ultrasonographic (FoCUS) examination can be used by trained internal medicine physicians to discriminate normal from reduced left ventricular systolic function (LVSF), according to a study published in the February issue of the Journal of Clinical Ultrasound.
	Curcumin cuts acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in mice (HealthDay)—Curcumin can attenuate acetaminophen-induced mitochondrial alterations in the livers of mice, according to an experimental study published online Jan. 15 in the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology.
	Excessive mortality observed in anorexia nervosa (HealthDay)—Mortality is increased among patients with eating disorders, with higher mortality for those with anorexia nervosa (AN) compared with bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), and eating disorder not otherwise specified (ED-NOS), according to a study published online Jan. 15 in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.
	About 2 percent of boys have undescended testis (HealthDay)—About 2 percent of boys are diagnosed with undescended testis (UDT), according to a study published online Jan. 22 in Pediatrics.
	Glucose levels linked to cardiac surgery outcomes (HealthDay)—For patients undergoing cardiac surgery, hyperglycemia is associated with worse outcomes for patients without diabetes, but with better outcomes for patients with insulin-treated diabetes, according to a study published online Jan. 19 in Diabetes Care.
	CDC: increasing rate of gastroschisis seen in U.S. (HealthDay)—The birth defect gastroschisis among U.S. infants has increased over the past 18 years, according to research published in the Jan. 22 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
	Inhibition of mTOR restores corticosteroid sensitivity in COPD (HealthDay)—Inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) by rapamycin restores corticosteroid sensitivity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study published in the Jan. 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
	ACOG supports CDC's zika virus travel precautions (HealthDay)—The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)—the largest organization representing obstetricians and gynecologists in the United States—said Thursday that it supports new guidelines aimed at shielding pregnant women from the mosquito-borne Zika virus.
	Study looks at impact of FDA safety alert on morcellation (HealthDay)—The use of minimally invasive hysterectomy decreased and postoperative complications increased following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration safety communication discouraging use of laparoscopic power morcellation during hysterectomy or myomectomy for treatment of uterine fibroids, according to a study published in the January issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
	Flu season stays mild, with slow uptick in activity (HealthDay)—Halfway through this year's rather mild flu season, disease activity is still increasing, albeit slowly, a U.S. health official said Friday.
Thailand reports 2nd MERS case in a man from Oman Thailand has reported its second confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, detected in a 71-year-old man from Oman who arrived in Bangkok on Friday.
Dominican Republic confirms 10 cases of Zika virus The Dominican Republic said Saturday it has 10 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the ailment suspected of causing serious birth defects in newborns.
Zika virus, a wolf in sheep's clothing The world's latest health scare is a seemingly minor illness that carries a killer wrapped inside: Zika, the mosquito-borne virus sweeping Latin America, usually lasts less than a week, except when it derails a whole life.
	Britain and Bill Gates announce £3 billion to eradicate malaria (Update) Britain's finance minister and tech billionaire Bill Gates unveiled Monday a plan to spend billions to eradicate "the world's deadliest killer" malaria.
	Playground paints should be monitored to reduce potential danger to public health Playground equipment should be monitored more regularly to ensure toxic metals contained within paints do not present a danger to public and child health, a study recommends.
Better healthcare could reduce crippling personal costs of tuberculosis care in China Improved universal healthcare is urgently needed to lower catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) for low-income tuberculosis (TB) patients in China, according to a study published in the open access journal Infectious Diseases of Poverty. Expanding universal healthcare could reduce the numbers of people affected by CHE.
One in 50 16-year-olds affected by chronic fatigue syndrome In what is believed to be the biggest study of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)—also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)—in children to date, researchers at the University of Bristol (UK), have found that almost 2 per cent of 16-year-olds have CFS lasting more than six months and nearly 3 per cent have CFS lasting more than three months (the UK definition). Those with CFS missed, on average, more than half a day of school every week.
One in seven colorectal cancer patients diagnosed before recommended screening age Nearly 15 percent of patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer were younger than 50, the age at which screening recommendations begin.
Case seeking cancer screenings for smokers heads to trial A decade after a group of smokers from Massachusetts sued Philip Morris USA to try to force the cigarette maker to pay for lung cancer screenings, the case will finally be heard by a jury.
Secondhand smoke hazardous to hookah bar workers Workers at New York City hookah bars are inhaling hazardous levels of carbon monoxide and nicotine while at work, signaling yet another breach by their employers of New York City's anti-smoking bylaws.
	Scientists find way to predict who is likely to wake up during surgery Measuring certain kinds of brain activity may help doctors track and predict how patients will react to anaesthesia before going under for surgery, our research has found.
	Looking to lose weight in 2016? Step on the weighing scales Using the latest connected-health technology, research from The University of Manchester indicates that the more often people engage with digital weighing scales, the more weight they lose.
	Take a chill pill if you want to avoid the flu this year Along with snow and frigid temperatures, the winter months also bring coughs, colds and the flu. Lower respiratory tract infections, the ones that cause feelings of chest congestion despite the deepest coughs, are one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States and around the world. In the U.S. the flu alone kills thousands of people each year.
	Trial suggests changes to improve stroke related rehabilitation research A new University trial suggests that recruitment of stroke patients for specific rehabilitation studies could be increased by improved training of trial staff in the research processes involved as well as using outcomes from treatment that can be measured at a patient's home.
	Are we ready for a blood test for cancer? What if screening for cancer was as easy as checking your cholesterol? That's the promise of techniques currently in development that may one day make it possible to detect the earliest stages of cancer with an annual blood draw.
	Can you turbo-charge your genes to produce 'designer babies'? If you have bad skin or are losing your hair you might jokingly blame your parents for passing on the genes that cause these problems. Of course, most traits that you've inherited probably developed many generations ago. But research is increasingly revealing another level of inheritance at work that really could be down to your parents.
	Towards the prevention of cardiac failure in the chronic phase The onset of cardiac failure after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a serious problem throughout the world.
Zika virus seen spreading to nearly all countries in the Americas: WHO The Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease suspected of causing serious birth defects, is expected to spread to all countries in the Americas except Canada and Chile, the World Health Organization said.
Bullying hinders positive youth development for sexual-minority youth When compared with their heterosexual peers, sexual-minority youth score lower on key indicators of positive youth development—and those disparities may be due in part to more bullying of these adolescents, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health researchers have found.
	Hacking the programs of cancer stem cells All of the cells in a tumor are the offspring of a single, aberrant cell, but they are not all alike. Only a few retain the capacity of the original cell to create an entire tumor. Such cancer stem cells can migrate to other tissues and become fatal metastases. To fully cure a patient's cancer, it is crucial to find and eliminate all of these cells because any that escape can regenerate the tumor and trigger its spread through the body.
Link between food advertising and child food consumption New research by University of Liverpool health expert Dr Emma Boyland has confirmed that unhealthy food advertising does increase food intake in children.
	A woman's heart attack causes, symptoms may differ from a man's A woman's heart attack may have different underlying causes, symptoms and outcomes compared to men, and differences in risk factors and outcomes are further pronounced in black and Hispanic women, according to a scientific statement published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.
Teens who use e-cigarettes more likely to try the real thing a year later Teens who use e-cigarettes are more likely to try the real thing a year later than those who don't vape, indicates research published online in the journal Tobacco Control.
Mailed nicotine patches, with no behavioral support, is associated with smoking cessation Mailing free nicotine patches to smokers, without any behavioral support, does help some of them quit, according to a study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Global, national burden of diseases, injuries among children and adolescents A new report examines global and national trends in the fatal and nonfatal burden of diseases and injuries among children and adolescents in 188 countries based on results from the Global Burden of Disease 2013 study, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics.
	New mechanism of antitumor action identified A team of UAB researchers and collaborators from the Catalan biotech company Ability Pharmaceuticals (UAB Research Park), have described a new mechanism of anti-tumour action, identified during the study and development of the new drug ABTL0812. The study, which has been published in the prestigious journal Clinical Cancer Research, was coordinated by Dr José Miguel Lizcano from the UAB Institute of Neurosciences and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
	Extra sperm analysis could help involuntarily childless couples New research findings from Lund University, Sweden show that a simple analysis of chromosomal breaks in sperms can help guide choice of fertility treatment and, thereby, increase chances of successful assisted reproduction for involuntary childless couples.
	Minecraft test shows beer bad for young brain An experiment using the popular video game Minecraft has shown that teens who drink too much may be in for some serious consequences in the not-too-distant future.
	What to know about the tropical Zika virus in Latin America A rare tropical disease is spreading in parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. The mosquito-borne Zika virus usually causes a mild illness but is now suspected in an unusual birth defect and possibly other health issues. Some things to know:
	Study finds smartphones may decrease sedentary time, increase activity A pilot study finds that using smartphone reminders to prompt people to get moving may help reduce sedentary behavior. The study was supported by the American Cancer Society, with technical expertise provided by the e-Health Technology Program at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. The study appears in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Group therapy helps autistic children to cope better with everyday life Social difficulties are one of the main problems for children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Especially when their intelligence is unaffected, they become more and more conscious in the course of their development of the fact that they are different. In the framework of group therapy developed at Goethe University Frankfurt, children and adolescents with high functioning ASD can learn how to cope better in the social world and also achieve a lasting effect. This is confirmed by clinical trials which examined 209 children and adolescents between the ages of 8 and 18 over the course of three years.
	Scientists reveal similarities between gut microvilli and inner ear hair cell Brush border microvilli are microscopic cellular membrane protrusions that increase the surface area of cells and carry out a wide variety of functions, including absorption, secretion and cellular adhesion. Stereocilia, on the other hand, are mechanosensing organelles of hair cells, which respond to fluid motion in numerous types of animals for various functions, including hearing and balance. The two structures are located in separate parts of the human body and perform vastly different functions, despite the very-similar looks and features they have.
Gene often lost in childhood cancer crucial in cells' life or death decision Neuroblastoma is the third most common type of tumour in children. Its aggressive nature and the frequency of metastatic disease at diagnosis contribute to the fact that neuroblastoma accounts for almost 15 per cent of childhood cancer fatalities. For the past two decades a region on chromosome 1 that is often missing in neuroblastoma cells has been thought to harbour an important tumour suppressor gene.
	Most commonly used TB test fails to accurately diagnose pregnant HIV positive women New research finds that the most commonly used test for tuberculosis fails to accurately diagnose TB in up to 50 percent of pregnant women who are HIV+. The research published early online in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine is believed to be the first study to compare the accuracy of two TB tests - the Quantiferon Gold In Tube blood test and the more commonly used TST or tuberculin skin test—in this population. The study "Quantitative IFN-?, IL-2 Response and Latent Tuberculosis Test Discordance in HIV-infected Pregnant Women" is also the first study to examine pregnancy's effect on the body's response to TB.
Billing code invalid measure to identify nurse anesthetist stand-alone practice Nurse anesthetists often receive guidance from physician anesthesiologists, yet bill their time as if they are making decisions alone, according to a recent study of more than 9,000 cases published online in Anesthesia & Analgesia. The study suggests a frequently used billing code - called the modifier QZ - gives a false impression that many nurse anesthetists practice without the supervision of physician anesthesiologists.
Optogenetic technology developed at UMMS uses light to trigger immunotherapy A new optogenetic technology developed by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Texas A&M Health Science Center Institute of Biosciences & Technology, called optogenetic immunomodulation, is capable of turning on immune cells to attack melanoma tumors in mice. Using near-infrared light, researchers have shown they can selectively activate an immune response by controlling the flow of calcium ions into the cell. This breakthrough could lead to less invasive, and more controlled and selective immunotherapies for cancer treatment.
Nuclear medicine tools could be beneficial in the fight against several human cancers In the fight against cancer, nuclear medicine may be one of the best tools in a physician's arsenal. Silvia Jurisson, a researcher at the University of Missouri, continues to develop breakthrough nuclear materials and methods used in the detection and treatment of cancer. She and her interdisciplinary team recently received a U.S. patent for a new delivery method that uses nuclear isotopes to help target, diagnose and treat cancer. The patented method, highlighting Jurisson's more than 30 years of research work, could prove invaluable in battling prostate, pancreatic, breast and small-cell cancers in the body.
	Therapy that uses storytelling may be key to fighting trauma from bullying, violence among youth For teenagers from low-income households, trauma from bullying, parental abuse and dating violence often goes untreated, since many families can't afford traditional therapy.
New SLeone Ebola case responding to treatment A second new case of Ebola in Sierra Leone since west Africa celebrated the apparent end of the epidemic last week is responding well to treatment, an official said Friday.
Listeria in Dole packaged salad kills 1, sickens 11 One person has died and 11 have been hospitalized due to an outbreak of listeria linked to salads packaged at a Dole plant in Ohio, US health authorities said Friday.
Pharmacists would decide under new proposal to curb meth Pharmacists could require customers they suspect of making methamphetamine to present a prescription when they attempt to buy medicine containing a key ingredient for the drug, under a compromise bill proposed in the Indiana House.
California marijuana growers face new crop of local bans When the California Legislature passed the state's first comprehensive medical marijuana regulations in September, pot advocates hoped the move heralded a new era of trust in their often-tumultuous relationship with wary local officials and police.
	At least 30 killed in snowstorm-related deaths (Update) At least 30 people have died as a result of the mammoth snowstorm that pounded the eastern U.S. The deaths occurred in car accidents, from carbon monoxide poisoning, and from heart attacks while shoveling snow:
	Lab keeps cancer treatment radiation machines honest As radiation sources used to map disease and attack cancer grow in number and complexity, a University of Wisconsin—Madison center continues to offer the last word on accurate radiation doses.
What factors influence timing of start of dialysis? A new study used electronic medical records from the Department of Veterans Affairs to examine factors that influence the timing of the initiation of dialysis, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.
	Funding received to develop device to help save the lives of new mothers worldwide Professor of International Maternal Health Andrew Weeks from the Institute of Translational medicine has been awarded £850,000 to further develop an award-winning device that could save the lives of women all over the world.
	At least 38 killed in snowstorm-related deaths (Update) At least 38 people have died as a result of the mammoth snowstorm that pounded the eastern U.S. The deaths occurred in car accidents, from carbon monoxide poisoning, and from heart attacks while shoveling snow:
	Leadership: Key to quality care and retention among nurses Nurses faced with abusive managers are more likely to quit. But a recent study by McGill University and Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières researchers finds that the opposite is also true - transformational leadership - a style of management in which employees are encouraged to work towards a collective goal within a supportive milieu, is linked to nurses' well-being, and has positive impacts upon job retention.
	Childhood cancer survivors face increased risk of metabolic syndrome A new study of metabolic health risk factors in childhood cancer survivors showed increased risk for modifiable factors such as hypertension and overweight/obesity. These factors have been linked to the effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy and are key contributors to the metabolic syndrome, which increases a patient's risk for cardiovascular disease, as described in an article in Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology (JAYAO).
	Rio, Brazil, says it's on guard against Zika virus The more than 3,000 health inspectors in Rio de Janeiro are stepping up inspections for mosquito breeding areas near the city's Carnival sites as part of a bid to stem the spread of Zika, a virus linked to a rare birth defect, city hall said in a statement sent Monday.
	Congressional agency reduces health law sign-up predictions Fewer people than expected are purchasing health insurance under President Barack Obama's health care law, a report confirmed on Monday.
ACP issues advice for evaluating blood in the urine as a sign of cancer In a paper published today in Annals of Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians (ACP) issued High Value Care advice for the evaluation of blood in the urine, or hematuria, as a sign of urinary tract cancer and to help physicians make decisions about referral of patients for urological assessment.
	Experts debate benefits and challenges of new ATA guidelines and differentiated thyroid cancer In a stimulating new Roundtable Discussion, a distinguished panel of leading physicians and clinical researchers highlight the key changes, new topics, and areas of ongoing controversy in the "2015 American Thyroid Association Management Guidelines for Adult Patients with Thyroid Nodules and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer." The Roundtable Discussion (http://register.liebertpub.com/thyroidroundtable/) and the ATA's 2015 Management Guidelines (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/thy.2015.0020) are available free to download on the website of Thyroid (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/thy.2015.0020), a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/) and the official journal of the ATA.
Afatinib shows clinical benefit for lung cancer patients with brain metastases Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with common epidermal growth factor (EGFR) mutations and brain metastases showed improved progression-free survival (PFS) and response from the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) afatinib compared to standard platinum doublet chemotherapy.
	Study suggests potential to predict peanut allergy immunotherapy outcomes Oral immunotherapy for peanut allergy induces early, distinct changes in immune T-cell populations that potentially may help researchers determine which people will respond well to the therapy and which immune mechanisms are involved in the response, a new study suggests. The work was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and conducted by scientists at Stanford University.

Biology news

	Study shows animals with larger brains are best problem solvers Why did some species, such as humans and dolphins, evolve large brains relative to the size of their bodies? Why did others, such as blue whales and hippos, evolve to have brains that, compared to their bodies, are relatively puny?
	Lizards camouflage themselves by choosing rocks that best match the color of their backs Resting out in the open on rocks can be a risky business for Aegean wall lizards. Out in these habitats they have nowhere to hide and their backs, which show varying shades of green and brown between individuals, are dangerously exposed to birds hunting in the skies above.
	White storks found to be altering migration patterns due to human environmental changes (Phys.org)—An international team of researchers has found that many groups of white storks have begun to modify their migration patterns to take advantage of human made food sources, such as garbage dumps. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the team describes the study they undertook of young white storks that were born in eight different countries, their migration routes and any changes they noted from previous studies.
	Lizard found to heat itself during mating season (Phys.org)—A species of lizard, the Argentinean black and white tegu (Salvator merianae), has been discovered by a combined team of researchers from Brazil and Canada, to cause its internal body temperature to rise over the course of several months, during mating season. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the team describes their study of captive tegu, what they found regarding body temperature and offer some ideas on how the cold blooded reptile manages to heat itself.
	Study shows large variability in abundance of viruses that infect ocean microorganisms Viruses infect more than humans or plants. For microorganisms in the oceans—including those that capture half of the carbon taken out of the atmosphere every day—viruses are a major threat. But a paper to be published Jan. 25, 2016 in the journal Nature Microbiology shows that there's much less certainty about the size of these viral populations than scientists had long believed.
	Did ear sensory cell stereocilia evolve from gut microvilli? Evolution likes to borrow. It can take an already-successful biological structure and alter it until it serves a new function. Two independent groups studying the proteins that organize gut microvilli now suspect that this may have been the case in the development of inner ear hair cell stereocilia. While functionally very different, the protein complexes that organize microvilli and stereocilia have striking parallels. Both papers appear January 25 in Developmental Cell.
	Scientists shed new light on workings of genetic regulation A team of scientists has uncovered greater intricacy in protein signaling than was previously understood, shedding new light on the nature of genetic production.
	Study finds shark hotspots overlap with commercial fishing locations A new study from an international team of scientists found commercial fishing vessels target shark hotspots, areas where sharks tend to congregate, in the North Atlantic. The researchers suggest that sharks are at risk of being overfished in these oceanic hotspots.
	Highly organized structures discovered in microbial communities Bacteria usually live in mixed communities with many different kinds of bacteria present. But it's been largely unknown how these communities are organized, because the technology didn't exist to see how they are structured in space.
	Team develops targeted photosensitizer for cell manipulation Researchers led by Carnegie Mellon University's Molecular and Biosensor Imaging Center (MBIC) Director Marcel Bruchez have re-engineered a fluorescent probe into a powerful optogenetic photosensitizer that can be used to manipulate cells.
	Team solves structure of 'flipping' cellular machine, pointing to possible Alzheimer's and cancer therapies Meet a microscopic gymnast. A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the University of California (UC), Berkeley shows how a crucial molecular enzyme starts in a tucked-in somersault position and flips out when it encounters the right target.
	Team discovers genetic trigger for asexual plant reproduction The reproduction process is essentially the same in humans, animals and most plants. Both female and male organisms are required to contribute to the phenomenon.
	Study solves mystery of cell powerhouse's balance of calcium A decades-long mystery of how the cell's powerhouse, and its energy currency of calcium ion flow, is maintained under different physiological conditions has been solved by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
	Indonesian birds on the brink as forests plundered Barely a few days old, perched on a nest of twigs inside an incubator, a newborn Indonesian songbird—cherished for its melodious chirp—tweets weakly as a tiny metallic ring is attached to its leg.
	Smart songbird's reference genome is milestone for ecological research A well-known songbird, the great tit, has revealed its genetic code, offering researchers new insight into how species adapt to a changing planet. Their initial findings suggest that epigenetics—what's on rather than what's in the gene—may play a key role in the evolution of memory and learning. And that's not just true for birds. An international research team led by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) and Wageningen University will publish these findings in Nature Communications on Monday.
	Even snakes get spinal aches Even animals that spend all day on their front can have back problems , as the University of Queensland Small Animal Hospital avian and exotics team knows all too well.
	Giant monster Megalodon sharks lurking in our oceans: be serious The sighting of a seven-metre shark off the South Australia coast this month has excited the world's media with some making reference to the great white that featured in the classic 1975 film Jaws.
	A behemoth in Leviathan's crypt: Second Cryptomaster daddy longlegs species Suggestively called Cryptomaster, the herein studied daddy longlegs genus, represented until recently by a single species, is not only difficult to find in the mountains of southwest Oregon, but had also stayed understudied for several decades since its establishment in 1969. Inspired by much newer records of the previously known species, called after the notorious Hebrew monster Leviathan, an American team of researchers from University of California Riverside and the San Diego State University, led by Dr. James Starrett, undertook a new search for mysterious endemic harvestmen, which was successfully concluded with the discovery of another beast, Cryptomaster behemoth. Their work is available in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
	New tiny arboreal toad species from India is just small enough for its own genus Found on a herb bush, a toad of only 24 mm average length, measured from its snout tip to its cloaca, was quick to make its discoverers consider its status as a new species. After identifying its unique morphological and skeletal characters, and conducting a molecular phylogenetic analysis, not only did Dr. Aggarwal, Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, Dr. Vaudevan, Wildlife Institute of India and Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species along with their team, introduce a new species, but also added a new genus. The new 'Andaman bush toad', as its proposed common name is, is described in a paper published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
	Finland begins controversial wolf hunt Finland on Saturday began a controversial wolf cull that gives hunters the right to kill around one fifth of the endangered animals, in a decision that has angered environmentalists.
Q&A: Details about what's next in bird flu response efforts More than 414,000 turkeys and chickens have been killed, some through a method considered a "last resort" of euthanasia, at 10 southwest Indiana farms affected by a bird flu outbreak. Testing and monitoring will continue for weeks to determine if the outbreak of the H7N8 viral strain is contained. That strain is different from one that led to the deaths of more than 48 million birds last summer.
	Four dead sperm whales wash up on British beaches Four dead sperm whales have washed up on beaches in eastern England, coastguard authorities said Sunday, a week after similar deaths across the North Sea in Germany and the Netherlands.
	South Africa puts year-long ban on leopard hunting South Africa has imposed a year-long ban on leopard hunting in 2016 in a decision hailed Monday by conservation activists.

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