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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for October 1, 2018:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Symbiotic star AG Pegasi observed after ourburstUsing ESA's XMM-Newton space telescope, two researchers have observed the symbiotic star AG Pegasi after the end of its outburst in 2015. The observations, detailed in a paper published September 24 on the arXiv pre-print server, could reveal the real nature of this peculiar object. |
 | Animal study suggests deep space travel may significantly damage GI function in astronautsSimulations with animal models meant to mirror galactic cosmic radiation exposure to astronauts are raising red flags for investigators at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) about the health of astronauts during long voyages, such as to Mars. |
 | UCF selling experimental Martian dirt—$20 a kilogram, plus shippingThe University of Central Florida is selling Martian dirt, $20 a kilogram plus shipping. |
 | Four newly discovered Milky Way neighborsUltra-faint dwarf galaxies are the smallest, most dark matter dominated, and least chemically enriched stellar systems in the universe, and are important targets for understanding dark matter and galaxy formation. They comprise by number the majority of galaxies in the universe, and not least, dwarf galaxies around the Milky Way provide crucial empirical input for verifying formation scenarios of our own galaxy. There are currently about sixty dwarf galaxies associated with the Milky Way and closer than about one million light-years; the Andromeda Galaxy, our closest large neighbor spiral galaxy, is two and one-half million light-years away. |
 | MUSE spectrograph reveals that nearly the entire sky in the early Universe is glowing with Lyman-alpha emissionDeep observations made with the MUSE spectrograph on ESO's Very Large Telescope have uncovered vast cosmic reservoirs of atomic hydrogen surrounding distant galaxies. The exquisite sensitivity of MUSE allowed for direct observations of dim clouds of hydrogen glowing with Lyman-alpha emission in the early Universe—revealing that almost the whole night sky is invisibly aglow. |
 | New Horizons team rehearses for New Year's flybyYou never know what you're going to see when you visit a world for the first time—particularly when it's on the solar system's most distant frontier – but you can get ready to see it. |
 | NASA unveils sustainable campaign to return to moon, on to MarsIn December of 2017, President Donald Trump signed Space Policy Directive-1, in which the president directed NASA "to lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities." |
 | Image: Apollo 7 crew trains to test technology for missions to the moonThis Aug. 5 1968 image was taken aboard the MV Retriever in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Apollo 7 crew, Walter Schirra, Walter Cunningham and Donn Eisele practiced water egress procedures in preparation for the October 1968 mission. |
 | Image: Comet landscapeOn 30 September 2016, ESA's Rosetta spacecraft came closer than ever to the target it had studied from afar for more than two years, concluding its mission with a controlled impact onto the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G). |
Technology news
 | Working toward partner-aware humanoid robot controlResearchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) have recently proposed a coupled-dynamics formalism and a new approach for exploiting helpful interactions with humanoid robots. Their paper, which was pre-published on arXiv, also presents a number of task-based, partner-aware techniques for humanoid robot control. |
 | BrainNet allows three people to communicate using brainwaves to play TetrisA combined team of researchers from the University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon University has developed what they call BrainNet —a system that allows three people to communicate with one another using only brain waves. They have written a paper describing their system and how well it works and have posted it on the arXiv preprint server. |
 | Gun-spotting camera can take the next step realtime and alert authoritiesTechnology makes it possible to catch criminal theft, violence, and mass shootings as it happens, and for viewing after the fact. What about revving up the camera technology so that even responsive action can happen realtime? |
 | What comes next in Facebook's major data breachFor users, Facebook's revelation of a data breach that gave attackers access to 50 million accounts raises an important question: What happens next? |
 | Tesla's challenges extend beyond CEO's uncertain futureElon Musk's murky future as Tesla Motors' CEO amid a securities fraud lawsuit isn't the only cloud hanging over the electric car maker. |
 | The scandals bedevilling FacebookFacebook is at the centre of controversy yet again after admitting that up to 50 million accounts were breached by hackers. |
Virtual reality unleashes full power of top UK orchestraLondon's Royal Festival Hall is putting visitors centre-stage with one of the world's top orchestras, using cutting-edge technology amid claims it will transform the arts and entertainment industries. | |
 | Elon Musk to resign as chair of Tesla board but remain CEOElon Musk has reached a deal over fraud charges that will see him step down as electric automaker Tesla's chairman of the board and pay a $20 million fine but stay on as CEO, US securities regulators said Saturday. |
 | Startups tackle Indian women's toilet woesWith her bladder fit to burst on a recent ride with an all-female motorbike club, Vidhi Malla chugged on her 350cc "Thunderbird" into a fancy highway eatery near New Delhi and rushed to the toilet. |
 | Musk escapes the worst, but Tesla still faces a bumpy roadTesla has promised to revolutionize the automobile, but the high-end electric car maker keeps hitting road blocks created by its founder Elon Musk's erratic behavior and considerable ego. |
 | Can wireless challenge cable for home internet service?Cellular companies such as Verizon are looking to challenge traditional cable companies with residential internet service that promises to be ultra-fast, affordable and wireless. |
 | New Tesla chair must rein in CEO Musk at key momentIt won't be an easy job. |
 | New California internet neutrality law sparks US lawsuitCalifornia Gov. Jerry Brown has approved the nation's strongest net neutrality law, prompting an immediate lawsuit by the Trump administration and opening the next phase in the battle over regulating the internet. |
 | US sues California over 'net neutrality'The US Justice Department on Sunday sued California to force it to abandon a law, passed earlier in the day, to protect "net neutrality" aimed at requiring all online data to be treated equally. |
 | Decision looms for Berlin on diesel refitsGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel's government is slated to agree late Monday how to clean up city air polluted by diesel exhaust and who will foot the bill, after protracted wrestling with the powerful car industry. |
 | Pliable micro-batteries for wearablesThere is a new technology gripping the markets of the future – technology to wear. Wearables, as they are known, are portable systems that contain sensors to collect measurement data from our bodies. Powering these sensors without wires calls for pliable batteries that can adapt to the specific material and deliver the power the system requires. Micro-batteries developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM provide the technical foundation for this new technology trend. |
 | Smart algorithms boost planningOrganizing care services is a complex task and a lot of planning goes into ensuring that they operate smoothly. Developed by adiutaByte, a spin-off project of the Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing SCAI, adiuta.PLAN is a software package that can automatically create plans and factor in variables such as traffic levels and weather conditions in real time. The software also keeps plans updated to take into account other factors such as staff availability. Its innovative algorithms provide the perfect remedy for the grave shortage of care resources. |
 | An energy-efficient means of water damage restorationOver a million cases of water damage due to rotten pipes are reported in Germany every year. Infrared heating panels and plastic enclosures are used to restore damaged walls, but they consume large amounts of energy. A new electric, vapor-permeable, flexible drying system developed by Fraunhofer researchers reduces the moisture evenly throughout building components in an energy-efficient manner. Fraunhofer will be exhibiting the prototype of the drying module at the BAU 2019 trade fair in Munich from January 14 to 19. |
 | Construction using concrete reinforced with renewable materialsTomorrow's building material is here today. Textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) is durable, formable in diverse shapes and suitable for lightweight construction. As the name suggests, conventional TRC is reinforced with carbon or glass-fiber fabrics rather than steel. A research team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI is now replacing these fabrics with eco-friendly natural fibers. These alternatives rival conventional concrete's performance, but leave a smaller carbon footprint, and cost less to make. Researchers will present a prototype of a natural fiber-reinforced concrete bridge at the BAU 2019 trade fair in Munich on January 14 to 19, 2019. |
 | The robot eye with an all-round field of viewWhere am I? Like humans, robots also need to answer that question, while they tirelessly glue, weld or apply seals to workpieces. After all, the production of precision products depends on robot control systems knowing the location of the adhesive bonding head or welding head to the nearest millimeter at all times. This means the robot needs some sort of eye. In the automotive industry and many other sectors, specialized sensors perform this function, most of which operate on the principle of laser triangulation. A laser diode projects a line of red light onto the workpiece, from which the light is reflected at a specific angle before being detected by a camera. From the position of the light striking the camera chip, the position and distance of the sensor with respect to the workpiece within the coordinate system can be calculated. |
 | California law sets up fresh legal clash over 'net neutrality'The US Justice Department's lawsuit to block a California law aimed at ensuring all online data to be treated equally sets up a legal clash over so-called "net neutrality" and the authority to regulate the internet. |
 | Longtime Facebook exec Adam Mosseri new head of InstagramFacebook has named Adam Mosseri, a 10-year veteran at the company, as the head of Instagram. |
 | Toyota warns no-deal Brexit would stall output at UK plantJapanese car giant Toyota on Saturday warned that a no-deal Brexit would temporarily halt production at its plant in Derby, central England. |
 | Drugmaker Pfizer's CEO Read to be replaced by COO BourlaThe biggest U.S.-based drugmaker will change leaders in January when Pfizer Chief Operating Officer Albert Bourla replaces CEO Ian Read, who has led the company for nearly eight years. |
 | Dutch ban electric carts following crash that killed 4 kidsThe Dutch government is banning a type of electric cart used by many childcare centers to transport young children, saying that an initial investigation into a deadly collision last month has uncovered "potential security risks" with the vehicles. |
 | Tesco Bank fined by UK regulator over hackingBritain's Tesco Bank has been fined £16.4 million ($21.4 million, 18.4 million euros) for failing to protect customers during a 2016 cyber attack, regulators said Monday. |
Medicine & Health news
 | US, Japan duo win Nobel Medicine Prize for cancer therapyTwo immunologists, James Allison of the US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan, won the 2018 Nobel Medicine Prize for research into how the body's natural defences can fight cancer, the jury said on Monday. |
 | Genetics of cholesterol point to possible drug targets for heart disease, diabetesFrom the DNA of nearly 300,000 veterans, scientists have singled out a handful of genetic mutations that not only govern levels of cholesterol, but may also inform the development and use of drugs for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Palo Alto Veteran Affairs Health Care System. |
 | Immune cells help older muscles heal like newBiomedical engineers at Duke University have found a critical component for growing self-healing muscle tissues from adult muscle—the immune system. The discovery in mice is expected to play an important role in studying degenerative muscle diseases and enhancing the survival of engineered tissue grafts in future cell therapy applications. |
 | Study looks at brain networks involved with free willUtilizing lesion network mapping, a recently developed technique for analyzing how the brain works, Ryan Darby, MD, assistant professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt, studied free will perception related to movement decisions. |
 | Scientists uncover why you can't decide what to order for lunchIf you've ever found yourself staring at a lengthy restaurant menu and been completely unable to decide what to order for lunch, you have experienced what psychologists call choice overload. The brain, faced with an overwhelming number of similar options, struggles to make a decision. |
 | Specific protein identified as regulator of glioblastoma tumor migrationA specific protein called TEAD1 is an important regulator of tumor migration in glioblastoma, the most common brain tumor in adults, and deactivating this protein may stop tumor cells from migrating away from the main tumor mass, according to research conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published October 1 in the journal Nature Communications. The data garnered through this study may help increase the success rate and overall survival time after surgery for patients who are afflicted with this devastating form of tumor. |
 | Genetic variants reveal new targets for chronic kidney disease treatmentThe kidney does more than double or even triple duty compared to other organs—it extracts waste, balances body fluids, forms urine, regulates blood pressure, and secretes hormones. Given this complexity, when things go wrong, havoc can ensue, causing a suite of symptoms called chronic kidney disease (CKD), which includes toxin accumulation, fatigue, and high blood pressure. |
 | Penn discovers new, rare mechanism for ALL to relapse after CAR T cell therapyA single leukemia cell, unknowingly engineered with the leukemia-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) lentivirus and infused back into a patient, was able to reproduce and cause a deadly recurrence of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). New research from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania found that in one patient, the CAR lentivirus that would usually enter a T cell to teach it to hunt cancer also ended up binding with a leukemic cell. The presence of the CAR on the leukemic cell may have given that cell the ability to hide from the therapy by masking CD19, the protein that CARs target to kill cancer. Leukemic cells without CD19 are resistant to CAR T therapy, so this single cell led to the patient's relapse. Nature Medicine published the findings today. |
 | Familiar voices are easier to understand, even if we don't recognize themFamiliar voices are easier to understand and this advantage holds even if when we aren't able to identify who those familiar voices belong to, according to research in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. |
 | No 'reservoir': Detectable HIV-1 in treated human liver cells found to be inertIn a proof-of-principle study, researchers at Johns Hopkins report that a certain liver immune cell called a macrophage contains only defective or inert HIV-1 copies, and aren't likely to restart infection on their own in HIV-1-infected people on long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART). |
 | Nobel-winning therapy weaponises immune system against cancerA revolutionary cancer treatment pioneered by the winners of the 2018 Nobel Prize for Medicine has been hailed as the future of fighting the disease—and it has fewer devastating side effects than chemotherapy. |
 | Children's violent video game play associated with increased physical aggressive behaviorViolent video game play by adolescents is associated with increases in physical aggression over time, according to a Dartmouth meta-analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). |
 | A golden ticket to faster muscle recoveryAnyone who has ever torn or injured a muscle knows that swelling, redness, and pain soon follow the injury: classic signs of inflammation. Inflammation is the body's natural response to promote healing, but prolonged, excess inflammation in the muscles can contribute to the progression of chronic diseases such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and can worsen conditions in other parts of the body like rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and diabetes. A naturally occurring anti-inflammatory cytokine called IL-4 is being investigated as a treatment for such conditions, but its use is limited because it breaks down quickly once inside the body and must be given in a large dose over repeated infusions, causing undesirable systemic side effects. |
Vitamin B supplements may protect kidney function in children with diabetesVitamin B supplements have a protective effect on kidney function in children and adolescents with type-1 diabetes, according to research presented today at the 57th Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting. These findings indicate that simple supplementation of vitamin B complex may protect against the development and progression of kidney disease in children with diabetes, which could promote improved health and quality of life in adulthood. | |
China HIV/AIDS cases surge by 14%The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in China has surged by 14 percent, with most cases transmitted through sex rather than blood transfusions, state media said Saturday. | |
 | Scientists use AI to develop better predictions of why children struggle at schoolScientists using machine learning—a type of artificial intelligence—with data from hundreds of children who struggle at school, identified clusters of learning difficulties which did not match the previous diagnosis the children had been given. |
Patient-partnered genomics study IDs immunotherapy as potential treatment for rare cancerAngiosarcoma Project, a patient-partnered genomics study, identified immune checkpoint inhibition as a potential treatment option for patients with angiosarcomas of the head, face, neck, or scalp (HFNS), according to data presented at the fourth CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival, held Sept. 30-Oct. 3. | |
Bacterial therapy tolerable, shows early promise in patients with advanced solid tumorsA phase I clinical trial investigating the use of bacterial Clostridium novyi-NT spores as an injectable monotherapy had manageable toxicities and showed early clinical efficacy in patients with treatment-refractory solid tumor malignancies, according to data presented at the Fourth CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival, held Sept. 30-Oct. 3. | |
New cancer vaccine shows early promise for patients with HER2-positive cancersTreatment with a HER2-targeted therapeutic cancer vaccine provided clinical benefit to several patients with metastatic HER2-positive cancers who had not previously been treated with a HER2-targeted therapeutic, according to data from a phase I clinical trial presented at the Fourth CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival, held Sept. 30-Oct. 3. | |
 | Employers jump into providing care as health costs riseAutoworkers in this blue-collar, central Indiana city have an eager helper waiting to pick up the bill at their next doctor visit. |
 | Researchers develop new genetics-based prognostic tool for myelodysplastic syndromeResearchers at Mayo Clinic have developed a new genetics-based prognostic tool for myelodysplastic syndrome. Their findings are published in the October print issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. |
 | Eye discovery to pave way for more successful corneal transplantsA team of eye specialists at The University of Nottingham has made another novel discovery that could help to improve the success of corneal transplants for patients whose sight has been affected by disease. |
Can chiropractic care disrupt vision?For those in the habit of getting their neck adjusted by a chiropractor, the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center has interesting information to know about: High velocity neck manipulation has been shown to result in stress on the eye and lead to spotty vision. | |
 | How to improve health care in CanadaExpanding public funding for cost-effective treatments, investing in primary care, embracing technology and engaging patients are some of the ways Canada can improve the quality of health care, according to an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). |
 | Shifting causes of death in Shanghai, China, over many decadesA large study conducted over 42 years in Shanghai—China's largest city—indicates that socioeconomic development most likely contributed to lower death rates for most diseases (except for cancer and diabetes, for which death rates increased), likely because of lifestyle factors. The study is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). |
Studies in men reveal higher chance of secondary fractures, value of bone strengthening exercisesTwo new studies released this week shine a spotlight on men's bone health which is often overshadowed by the focus on osteoporosis and fracture risk in women. The findings are being presented at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) 2018 Annual Meeting in Montréal, the premier scientific meeting in the world on bone, mineral and musculoskeletal science. | |
Yo-yoing weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar readings may raise heart attack and stroke riskFluctuations in weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and/or blood sugar levels in otherwise healthy people may be associated with a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and death from any cause compared to people with more stable readings, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation. | |
 | What's in your DNA? Poll of older adults shows high interest, with a dose of skepticismOnly a small percentage of people in their 50s and early 60s have had their DNA tested—either for medical reasons, to learn their ancestry or out of curiosity—but far more have an interest in getting such tests done, according to a new poll. |
Drug cocktail may treat postmenopausal PCOS complicationsA combination of a diabetes drug and a high blood pressure medication may effectively treat all symptoms of postmenopausal polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The findings will be presented today at the American Physiological Society's (APS) Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Diseases: Sex-Specific Implications for Physiology conference in Knoxville, Tenn. | |
 | Anxious and forgetful after menopause? Low estrogen may be to blameLack of estrogen may play a role in the development of anxiety and memory problems, according to a new rodent study. The findings will be presented today at the American Physiological Society's (APS) Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Diseases: Sex-Specific Implications for Physiology conference in Knoxville, Tenn. |
 | Expert: Keep up with latest discoveries through automated updates in reporting genetic test resultsMaybe the genetic test report your doctor ordered says your DNA contains many "variants of unknown significance." Currently, up to 70 percent of such reports are negative or inconclusive. But suppose at a later date a researcher discovers one of those changes causes a disease? You may be able to take preventive steps or receive early treatment—but how will you learn this new piece of information? You can't even be sure your doctor will find out about it. |
 | Learning to see friendly faces in different placesMeaningful social interactions train visual cortex neurons to recognize a familiar face in different visual locations, suggests new research published in eNeuro. The study demonstrates how the brain learns to perceive other people as individuals. |
 | Japan Nobel winner vows to continue research to 'save more patients than ever'The Japanese scientist who Monday won the Nobel Prize for medicine vowed to continue his cancer treatment work to help as many sufferers as possible, saying treating patients gave him more pleasure than any award. |
 | Recent winners of the Nobel Medicine PrizeHere is a list of the winners of the Nobel Medicine Prize in the past 10 years, after James Allison of the US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan were awarded Monday for research that has revolutionised cancer treatment: |
 | A new hope in treating neurodegenerative diseaseNew research has shown that support cells in the brain can be utilised to heal and protect neurones, paving the way for the development of new medicine to treat neurodegenerative diseases. |
 | Psychotropic polypharmacy is common in Alzheimer's diseaseUp to half of people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) use a psychotropic drug, and one in five uses two or more psychotropics concomitantly, according to a study conducted at the University of Eastern Finland. |
 | Natural molecule may be key to reversing and halting heart disease in diabetesAn international collaboration jointly led by University College Dublin (UCD) and Monash University in Melbourne has found that mimicking the activity of molecules found naturally in the body may provide a new approach to treating vascular disease in diabetes. |
 | Scientists report that cancer can be diagnosed and treated with MRIResearchers from the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Russia) have recently developed a new type of contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based on biodegradable silicon nanoparticles. The method can be used for both diagnosing and treating cancer. |
 | Additive design signals revolution in reconstructive surgeryRevolutionary implants produced by a Western-based medical device company will soon change the face of reconstructive surgeries for more than just the family pet. Human patients may see the benefits of this technology as soon as early next year. |
 | Fighting the vaccine wars on the side of scienceMore lives have been saved by vaccines than any public health initiative, save clean water – yet millions of people worry that vaccines are a threat to themselves and their children. Such fears result in vaccination rates dropping, opening the door to outbreaks of preventable diseases such as measles, mumps and whooping cough. |
 | Golf: The neuroscience of the perfect puttSports fans across the world watched the American golfer Tiger Woods roll in a putt to win the PGA tour's season ending Tour Championship on September 23. His victory caps a remarkable comeback from personal struggles and injuries that caused him to plummet to 1,199 in the world rankings less than a year ago, and restores him as one of the world's best. |
 | Time to act to reduce diabetes-related foot diseaseGreater investment from governments, health professionals and researchers is needed to reduce costly and common diabetes-related foot disease (DFD), QUT Principal Research Fellow Dr. Peter Lazzarini and co-authors write in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia. |
 | High unmet need for dental care among Syrian refugees, research showsHigh unmet need for dental care is causing pain, embarrassment, worry and reducing quality of life among Syrian refugees, new University of Otago research shows. |
 | No connection between LDL cholesterol levels and heart disease, according to researchersA new review of published research from an international group of physicians and researchers is challenging the half-century long belief that LDL, the so-called 'bad kind' of cholesterol, causes heart disease. |
 | Women with non-small cell lung cancers live longer than menWomen diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) live longer than their male counterparts, according to results of a SWOG study presented by Loyola Medicine researcher Kathy Albain, MD, at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's 19th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Toronto. |
 | Mass drug administration has the potential to eliminate multiple neglected tropical diseases from populationsAustralian researchers have partnered with researchers in the Solomon Islands to advance the fight against neglected tropical diseases in the Pacific by proving that it is possible to safely treat large populations for trachoma and scabies simultaneously. |
 | WT1 "kidney-gene" plays a role in the central nervous system and controls movementThe WT1 gene fulfills a central role in the development of a healthy, functioning kidney. Mutations in WT1 lead to impairments in kidney development and cause Wilms tumors, a pediatric kidney cancer. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena have now discovered a further important function of WT1. It is also active outside the kidneys in the central nervous system and is involved in controlling movement. If the gene is missing in the spinal cord, locomotor aberrancies occur. The results have now been published in Life Science Alliance. |
 | Increased cardiovascular risk for diclofenac initiators(HealthDay)—Diclofenac initiators have increased cardiovascular risk compared with non-initiators, according to a study published online Sept. 4 in The BMJ. |
 | Pharmaceutical executive defends 400 percent price hike(HealthDay)—A pharmaceutical executive is defending his company's 400 percent price hike on an antibiotic, according to a report published in Formulary Watch. |
 | Virtual reality can improve performance during exerciseUsing virtual reality (VR) headsets while exercising can reduce pain and increase how long someone can sustain an activity, according to new research from the School of Engineering and Digital Arts. |
 | Fat people do not need your concerns about their healthGravely misinformed ideas about health, beauty and body image still dominate, as derogatory reactions to plus size model Tess Holliday's October Cosmopolitan UK magazine cover prove. TV presenter Piers Morgan, for example, posted a photo of the cover on Instagram with a caption that called out this "step forward for body positivity" as "a load of old baloney". He went on to add: "This cover is just as dangerous and misguided as celebrating size zero models." |
 | Can 'persuasive technology' change behavior and help people better manage chronic diseases?It was March 2014 when I received a phone call as I was working in my office. The person on the other end introduced herself as Dr. Linda Houston-Feenstra, chief cardiac nurse of Loma Linda University SACHS Heart Clinic. She said that she has heard about my work on persuasive technology, in particular how it can influence attitude or behavior change in people. She wanted me to assist her with her heart-failure patients. |
 | Cell death protein also damps inflammationInflammation is one strategy your body uses to fight infection, but if it gets out of control it can kill instead of heal. In the Sept. 18 issue of Immunity, UConn Health immunologist Vijay Rathinam and colleagues show how the body damps down inflammation, making clever double use of a protein previously thought to be responsible only for cell death. |
 | Genes key to identifying drug resistant parasites in BrazilResearchers at the University of York have identified genes in a parasite that could help clinicians predict drug treatment outcomes for patients with visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil. |
 | We provided psychological first aid after the Las Vegas shooting – here's what we learnedEditors' note: In the aftermath of the Oct. 1, 2017 shooting massacre that claimed the lives of 58 people, several psychology and counseling scholars at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas sprang into action to offer trauma counseling to victims and witnesses of the deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history. The UNLV scholars helped provide aid and comfort to hundreds of evacuees, mostly noninjured, who were driven by bus from the strip to the UNLV Thomas & Mack Center soon after the shooting. The Conversation recently connected with those scholars to hear what they learned from the experience. |
 | Why we should take fungal infections more seriouslyWhen most healthy people think of fungal diseases, they often think of oral or vaginal thrush, nappy rash, fungal nail infections, and athlete's foot. Although these are very common, annoying and sometimes debilitating conditions, they can be treated. |
 | More bad news for artificial sweetener usersFDA-approved artificial sweeteners and sport supplements were found to be toxic to digestive gut microbes, according to a new paper published in Molecules by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. |
Finding new combination therapies for neuroblastomaA phase 2 clinical trial has found that combining a novel compound called alisertib with chemotherapy has anti-tumor activity in children with high-risk, relapsed neuroblastoma. The New Approaches to Neuroblastoma Therapy (NANT) consortium study was led by Araz Marachelian, MD, MS, of the Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Steven G. DuBois, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Results were recently published online in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. | |
 | How can we reduce concussions in football? Change kickoffs, experts sayHow best to reduce concussions and other brain injuries that occur in American football continues to perplex scientists, coaches, and fans at all levels of the sport, but a new study published today in JAMA points to one way to make the sport safer: move the kickoff line. A 2016 and 2017 Ivy League experimental rule that moved the kickoff line from the 35- to the 40-yard line and the touchback line from the 25- to the 20-yard line reduced the average annual concussion rate by more than 68 percent, according to the research conducted by a team from The Ivy League and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. |
 | Doctors issue caution over missed cancer diagnoses tied to immune disorderPhysicians who specialize in a devastating and aggressive immune disorder called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) report in a new study that extra care should be taken to ensure an HLH diagnosis doesn't obscure possible underlying cancers. |
 | Insufficient sleep associated with risky behavior in teensAdolescents require 8-10 hours of sleep at night for optimal health, according to sleep experts, yet more than 70 percent of high school students get less than that. Previous studies have demonstrated that insufficient sleep in youth can result in learning difficulties, impaired judgement, and risk of adverse health behaviors. In a new study, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital examined a national data sample of risk-taking behaviors and sleep duration self-reported by high school students over eight years and found an association between sleep duration and personal safety risk-taking actions. Results are published in a JAMA Pediatrics research letter on October 1. |
Removal of ovary for fertility preservation found safe in girls as young as five monthsIn the first publication from the U.S. on surgical techniques and outcomes of single ovary removal for fertility preservation in girls, surgeons from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago report that the procedure caused no complications and can be performed laparoscopically, on an outpatient basis, without delaying treatment for cancer or other therapies posing high risk of infertility. They present experience with 64 girls, aged 12 years on average, with the youngest only 5 months old at the time of surgery. Their findings were published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery. | |
 | Disease causing mutation found in French-CanadiansA team of Canadian scientists, including researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro) has discovered the first French-Canadian founder mutation gene linked to synucleinopathies, a group of neurodegenerative diseases that includes Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy-Bodies (DLB) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). |
 | Focus on neuroscience, nociception to improve anesthesia, paper saysPeople sometimes mistakenly think of general anesthesia as just a really deep sleep but in fact, anesthesia is really four brain states—unconsciousness, amnesia, immobility and suppression of the body's damage sensing response, or "nociception." In a new paper in Anesthesia & Analgesia, MIT neuroscientist and statistician Dr. Emery Brown and colleagues argue that by putting nociception at the top of the priority list and taking a principled neuroscientific approach to choosing which drugs to administer, anesthesiologists can use far less medication overall, producing substantial benefits for patients. |
 | Populations served by CPC+ medical home model are wealthier, use fewer inpatient servicesWhen a new model of care delivery is introduced into the healthcare system an important measure of success is how well it aligns with population needs, and how well it serves those with the highest needs. Although such models have the potential to improve care for the nation's most vulnerable patients, evidence has shown that care delivery reform models could actually widen healthcare gaps across communities because doctors in areas with low resources may choose not to participate. |
Review demonstrates exercise effective treatment for major mental health conditions should form a core part of treatmentBased on compelling evidence from a meta-review of existing research, the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) has issued new guidelines to promote exercise as a key additional treatment for mental health conditions. A global team of scientists collaborated on the new EPA guidelines published in European Psychiatry, which suggest a regime of structured exercise should be added to standard medication and psychotherapy. The authors found that exercise can effectively reduce mental health symptoms, improve cognition, and strengthen cardiovascular fitness among patients with depression and schizophrenia. | |
 | New study confirms Mediterranean diet prevents a leading cause of blindnessEvidence is mounting that a poor diet plays an important role in the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in the United States. A large collaboration of researchers from the European Union investigating the connection between genes and lifestyle on the development of AMD has found that people who adhered to a Mediterranean diet cut their risk of late-stage AMD by 41 percent. This research expands on previous studies and suggests that such a diet is beneficial for everyone, whether you already have the disease or are at risk of developing it. The new research is now online in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. |
 | Study finds that DFMO increases survival for children with high risk neuroblastomaA paper published September 27 in Scientific Reports shows the positive results of a phase II clinical trial using the oral medication DFMO to prevent relapse in children with High Risk Neuroblastoma (HRNB). |
 | Study suggests more older women may benefit from bone drugsA bone-strengthening drug given by IV every 18 months greatly lowered the risk of fracture in certain older women, a large study found. The results suggest these medicines might help more people than those who get them now and can be used less often, too. |
 | Drinking more water reduces bladder infections in womenIn the controlled trial, women who drank an additional 1.5 liters of water daily experienced 48 percent fewer repeat bladder infections than those who drank their usual volume of fluids, said senior author Dr. Yair Lotan, Professor of Urology and with the Simmons Cancer Center at UT Southwestern. The participants self-reported their usual volume as less than 1.5 liters of fluid daily, which is about six 8-ounce glasses. |
Irreversible damage to color vision linked to popular erectile dysfunction drugIn a first-of-its-kind study, Mount Sinai researchers have shown that color vision problems caused by retinal damage on a cellular level can result from a high dose of sildenafil citrate, the popular erectile-dysfunction medication sold under the brand name Viagra. The results demonstrate that excessive use of the drug could lead to long-term vision problems, including possible irreversible damage. The findings have been published in the fall issue of Retinal Cases. | |
 | Health-related quality of life overlooked in cancer drug studiesA McMaster University-led review and analysis of randomized clinical trials is questioning whether interventions which prolong progression-free survival in cancer patients, improve their health-related quality of life. |
Journey to precision cancer treatment takes off with new passports toolCancer research and the future of precision cancer treatment will be accelerated by a new tool developed by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. The novel tool, called Cell Model Passports, acts as a central hub for the rapidly expanding number of cancer models, which are critically needed for cancer research. | |
 | Battle for lungs and minds as tobacco control treaty meeting opensA meeting on a global tobacco control treaty opened in Geneva Monday, with organisers scrambling to keep cigarette companies at bay, even as the industry demanded a seat at the table. |
 | Stress reduces fertility in womenIn North America, 20 to 25 percent of women and 18 to 21 percent of men of reproductive age report daily psychological stress. Although previous research has suggested that stress can decrease the odds of conception, few studies have examined this association among couples from the general population. |
 | Checked off 'the talk' with your teen? Not so fast: Once isn't enoughPatting yourself on the back for gritting through "the talk" with your kid? Not so fast: new research from Brigham Young University family life professor Laura Padilla-Walker suggests that when it comes to your teens, one vague and generic conversation about sex is not enough. |
 | Providers often fail to consider Ehrlichia when treating tick-borne infectionsWhen a patient presents with signs and symptoms suspicious for a tick-borne illness, medical providers in central North Carolina regularly test for Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, but often don't think about Ehrlichia, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The failure to test for Ehrlichia, even as more and more evidence suggests that the infection may be just as common as other endemic tick-borne diseases, appears to impact patient care with antibiotics prescribed less frequently when testing is not ordered. This study's results and recommendation for increased provider education were recently published in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. |
 | New tool will aid in understanding brain signalsThe human brain contains about 90 billion neurons, but Stephanie Jones, an associate professor of neuroscience at Brown University, doesn't let that staggering number faze her. |
Maryland Health Enterprise Zones linked to reduced hospitalizations and costsMaryland's Health Enterprise Zones, state-funded initiatives designed to improve health care outcomes and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations in underserved communities, were associated with large reductions in inpatient stays, according to a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. | |
 | Do price spikes on some generic drugs indicate problems in the market?A new USC study reports that sudden price spikes for some generic drugs—such as the recently reported increases of a decades-old generic heart medication and an antibiotic—are becoming more common. |
Medicaid expansion improved immigrants' access to health care, but disparities persistThough Medicaid expansion has helped to improve insurance coverage for immigrant populations in the United States, uninsurance rates still remain high for those in the U.S. who are not yet citizens, according to a new study by Drexel University and University of Nebraska Medical Center researchers published Monday in the October issue of Health Affairs. | |
 | New study reveals association between diuretic drug use in type 2 diabetes and risk of lower limb amputationNew research presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Berlin, Germany, reveals that the use of diuretic drugs in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with a significantly increased risk of serious problems in their lower limbs which can lead to amputation. |
 | Levels of sex hormone binding protein could predict risk of developing insulin resistanceNew research presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) reveals that concentrations of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) protein in the blood can be used to predict the development of insulin resistance, which can develop into type 2 diabetes (T2D). |
 | Nurseries may trump informal or childminder care for kids' psychological developmentAttendance at a nursery/crèche staffed by professionals may be linked to better psychological development than being looked after by family/friends or a childminder in early childhood, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. |
 | Death rates for young Americans drop, but still too high(HealthDay)—While death rates among infants, teens and young adults in the United States have dropped in recent decades, they're still higher than in other developed countries, a new study finds. |
 | Therapeutic vaccine shows promise against a range of cancers(HealthDay)—A personalized vaccine held an aggressive group of cancers in check among more than half of patients who received it in a small, preliminary trial, researchers report. |
 | Three ways to tame food temptations(HealthDay)—Losing weight often comes down to changing the patterns and habits that led to overeating. And that usually takes self-control, or the ability to resist temptation. |
New treatment approved for common skin cancer(HealthDay)—Libtayo (cemiplimab-rwlc) injection has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat advanced squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), the agency said in a news release. | |
New drug approved for antibiotic-resistant lung disease(HealthDay)—Arikayce has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat lung disease caused by Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) bacteria among people who don't respond to conventional therapies, the FDA said in a news release. | |
 | Anti-reflux surgery promising in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(HealthDay)—Laparoscopic antireflux surgery is safe and well-tolerated in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and abnormal acid gastroesophageal reflux (GER), according to a phase 2 study published in the Sept. 1 issue of The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. |
 | Readmission, death risk higher in COPD with comorbidities(HealthDay)—Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who have comorbidities are more likely to experience readmission or mortality and less likely to receive beneficial treatments, according to a study published in the September issue of the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. |
 | Risk of venous thromboembolism recurrence high(HealthDay)—The risk of recurrence after incident venous thromboembolism is high, particularly among patients with cancer-related venous thromboembolism, according to a study published in the September issue of The American Journal of Medicine. |
 | Factors associated with phantom odor identified(HealthDay)—Phantom odor perception in middle-aged and older individuals is associated with poor health, persistent dry mouth, and head injury, according to a study published online Aug. 16 in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. |
 | Don't treat e-cigarettes like cigarettes"Cigarette" might appear in the term "e-cigarette" but that is as far as their similarities extend, reports a new Northwestern Medicine report published Friday, Sept. 28, in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Assuming e-cigarettes are equal to cigarettes could lead to misguided research and policy initiatives, the paper says. |
Patients 65 years of age or older with hip or spine fracture should be treated for osteoporosisA coalition of the world's top bone health experts, physicians, specialists, and patient advocacy groups today released their clinical recommendations to tackle the public health crisis in the treatment of osteoporosis and the debilitating and often deadly hip and spine fractures caused by the disease. | |
EU countries unprepared to move future Alzheimer's treatment into rapid clinical useThe health care systems in some European countries lack the capacity to rapidly move a disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer's disease from approval into widespread clinical use, which could leave 1 million people without access to transformative care if such a breakthrough occurs, according to a new RAND Corporation study. | |
 | Exercise helps bones, but not metabolism, in ovarian function lossExercise may reduce the risk of osteoporosis associated with the loss of ovarian function, but fitness may not protect against related metabolic changes and weight gain, a new study reports. The findings will be presented today at the American Physiological Society's (APS) Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Diseases: Sex-Specific Implications for Physiology conference in Knoxville, Tenn. |
 | Delayed pregnancy—heart health risks for moms and sons, study showsDelaying pregnancy may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in both women and their children, with boys at higher risk of disease, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Alberta in Canada will present their findings today at the American Physiological Society's (APS) Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Diseases: Sex-Specific Implications for Physiology conference in Knoxville, Tenn. |
 | New model of myocardial flow proposedA research group from Shanghai and Moscow has developed a multi-scale model of coronary circulation, which nourishes the myocardium. The model is the first to account for key factors of the myocardial perfusion mechanism. The results of this study were presented in the International Journal for Numerical Methods in Biomedical Engineering. |
 | Cancer risk due to smoking, unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity, and infections is preventableAlmost four in every 10 new cases of cancer in Germany are attributable to lifestyle and environmental factors. These include primarily smoking, low physical activity, overweight, and infections. Hermann Brenner and his group of authors from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) report on how these risk factors affect the number of cancer cases in Germany in concrete terms, in this themed issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. |
 | Rapid ambulance response improves survival after sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrestShorter ambulance response times are associated with a higher rate of survival in patients with sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The later discharge rate is also affected substantially by bystander resuscitation measures at the site of the incident. These are the results of a cohort study reported in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. |
 | Depressive symptoms in adolescents are very commonA substantial proportion of adolescents in Germany is affected by depressive symptoms. This is the result of a representative survey reported by Lutz Wartberg and colleagues in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. |
 | China has seen remarkable progress in diabetes research over the past two decadesIn the period of 1995 to 2015, China saw remarkable progress in diabetes research, according to a study recently published by Science China Life Sciences. |
 | GeneGuide DNA testing application provides genetic testing, insights backed by MayoMayo Clinic released a new DNA product with Helix, a personal genomics company, called "Mayo Clinic GeneGuide." The DNA-powered product provides healthy individuals with genetic testing and insights with a focus on education. This product is backed by Mayo medical science and expertise. |
 | Cleveland Clinic first in the US to perform prostate surgery using single port SP robotCleveland Clinic is the first hospital in the country to successfully perform surgeries using the Single Port SP Robot, which inserts all surgical instruments through one small abdominal incision, improving surgical outcomes and allowing quicker patient recovery. |
 | New best practices recommended for feeding tube location verification in pediatric patientsPlacement of nasogastric (NG) tubes (feeding tubes) in pediatric patients is a common practice, however, the insertion procedure carries risk of serious or even potentially lethal complications. While there are numerous methods of verifying an NG tube has been placed correctly, none of those methods are considered universally standard. |
Disruption in combination inhaled corticosteroid therapy may lead to increased rate of exacerbations, hospitalizationsDisruption of the refill of patients' regular combination inhaled corticosteroid therapy brand may have impacted symptoms and disease control and potentially lead to an increased rate of costly exacerbations and hospitalizations. | |
Adherence to annual lung cancer screening needs improvementA study from the Thoracic Oncology Research Group (TORG), Division of Pulmonary Critical Care, Medical University of South Carolina aimed to examine the adherence to annual low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening after baselines LDCT within the Veteran Health Administration Lung Cancer Screening Demonstration Project (LCDSDP). The study will be presented at the CHEST Annual Meeting 2018 in San Antonio and a discussion highlighting the latest updates made the CHEST Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines will take place. | |
 | Study: Improvement in glycemic parameters by adding dapagliflozin to metformin in T2DResearchers used continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) to assess the effects of adding dapagliflozin to a regimen of either metformin or insulin in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and found significant reductions in mean glucose and other glycemic factors, with greater improvements seen in patients taking metformin compared to insulin. The design and results of this trial are published in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT). |
Facebook 'viable method' for implementing critical care ultrasound curriculumCritical care ultrasound (CCUS) is an important skill for all critical care physicians to understand. However, currently there is no standard approach to how to teach CCUS. Researchers aimed to investigate the feasibility of implementing a CCUS curriculum via a social platform in order to evaluate the impact it has on fellow's self-perceived competency. Results found that utilizing a social media platform, like Facebook, provides benefits such as spaced learning, active participation, and an informal and personal learning environment. | |
Conflict management improves ICU team knowledge, mindfulness, and awarenessThe Intensive Care Unit is a stressful place, and conflicts invariably arise. To better understand the relationships between physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and advanced practitioners, researchers created a conflict management education intervention. The study paid close attention to diagnosing the conflict type and cause, recognizing the internal dialogue, introducing conflict management modes used in conflict situations, and developing self and other awareness. | |
Every day spent in the hospital, readmission likelihood increases by 2.9 percent in rural citiesHospital readmissions, cost hospitals about $26 billion annually. Systems like the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) within the Affordable Care Act penalize hospitals with higher readmission rates for targeted diagnoses. Healthcare data reveals that healthcare facilities located in rural Southern Appalachia show readmission rates that are above the national average, which results in penalties to hospitals within this region. In order to assess and prevent the causes of these frequent hospital readmission, researchers performed a retrospective review of rural Southern Appalachia. | |
Medicare upgrades its website ahead of sign-up seasonApproaching annual sign-up season, Medicare is modernizing its website to make it more useful for beneficiaries already accustomed to searching online for insurers, hospitals and doctors, officials announced on Monday. | |
Mental health disparities ID'd among students of color(HealthDay)—College students of color have lower mental health-related treatment use relative to white students, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. | |
Biology news
 | A new way to manufacture small batches of biopharmaceuticals on demandBiopharmaceuticals, a class of drugs comprising proteins such as antibodies and hormones, represent a fast-growing sector of the pharmaceutical industry. They're increasingly important for "precision medicine"—drugs tailored toward the genetic or molecular profiles of particular groups of patients. |
 | This wild plant could be the next strawberryStrawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and... groundcherries? A little-known fruit about the size of a marble could become agriculture's next big berry crop. |
 | Set in amber, fossil ants help reconstruct evolution of fungus farmingSome 50 million years before humans figured it out, agriculture arrived in the world in a seemingly unlikely place: an ant hill. |
 | Dog intelligence 'not exceptional'People who think dogs are exceptionally intelligent are barking up the wrong tree, new research shows. |
 | Bold male birds fall faster and harder for their partnersResearch from Oxford University has revealed that bold male birds focus on forming strong relationships with their future breeding partners while shy male birds play the field. |
 | Designing a more productive corn able to cope with future climatesAn international research team has found they can increase corn productivity by targeting the enzyme in charge of capturing CO2 from the atmosphere. |
 | Keeping our cells stable: A closer look at microtubulesMicrotubules help to regulate cell structure. A group of Japanese researchers have used cryo-electron microscopy to shed light on how a certain protein keeps microtubules stable and regulates microtubule-based transport within cells. The new insights could help to develop medical treatment for diseases such as dementia and heart failure. These findings were published on October 1 in the online edition of the Journal of Cell Biology. |
 | Unveiling the mechanism protecting replicated DNA from degradationResearchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University and the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology (IFOM) in Italy have succeeded in depleting AND-1, a key protein for DNA replication, by using a recently developed conditional protein degradation system. They have gained unprecedented access to the underlying mechanism and determined that during DNA replication and cell proliferation in vertebrate cells, AND-1 has two different functions mediated by different domains of AND-1. |
 | Mathematical model explains why some bacteria cause illness even in small dosesJust a few Shigella bacteria are enough to make anyone develop gastroenteritis, while illness from cholera requires ingestion of thousands to millions of Vibrio cholerae bacteria. Why does the disease-causing dosage differ so much between bacteria? |
 | Female gametes prefer sperm with different immune genesThrough clever partner selection, animals can increase the future success of their offspring. With some species, this process continues even after the sex act. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön have discovered that among sticklebacks, the egg cells of the fish are involved in the decision regarding fertilisation. An accumulation of genes in the genetic material of the male gamete's cells determines which sperm is allowed in to the egg cell. Since vertebrates are highly similar in terms of their immune system, including with regard to the gene complex in question, the researchers assume that egg cells of other vertebrates – perhaps even those of humans – are able to control their fertilisation. |
 | Scientists develop new method to more efficiently generate brain stem cellsIn two newly published papers, a scientific team at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine reports on the discovery and implementation of a new, more efficient method for generating an important brain stem cell in the laboratory. The findings pave the way for greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms of neurological disorders of myelin and ultimately, possible new treatment and prevention options. The studies were published in the September issues of Nature Communications and Stem Cell Reports. |
 | Like a butterfly, immune protein 'flutters' in search of virusesResearchers at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School have identified an important step in the process that allows our bodies to fight viruses. Their work also explains how mutations that derail this process cause autoimmune disorders. This research, published Thursday in Molecular Cell, provides the framework to develop new treatments for viral infections. |
 | S.African lion cubs conceived artificially in world firstWatching the two little lion cubs boisterously play with each other at a conservation centre outside of South Africa's capital Pretoria, it's hard to see anything out of the ordinary. |
 | Ciprofloxacin has dramatic effects on the mitochondrial genome—antibiotics should be used cautiouslyAntibiotics have saved many lives by rescuing patients with bacterial or fungal infections, but these valuable drugs also have a dark side. As with most clinical drugs, many antibiotics can also have undesired effects on the body's metabolism, causing more or less severe symptoms. |
 | Researchers release endangered crows into the forests of South Pacific islandFor more than 2 million years, the native forests on the South Pacific islands of Guam and Rota were home to several thousand crows, members of a species found nowhere else on Earth. But over the last 60 years, the Mariana crow—called the Aga in the Chamorro language—has completely disappeared from the island of Guam and rapidly declined on neighboring Rota. Today there are only about 175 Aga left on the planet. |
 | How a new vaccine could save cattle herds – and livelihoodsFor 10,000 years, the bacterium Mycoplasma mycoides has infected goats, cows and other livestock, annihilating entire herds in days. |
 | Overcoming antibiotic resistanceAntibiotic resistance is a growing medical crisis, as disease-causing bacteria have developed properties that evade or overcome the toxic effects of many available drugs. More of these microbes are resistant to multiple medications, limiting physicians' options to combat patients' infections. As a result, a range of conditions – including pneumonia, bloodstream infections and gonorrhea – have become more dangerous and more expensive to treat, increasing healthcare costs by up to $20 billion annually. |
 | Where did broadleaved evergreen trees survive during the last glacial period in Japan?Japanese researchers investigated whether a dominant tree of warm temperate broadleaved forests in Japan, Castanopsis sieboldii, underwent northward migration over hundreds of kilometres from Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (about 21,000 years ago) refugia in the Ryukyu archipelago and southern Kyushu. Fossil pollen there indicates the LGM survival of broadleaved evergreen forests. Or it may in fact have been able to survive closer to its present range in colder areas such as the coast of the Japan Sea and the Pacific Ocean side of eastern Honshu during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Using a combined genetic analysis and modelling approach, it was found that the East Japan populations, where few pollen fossil records exist, survived in situ during the LGM on both the Japan Sea and Pacific coasts and were not established via expansion after the LGM from southern areas. Their findings were published online in Heredity. |
 | Virus-detecting analysis kit developedResearchers at the Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology of Plants (IBMCP), a joint venture of Valencia's Polytechnic University (UPV) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), have developed a new analysis kit that makes it possible to detect all Potyvirus species, comprising the largest vegetable virus genus, with just one test and at a reduced cost. |
 | Scientists track nighthawks' migration route in search of clues to species' steep declineIn a quest to develop conservation strategies to protect a threatened species whose population has declined 80 per cent in the last 50 years, scientists at the University of Alberta have discovered the enigmatic nighthawk travels 20,000 kilometres each year in its annual migration from north of Fort McMurray to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. |
 | Grazing access to public lands in the western US can be good for ranching and wildlifeCattle ranching and conservation may seem an unusual pair in the American West, but new research reveals a clear link between the economic health of ranches and the ability to maintain habitat for an iconic wild bird that for years has been at the center of public land policy debate: the greater sage grouse. |
 | Vietnam seizes nearly a ton of pangolin scales, ivoryVietnam has seized around a ton of pangolin scales and ivory hidden inside dozens of boxes on a flight from Nigeria, state media reported, a haul highlighting the illegal wildlife trade routes connecting Africa and Southeast Asia. |
Researchers win top prize in Nikon International Small World imaging contestHenry He, a researcher at the Morgridge Institute for Research and doctoral student in the Dresden International Ph.D. Program, Germany, and Liz Haynes, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Integrative Biology at UW-Madison, won first place in the 2018 Nikon Small World in Motion Competition for a video depicting neural development in a zebrafish embryo. | |
 | A free electronic management repository for zebrafishEffective and efficient electronic systems for managing zebrafish colony operations are available but expensive. Researchers now offer an open-source electronic husbandry repository based on free Google applications that is cloud-based and can be managed using an everyday smartphone, making it accessible to all lab members. This new electronic system is described in Zebrafish. |
 | US Supreme Court opens term with case of endangered frogThe US Supreme Court opened its new term Monday by handling a case involving a small, critically endangered frog. |
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