Science X Newsletter Week 43

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 43:

	Mars could have enough molecular oxygen to support life, and scientists figured out where to find it Modern-day Mars may be more hospitable to oxygen-breathing life than previously thought.
	Team finds oldest weapons ever discovered in North America Texas A&M University researchers have discovered what are believed to be the oldest weapons ever found in North America: ancient spear points that are 15,500 years old. The findings raise new questions about the settlement of early peoples on the continent.
	The smell of lavender is relaxing, science confirms Lavender works its relaxing magic all around us: from garden borders to bath bombs to fabric softener. But why not in our hospitals and clinics? And what is the science behind the magic?
	Fracking wastewater accumulation found in freshwater mussels' shells Elevated concentrations of strontium, an element associated with oil and gas wastewaters, have accumulated in the shells of freshwater mussels downstream from fracking wastewater disposal sites, according to researchers from Penn State and Union College.
	Student discovers slowest ever pulsar star An approximately 14 million year old pulsar star that is the "slowest-spinning" of its kind ever identified has been discovered by a Ph.D. student from The University of Manchester.
	World's first biobricks grown from human urine The world's first bio-brick grown from human urine has been unveiled by University of Cape Town (UCT) master's student in civil engineering Suzanne Lambert, signalling an innovative paradigm shift in waste recovery.
	New Caledonian crows can create tools from multiple parts An international team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology and the University of Oxford has revealed that New Caledonian crows are able to create tools by combining two or more otherwise non-functional elements, an ability so far observed only in humans and great apes.
Location of large mystery source of banned ozone depleting substance uncovered The compound, carbon tetrachloride, contributes to the destruction of the Earth's ozone layer, which protects us from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
	A type of moss could prove to be more medically effective than hemp In collaboration with colleagues from the ETH Zurich, researchers at the University of Bern, Switzerland, have for the first time investigated a substance found in liverwort that resembles THC. The psychoactive substance, which is consumed as a legal high, also exerts analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, which might be superior to that of THC.
	Groundbreaking new technology could allow 100-times-faster internet by harnessing twisted light beams Broadband fiber-optics carry information on pulses of light, at the speed of light, through optical fibers. But the way the light is encoded at one end and processed at the other affects data speeds.
	'Oumuamua one year later One year ago this week astronomers discovered an unusual object moving through space not too far from the Earth's orbit. In just a few days they realized it could not be a normal asteroid or comet – its path showed that it was not gravitationally bound to the solar system. It was, therefore, the first interstellar body ever discovered in our solar system that originated from outside it. It was given the Hawaiian name 'Oumuamua, "scout."
	Researchers discover drug cocktail that increases lifespan A team of researchers led by Principal Investigator Dr. Jan Gruber from Yale-NUS College has discovered a combination of pharmaceutical drugs that not only increases healthy lifespan in the microscopic worm Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), but also delays the rate of ageing in them, a finding that could someday mean longer, healthier lives for humans.
	Astronomers confirm collision between two Milky Way satellite galaxies If you're standing in the Southern Hemisphere on a clear night, you can see two luminous clouds offset from the Milky Way.
	A guide to Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), the rare, polio-like illness making young children sick A fast-acting, polio-like illness has sickened 62 young children, with an average age of 4, in 22 U.S. states so far this fall.
	Astronomers spot signs of supermassive black hole mergers New research, published today in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, has found evidence for a large number of double supermassive black holes, likely precursors of gigantic black hole merging events. This confirms the current understanding of cosmological evolution—that galaxies and their associated black holes merge over time, forming bigger and bigger galaxies and black holes.
	Canadian doctors to start prescribing museum visits A group of Canadian doctors are to begin prescribing trips to an art gallery to help patients suffering a range of ailments become a picture of health.
	Russian physicists postulate the existence of dark matter-based Bose stars Researchers developed a mathematical model describing motion of dark matter particles inside the smallest galaxy halos. They observed that over time, dark matter may form spherical droplets of quantum condensate. Previously, this was considered impossible, as fluctuations of the gravity field produced by dark matter particles were ignored. The study is published in Physical Review Letters.
	A first 'snapshot' of the complete spectrum of neutrinos emitted by the sun About 99 percent of the Sun's energy emitted as neutrinos is produced through nuclear reaction sequences initiated by proton-proton (pp) fusion in which hydrogen is converted into helium, say scientists including physicist Andrea Pocar at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Today they report new results from Borexino, one of the most sensitive neutrino detectors on the planet, located deep beneath Italy's Apennine Mountains.
	Scientists discover a new lead for mechanism of action of diabetes drug metformin Canadian and British researchers have discovered how the frontline Type 2 diabetes drug metformin may work to help cells better take up and use glucose. Their study, published today in the prestigious journal Cell, may also explain other potential beneficial effects of metformin for prevention of a variety of chronic diseases, including cancers.
	Gravitational waves could soon provide measure of universe's expansion Twenty years ago, scientists were shocked to realize that our universe is not only expanding, but that it's expanding fasterover time.

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