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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for June 10, 2016:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Mars orbiters reveal seasonal dust storm patternAfter decades of research to discern seasonal patterns in Martian dust storms from images showing the dust, but the clearest pattern appears to be captured by measuring the temperature of the Red Planet's atmosphere. |
 | The jagged shores of Pluto's highlandsThis enhanced color view from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft zooms in on the southeastern portion of Pluto's great ice plains, where at lower right the plains border rugged, dark highlands informally named Krun Macula. (Krun is the lord of the underworld in the Mandaean religion, and a 'macula' is a dark feature on a planetary surface.) |
 | Milky Way now hidden from one-third of humanityThe Milky Way, the brilliant river of stars that has dominated the night sky and human imaginations since time immemorial, is but a faded memory to one third of humanity and 80 percent of Americans, according to a new global atlas of light pollution produced by Italian and American scientists. |
 | Image: Cold gas in deep spaceThis image shows the LISA Pathfinder launch composite (spacecraft plus propulsion module) at the IABG test centre in Ottobrunn, near Munich, Germany, on 31 August 2015, before it was shipped to the launch site. |
 | Astronaut Ron Garan says space travel for all will make the Earth a better placeThere is a small but growing set of people who have had the opportunity to see the Earth as a planet, and view its changing seasons and weather patterns from above. Astronauts are a rare breed: men, and, increasingly, women, who have orbited the Earth and seen it suspended below them as a canvas of colour and movement. Astronauts who have gone even further have seen it turn into the "pale blue dot" described so emotively by Carl Sagan. |
 | Image: Beams of light on Lake BalkhashThis stunning Earth image taken by the Expedition 47 crew on May 31, 2016, from the International Space Station looks from northwestern China on the bottom into eastern Kazakhstan. |
Technology news
 | Lenovo, Google unveil phone that knows its way around a roomA Lenovo smartphone unveiled Thursday will be clever enough to grasp your physical surroundings—such as the room's size and the presence of other people—and potentially transform how we interact with e-commerce, education and gaming. |
 | Can computers do magic?Magicians could join composers and artists in finding new ideas for their performances by using computers to create new magic effects, according to computer scientists at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). |
 | Household cooling device is designed to run without electricity(Tech Xplore)—Nice. A cooler that runs without electricity. It is not a gadget targeted at hiking professionals or vacationers roosting in pods in the States and Europe; this one is a device designed for people who have no electricity at all in their homes. |
 | Aerospace firm successfully tests solar-powered aircraftA test pilot successfully flew a solar-powered prototype aircraft on Friday for a company that envisions manufacturing a fleet of drones to provide aerial internet service for an estimated 4 billion people worldwide. |
 | Apple's next big challenge: Making Siri smarterApple's Siri made a big splash when the wisecracking digital assistant debuted on the iPhone five years ago. But as other tech giants jockey to build intelligent "chat bots" and voice-controlled home systems capable of more challenging artificial-intelligence feats, Siri at times no longer seems cutting edge. |
 | Google co-founder fuels flying car labs: reportGoogle co-founder Larry Page has secretly poured more than $100 million into building flying cars, Bloomberg reported Thursday. |
 | Bidders offering more than $5 bn for Yahoo: reportSeveral suitors are bidding $5 billion or more for the core business of struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo, CNBC reported on Thursday. |
Messaging app Line to make trading debut in Tokyo, New York (Update)Messaging app Line said Friday it will make its stock market debut in Tokyo and New York next month, as it looks to expand on booming popularity among smartphone users in Asia. | |
 | Innovative solar absorber can harness more sunlight, enhancing its sunlight-to-heat efficiencyMasdar Institute faculty are part of a collaborative team of researchers that has discovered a novel way to significantly increase the amount of sunlight that a solar absorber can convert into heat. By converting more of the solar energy that reaches the Earth's surface into heat in a low-cost way, the solar absorber can help make sustainable technologies that rely on solar heat, like solar thermal technologies, more efficient and affordable. |
New research shows how old tyres can support bridgesBridge structures suffer from soil movements and warp that can lead to structure damages and collapses but new research has shown that using a material made from discarded tyres can double the resilience of these structures. | |
 | Driverless cars need to hit the road come rain, wind or shineWould you rather a robot car that can drive you anywhere and at anytime, or a car that throws in the towel as soon as a storm hits or one that flat out refuses to take you anywhere at night? |
 | How might drone racing drive innovation?Over the past 15 years, drones have progressed from laboratory demonstrations to widely available toys. Technological improvements have brought ever-smaller components required for flight stabilization and control, as well as significant improvements in battery technology. Capabilities once restricted to military vehicles are now found on toys that can be purchased at Wal-Mart. |
 | India ministry rejects Google's Street View plansGoogle's plans to introduce its popular "Street View" service in India have hit a roadblock after the interior ministry Friday said it had rejected an application from the tech giant, although the government could yet approve it. |
Review: Kill off your Wi-Fi dead zones with the Eero systemPeople have a love-hate relationship with their home Wi-Fi networks. | |
Someone is going to get rich selling cameras for virtual reality. But who?If virtual reality lives up to its hype, someone is destined to get rich from building the medium's first mass-market camera. | |
 | World's-first compact transceiver for terahertz wireless communication using 300-GHz bandNippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Fujitsu, and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology have cooperatively developed the world's-first compact terahertz wireless transceiver using the 300-GHz band and experimentally demonstrated that it can transmit data at transmission rate of 40 gigabits per second through multiplex transmission using orthogonal polarization. |
 | Tesla denies pressuring customers to hush up complaints (Update)Tesla denied Friday putting pressure on customers to stay quiet over problems in its luxury all-electric cars amid questions about the strength of the suspensions in the popular Model S. |
Aerospace firm unveils solar-powered aircraft (Update)A solar-powered aircraft that can be flown with or without a human on board has been unveiled at a New York site that once made military fighter jets. | |
 | Gawker files for bankruptcy, to sell itself to Ziff DavisGawker Media is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and putting itself up for sale, strained by a jury's verdict that that it must pay $140 million to pro wrestler Hulk Hogan in an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit. |
 | As game makers try new tactics, a turning point for E3What's that in the sky? Is it a sign of E3's future? Or simply another hype-generating monstrosity? |
General Electric to open Rhode Island high-tech officeDrawn by nearby universities, General Electric is opening a high-tech office in Rhode Island that could employ hundreds of people in the coming years. | |
 | Chinese government wields fake social media posts against collective action, study findsThe Chinese government fakes 448 million social media posts a year in a strategy that seeks to create the appearance of "viral" outbursts of Web activity, according to a new study by Harvard data scientists. |
 | Goldfish submarines and musical cats at Tokyo toy showIs your life lacking a mini-submarine for your goldfish tank? Or do you really need some musical cats to brighten your day? Never fear, Japan has just the thing. |
GM to add 700 technical jobs in Ontario, CanadaGeneral Motors will add at least 700 engineering, software development and urban mobility jobs at three sites in Canada. | |
NJIT to participate in historic first ship-to-shore drone deliveryA team of medical personnel, emergency management specialists and drone technology experts, including from NJIT's New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), will conduct the first ship-to-shore drone delivery in the U.S. on June 23 on the New Jersey coastline. | |
Medicine & Health news
 | New liquid biopsy techniques at the bleeding edge of cancer(Medical Xpress)—There's many buzzwords being thrown around in medicine these days. In cancer treatment, blanket terms like "precision medicine" and "immunotherapy" hint at the promise of a rapidly changing technology base, but at the same time, can invariably leave both patients and caregivers alike a bit foggy on a precise meaning of the terms. An emerging diagnostic technique of similar broad scope that is having a clear impact right now in cancer is the "liquid biopsy". |
 | Stable perception in the adult brainThe adult brain has learned to calculate an image of its environment from sensory information. If the input signals change, however, even the adult brain is able to adapt − and, ideally, to return to its original activity patterns once the perturbation has ceased. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have now shown in mice that this ability is due to the properties of individual neurons. Their findings demonstrate that individual cells adjust strongly to changes in the environment but after the environment returns to its original state it is again the individual neurons which reassume their initial response properties. This could explain why despite substantial plasticity the perception in the adult brain is rather stable and why the brain does not have to continuously relearn everything. |
 | fMRI study reveals brain working's during navigation(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers affiliated with several academic institutions in the U.S. has learned more about the way the brain works as a person both visualizes taking a trip, and then as the trip is taken. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes their studies using volunteers, virtual reality technology and fMRI machines. |
 | Study finds no method reliable in assessing suicide risk for mental health patientsAn Australian study has cast doubt on the effectiveness of the tools used by medical professionals to assess suicide risk in mental health patients, prompting calls for a review of the allocation of resources based on the assessments. |
 | Scoliosis linked to disruptions in spinal fluid flowA new study in zebrafish suggests that irregular fluid flow through the spinal column brought on by gene mutations is linked to a type of scoliosis that can affect humans during adolescence. Found in humans and zebrafish, these mutated genes damage the cilia—tiny hair-like projections that line the spinal canal and help move the fluid—and lead to a curvature of the spine. |
 | WHO says delaying pregnancy option for women in Zika areasThe World Health Organization says women who live in areas where Zika is spreading should consider delaying pregnancy, since there's no other sure way to avoid the virus' devastating birth defects. |
 | Photographing experiences usually increases positive feelings about them, study saysWhile you might think photo-taking would detract from the enjoyment of everyday activities, research published by the American Psychological Association suggests that people who take photos of their experiences usually enjoy the events more than people who don't. |
 | New drug therapies for pre-kidney transplant show promiseEarly findings by researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine suggest that the use of a second generation cancer drug, carfilzomib, may provide an improved approach for the reduction of antibodies in potential kidney transplant candidates. The research team includes members from UC Transplant Clinical Research, UC's Division of Hematology Oncology and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center's Biomedical Informatics division. |
Scientists discover unique pattern of hidden brain damage in male soldiers exposed to high explosive blastsScientists have identified a distinctive pattern of injury in the brains of eight deceased military personnel who survived high explosive attacks and died between 4 days and 9 years later from their injuries or other causes. | |
New stem cell transplantation method may halt multiple sclerosis symptoms long-term, but therapy comes with high riskA new use of chemotherapy followed by autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) has fully halted clinical relapses and development of new brain lesions in 23 of 24 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) for a prolonged period without the need for ongoing medication, according to a new phase 2 clinical trial, published in The Lancet. Eight of the 23 patients had a sustained improvement in their disability 7.5 years after treatment. This is the first treatment to produce this level of disease control or neurological recovery from MS, but treatment related risks limit its widespread use. | |
For the first time, air pollution emerges as a leading risk factor for stroke worldwideAir pollution—including environmental and household air pollution—has emerged as a leading risk factor for stroke worldwide, associated with about a third of the global burden of stroke in 2013, according to a new study published in The Lancet Neurology journal. | |
The Hawthorne Effect hinders accurate hand hygiene observation, study saysWhen healthcare providers know they are being watched, they are twice as likely to comply with hand hygiene guidelines. This is in comparison to when healthcare providers do not know someone is watching, according to a new study being presented at the 43rd Annual Conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). This phenomenon—called The Hawthorne Effect—impacts the ability to capture accurate human behavior because individuals modify their actions when they know they are being observed. | |
 | Research team first to identify AF1q protein associated with multiple myeloma, EMDA group of researchers from the University of Louisville, Japan and Austria is the first to identify a protein, AF1q, associated with multiple myeloma and a condition that occurs in approximately one-fourth of very aggressive multiple myeloma, extramedullary disease or EMD. |
First consensus paper on atrial cardiomyopathies set to be publishedThe first consensus paper on atrial cardiomyopathies is set to be published simultaneously in EP-Europace, HeartRhythm, and the Journal of Arrhythmia. The key contents are launched today at CARDIOSTIM - EHRA EUROPACE 2016. | |
 | Study places air pollution among top 10 stroke risksAir pollution was fingered for the first time as a major contributor to death and disability caused by stroke, especially in developing nations, in a health review published Friday. |
 | Reversing impact of malnourished dads' health on kidsResearch from the University of Adelaide has shown it may be possible to prevent millions of the world's malnourished fathers from passing on poor health to their children, if they're given antioxidant and vitamin supplements before conceiving. |
 | When it comes to sugary drinks, people prefer a nudge than a taxIf sugary drinks were sold in smaller bottles, stores stocked fewer of them, and positioned them less prominently, we would drink fewer of them. But would we find these changes acceptable? The results of our recent study show that most people find these "nudges" (altering cues in the environment to change people's behaviour) to be acceptable ways to prevent obesity. Taxing sugary drinks, however, was only acceptable to a minority. |
 | Anti-depressant drugs enhance feelings of control in depressionIt can take some time before anti-depressant drugs have an effect on people. Yet, the chemical changes that they cause in the brain happen quite rapidly. Understanding this paradox could enable us to create more effective treatments for depression. |
 | Tackling hepatitis C infection through emergency department testingHepatitis C testing in the emergency department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital has discovered 2,436 positive cases since testing began in September 2013. |
 | Flashes of inspiration needed to solve weather and pain mysteryThe University of Manchester team behind a ground-breaking study recording how thousands of people with chronic pain react to the weather is seeking help from the public to come up with explanations for the results. |
Study: Young people at risk for STDs often don't get testedAlthough they account for half of all new sexually transmitted infections, most young people between the ages of 15 and 25 have never been tested for those infections, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. | |
FDA eases paperwork to help some patients get experimental drugsThe Food and Drug Administration removed an obstacle from of its "compassionate use" policy this month, eliminating some paperwork that physicians must do to obtain experimental drugs for some patients with immediately life-threatening illnesses. | |
 | Laser ablation becomes increasingly viable treatment for prostate cancerProstate cancer patients may soon have a new option to treat their disease: laser heat. UCLA researchers have found that focal laser ablation - the precise application of heat via laser to a tumor - is both feasible and safe in men with intermediate risk prostate cancer. |
Atrial fibrillation associated with higher death risk in motor vehicle accident victimsA study in nearly three million motor vehicle accident victims has found that atrial fibrillation is associated with a higher risk of death. The research was presented today at CARDIOSTIM - EHRA EUROPACE 2016 by Dr Abhishek Deshmukh, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, US. | |
 | Individuals exposed to blue wavelength lights experienced faster reaction timesA new study found that blue wavelength light exposure led to subsequent increases in brain activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) when participants were engaging in a cognitive task after cessation of light exposure. |
Study shows strong prevalence of insomnia symptoms among female veteransA new study sheds light on the prevalence of insomnia symptoms among female veterans. | |
Disease that causes blindness in children tied to new geneNorthwestern Medicine and University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) scientists have identified a gene that causes severe glaucoma in children. The finding, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, validates a similar discovery made by the scientists in mice two years ago and suggests a target for future therapies to treat the devastating eye disease that currently has no cure. | |
 | Peanut allergy prevention strategy is nutritionally safe, study showsIntroducing peanut-containing foods during infancy as a peanut allergy prevention strategy does not compromise the duration of breastfeeding or affect children's growth and nutritional intakes, new findings show. The work, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is published online on June 10 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. |
 | Filarial nematodes taking a fancy to AustriaIn Austria, the parasitic roundworms Dirofilaria repens and Dirofilaria immitis are usually considered to be unpleasant souvenirs from travels abroad. A preliminary study by Vetmeduni Vienna has identified indigenous mosquitoes as carriers of Dirofilaria repens, suggesting for the first time that the parasite has become endemic in Eastern Austria. Dirofilaria immitis, commonly known as heartworm, also appears to be on the verge of becoming autochthonous. The slow pace at which the parasites are establishing themselves is probably due in part to the keeping conditions of dogs in Austria. A review on the subject has been published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. |
 | Southern Europe risks Zika outbreaks this summerEstablished Aedes-mosquito population could spread the Zika virus in Europe this summer if infected travelers introduce the virus. An analysis of temperatures, vectorial capacity, basic reproductive number (R0), and air traveler flows suggests parts of Southern Europe may be at risk for Zika outbreaks between June and August. This according to a study, led by Umeå University researchers in Sweden and published in the journal EBioMedicine. |
Countdown economist and parasitologist call for efficient and equitable control of NTDsThe continuing permanence of major neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is leading to a revision of the related research agenda towards current and future control interventions and associated targets. In the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, published 7 June 2016, LSTM's Professors Louis Niessen and Russell Stothard argue for a broad research and implementation approach in an efficient and equitable upscaling of the control of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Sub-Saharan Africa. | |
 | The vascular bypass revolutionCoronary or peripheral bypasses are the most frequently performed vascular operations. Although one million patients per year and around the world, undergo this intervention, its failure rate reaches 50%, because of poor vessel healing, leading to vessel graft occlusion. To improve the outcome of bypasses, researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) work together with medical doctors from the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). They developed a gel containing microparticles -'GeM', enabling the controlled release of a drug inhibiting cellular over-proliferation. Administered locally, directly on the bypass graft during surgery, this preventive treatment will reduce the risk of obstruction reoccurrence. This research can be read in The Journal of Controlled Release. |
 | Parents often using TVs, tablets as 'electronic babysitters'(HealthDay)—For some families, moments where parents spend time playing, reading or conversing with kids may be a thing of the past, new research suggests. |
 | Are 'workaholics' prone to OCD, anxiety?(HealthDay)—Some workaholics may be prone to mental health disorders, compared to folks with greater work-life balance, new research suggests. |
 | Many with migraines have vitamin deficiencies, says studyA high percentage of children, teens and young adults with migraines appear to have mild deficiencies in vitamin D, riboflavin and coenzyme Q10—a vitamin-like substance found in every cell of the body that is used to produce energy for cell growth and maintenance. |
 | Bifocals in the brain: Visual information from near and far space processed with differing degrees of acuityNeuroscientists from Tübingen have discovered how our brain processes visual stimuli above and below the horizon differently. The researchers led by Dr. Ziad Hafed of the Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN) at the University of Tübingen investigated non-human primates, ascertaining that different parts of the visual field are represented asymmetrically in the superior colliculus, a brain structure central to visual perception and behavior. More neural tissue is assigned to the upper visual field than to the lower. As a result, visual stimuli above the horizon are processed sharper, stronger, and faster: our brain is wearing bifocals, so to speak. |
Facebook key to identifying thousands with inflammatory back painThe results of a UK study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that using Facebook to raise awareness about the symptoms of Inflammatory Back Pain (IBP) and the need to seek medical help early may reduce the delay in diagnosis and treatment. The findings suggest that Facebook advertising may be a more effective way of identifying IBP patients earlier than other approaches, including newspaper adverts. | |
 | Damage to tiny liver protein function leads to heart disease, fatty liverA UCF College of Medicine researcher has identified for the first time a tiny liver protein that when disrupted can lead to the nation's top killer—cardiovascular disease—as well as fatty liver disease, a precursor to cancer. |
Positive mental attitude improves treatment adherence in rheumatoid arthritisTwo new studies presented at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) have shed light on why so many patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) do not adhere to their therapy, even in the early stages of their treatment. These new insights should be used to inform strategies designed to improve treatment adherence that in turn will optimise treatment outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. | |
Need better sleep? Consider the cognitive shuffleSimon Fraser University research aimed at helping people get to sleep will be highlighted at an international sleep conference next week. Luc Beaudoin, an adjunct professor in cognitive science and education, created the mySleepButton app two years ago (a new version with the world's first configurable "body scan" will be released shortly). | |
Female sex hormone clue to fighting serious immune diseaseThe results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed for the first time a beneficial effect of oestrogens in experimental models of skin fibrosis that are representative of the disease process in systemic sclerosis (SSc). These findings may explain the increased incidence of SSc in women after the menopause, the greater severity of SSc in men, and importantly open up the possibility of developing potential hormone therapies for this difficult-to-treat condition. | |
 | Alzheimer's researchers find clues to toxic forms of amyloid betaMuch of the research on Alzheimer's disease has focused on the amyloid beta protein, which clumps together into sticky fibrils that form deposits in the brains of people with the disease. In recent years, attention has turned away from the fibrils themselves to an intermediate stage in the aggregation of amyloid beta. "Oligomers" consisting of a few molecules of the protein stuck together are more mobile than the large, insoluble fibrils and seem to be much more toxic. But the actual structure of these soluble oligomers remains unknown, and it's unclear how they trigger the neurotoxic effects that lead to Alzheimer's disease. |
Weight and diet may help predict sleep qualityThe old adage "you are what you eat," may be better phrased as "your sleep relates to what you eat." An individual's body composition and caloric intake can influence time spent in specific sleep stages, according to results of a new study (abstract 0088) from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that will be presented at SLEEP 2016, the 30th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC. | |
Implantable device cuts obstructive sleep apnea symptomsSince the 1980s, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) - in which positive pressure is pushed through the nasal airways to help users breathe while sleeping - has been by far the most widely used treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). With more than 18 million people experiencing OSA, a number expected to rise, new results from a Penn case study of a new device implanted in the chest called hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS) offers promise for patients with moderate to severe OSA who cannot tolerate CPAP. Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania will present data (abstract 0378) on their outcomes with hypoglossal nerve stimulation for the treatment of patients with sleep apnea at SLEEP 2016, the 30th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC. | |
Amino acid identified associated with poor performance under sleep restrictionThe amino acid acetylcarnitine may help predict an individual's neurobehavioral performance during chronic sleep restriction, according to results of a new study (abstract 0251) from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that will be presented at SLEEP 2016, the 30th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC. | |
 | Crowdfunding the next medical breakthroughPeople have been crowdfunding for years. Now researchers are doing the same, so you can contribute ideas and money to the studies that matter to you. |
Colombia to force Novartis to lower prices of cancer drugColombia's government will unilaterally force the world's largest drugmaker Novartis to lower prices of a popular leukemia medicine in a closely followed patent dispute, authorities said Thursday. | |
Valeant unit to pay $54 mn over kickbacks to prescribe its drugsEmbattled Canadian drugmaker Valeant will pay $54 million to settle charges its Salix unit paid kickbacks to doctors to promote its drugs, the Justice Department said Thursday. | |
Study finds little consistency for UTI prevention in nursing homesA survey of nearly 1,000 nursing homes in the U.S. found little consistency across facilities of policies implemented to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs), according to a new study presented at the 43rd Annual Conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). | |
Merck to buy biotech drug developer Afferent PharmaceuticalsDrugmaker Merck is buying Afferent Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biotechnology company developing a chronic cough medication. | |
Pittsburgh researcher infected with Zika in lab accidentThe University of Pittsburgh says one of its researchers became infected with the Zika virus in a lab accident. | |
Diabetes reflects Auckland's health inequitiesResidents of South Auckland are nearly two times more likely to suffer from diabetes than those who live 25 kilometres across Auckland in the North Shore. | |
A child's right to fertility preservation when undergoing sterilising chemotherapyOvarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC), harvesting and freezing ovarian tissue, is the most promising complication-free strategy to preserve potential fertility in pre-pubescent girls undergoing sterilising chemotherapy, according to a 13 year study by Fanny Chambon et al. in the journal, Human Fertility. | |
Study shows that tattoo artists are first-line responders to skin health concerns as well as tattoo complicationsTattoo artists frequently encounter adverse tattoo events according to a New York University Department of Dermatology study, published this month in the Karger journal Dermatology. | |
 | First corneal stem cell transplant conducted in IrelandOn Tuesday 7th June 2016, the first Limbal Stem Cell transplant in Ireland was performed by Mr. William Power, Consultant Ophthalmologist at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital (RVEEH) in Dublin. While this technique has been available in a number of other countries, until now this was not a treatment option available in Ireland. This transplant represents the culmination of a collaboration between researchers, scientists and clinicians in the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology (NICB) in Dublin City University (DCU), the Eye Bank at the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS), and the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital (RVEEH). |
Aggressive cancer cells haltedZebrafish-human communication shows that cancer cells lacking a signaling protein are less able to develop aggressive metastatic properties. This discovery has been made by Claudia Tulotta. PhD defence 14 June. | |
Yellow fever outbreak concernsThe ongoing outbreak of yellow fever in Angola has global public health officials closely monitoring the situation. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) updated its rapid risk assessment due to concerns of potential international spread of the mosquito-borne disease. | |
One third of rheumatoid arthritis patients experience sexual dysfunctionThe results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that sexual dysfunction is present in more than one-third of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are still sexually active, both men and women. A variety of difficulties may affect RA patients, including lack of libido, painful intercourse, orgasmic dysfunction, premature ejaculation and a non-satisfactory sexual life. | |
New treatment offers hope for children with debilitating skin and muscle diseaseThe results of a UK study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (anti-TNF) treatment is effective at improving both muscle and skin involvement in children with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM). These findings bring new hope to JDM patients who have failed to respond to multiple drug treatments and who, as a result, have a greater risk of painful complications and premature death. | |
Prolonged repetitive physical workload increases risk of developing rheumatoid arthritisThe results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that prolonged repetitive physical workload increases the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although work-related physical activity over many years is known to cause many cases of osteoarthritis (OA) in selected joints, this is the first study to show a link between physical workload and RA. | |
Motivational text messages and counselling boost health of patients with RAThe results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed for the first time that a combination of text messages and individual counselling sessions to motivate patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) to be more active resulted in improved patient-reported clinical outcomes. This type of behavioural intervention was effective at reducing daily sitting time by an average of more than two hours in RA patients, and also reduced their cholesterol levels. | |
UK rheumatologists go beyond NICE guidance on cost when treating RA patientsThe results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that a range of factors other than just cost may influence the prescribing of TNF inhibitors for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although clinical guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that RA patients in England should be treated with the lowest cost anti-TNF, in practice, the findings from this English study suggest that a number of other factors may influence treatment choice. | |
Genetic clue to development of mouth ulcers in lupusThe results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed for the first time an association between a specific genetic pathway and the development of mouth ulcers in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). Linking the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) genetic pathway with a specific disease characteristic among SLE patients represents an important step towards unravelling the genetic basis of different SLE clinical presentations. | |
 | Targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in prostate cancer development and progressionTargeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR Pathway in Prostate Cancer Development and Progression: Insight to Therapy, by Dr Claudio Festuccia (University of L'Aquila, Italy) and published in Clinical Cancer Drugs, volume 3, issue 1 - discusses experimental and clinical data on the pharmacological inhibition of the Akt/mTOR pathways. |
Biology news
 | Researchers watch skin cells 'walk' to woundsSkin cells typically spend their entire existence in one place on your body. But Washington State University researchers have seen how the cells will alter the proteins holding them in place and move to repair a wound. |
 | Bacteria probably formed symbioses with protists early in evolutionDay in, day out, in the smallest of spaces with your greatest enemy. Sounds unbearable? In the world of microbes, this has been everyday life for billions of years. This supposedly direful proximity can lead to unusual partnerships, as a study by researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology and the University of Calgary now reveals. |
 | Generations of macaques used 'tools' to open their oysters and nutsA new study looks into the history of stone tools used by wild macaques in coastal Thailand. It finds they have been using them for decades…and possibly thousands of years… to crack open shellfish and nuts. |
 | Climate change could trigger tropical evacuations, researchers adviseGlobal warming by just 2 degrees Celsius is likely to force some tropical plant, animal and human populations to relocate hundreds of miles from their current homes this century, according to research published today in the journal Scientific Reports. |
 | Fruit fly sex drive hints at how animals choose behaviorsMale fruit flies have a mating drive, and its rise and fall is controlled by dopamine levels in one area of the brain, a team of Harvard Medical School neurobiologists has found. |
 | Using CRISPR as a recording device(Phys.org)—A small team of researchers at Harvard University has taken another look at CRISPR and has found that it can be used as a recording device of sorts, keeping track of when and where a given bacterium has been exposed to different viruses. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes their study, their findings and the ways such natural recordings might be useful. |
 | Popcorn-like fossils provide evidence of environmental impacts on species numbersThe number of species that can exist on Earth depends on how the environment changes, according to new research led by the University of Southampton. |
 | The primate brain is 'pre-adapted' to face potentially any situationScientists have shown how the brain anticipates all of the new situations that it may encounter in a lifetime by creating a special kind of neural network that is "pre-adapted" to face any eventuality. This emerges from a new neuroscience study published in PLOS Computational Biology. |
 | Relationship advice from a gender-bending fish that mates for lifeA 3-inch monogamous hermaphrodite proves the saying "there's plenty more fish in the sea" isn't always the case. |
 | Drone footage shows the secret life of rare whalesNew Zealand researchers have captured stunning drone footage of endangered whales feeding off the Auckland coast, giving an unprecedented insight into the majestic giants of the sea. |
 | Uruguay's blind 'bird man' can identify 3,000 bird soundsBorn blind, Juan Pablo Culasso has never seen a bird. But through his gifted sense of hearing, he can identify more than 3,000 different bird sounds and differentiate more than 720 species. |
 | What animals can tell us about sleepingSleep forms a basic part of our everyday lives, yet surprisingly little is known about its purpose and evolutionary history. |
 | Call for more animal welfare controls in Chinese researchResearchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have urged China to have more stringent laws for medical research on primates, as China has become a hub for animal testing due to a lack of animal welfare controls. |
 | Dozens of Philippine fish species in danger: studyDozens of fish species have disappeared or are on the verge of being lost from marine biodiversity hotspot the Philippines, an environmental group said Friday, citing a new study. |
 | Activity of nerve cell in freely moving animal analyzed by new robot microscope systemResearchers from Osaka University and Tohoku University have developed a novel robot microscope system that automatically tracks a freely moving small animal and manipulates its brain activity with "projection mapping." |
 | Supporting pollinators could have big payoff for Texas cotton farmersAccording to a new study by The University of Texas at Austin, increasing the diversity of pollinator species, including bees, flies and butterflies, can dramatically increase cotton production. The researchers estimate that in South Texas, the region they studied, increasing the diversity of pollinators could boost cotton production by up to 18 percent, yielding an increase in annual revenue of more than $1.1 million. |
 | Cancer-causing virus strikes genetically vulnerable horsesSarcoid skin tumors are the most common form of cancer in horses, but little is known about why the papillomavirus behind them strikes some horses and not others. A new study by an international research group led by scientists at the Baker Institute for Animal Health at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine shows genetic differences in immune function between horses partly accounts for these differences. The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, mirrors findings in humans, as some people have a genetic susceptibility to human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical and other cancers. |
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