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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for November 20, 2018:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Mars moon got its grooves from rolling stones, study suggestsA new study bolsters the idea that strange grooves crisscrossing the surface of the Martian moon Phobos were made by rolling boulders blasted free from an ancient asteroid impact. |
 | Encouraging prospects for moon huntersAstrophysicists of the University of Zürich, ETH Zürich and the NCCR PlanetS show how the icy moons of Uranus were born. Their result suggests that such potentially habitable worlds are much more abundant in the Universe than previously thought. The unprecedentedly complex computer simulations were performed at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) in Lugano. |
 | Mars revisited: NASA spacecraft days away from risky landingMars is about to get its first U.S. visitor in years: a three-legged, one-armed geologist to dig deep and listen for quakes. |
 | Exoplanet stepping stonesAstronomers have gleaned some of the best data yet on the composition of a planet known as HR 8799c—a young giant gas planet about 7 times the mass of Jupiter that orbits its star every 200 years. |
 | SpaceX's Elon Musk renames his big rocket 'Starship'SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk has announced he is changing the name of his monster rocket BFR, aimed at carrying people to the Moon and possibly one day to Mars, to "Starship." |
 | NASA probes 'drug-free' policies, safety at SpaceX, BoeingThe US space agency has ordered a sweeping safety review of operations and workplace culture, including drug-free policies, at Boeing and SpaceX, two companies working to send astronauts to space, US media said Tuesday. |
Technology news
 | A chance constrained motion planning system for high-dimensional robotsResearchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have recently developed a chance-constrained motion planning system that can be applied to high degree-of-freedom (DOF) robots under motion uncertainty and in cases of imperfect state information. Their approach, outlined in a paper pre-published on arXiv, can find feasible trajectories that satisfy a user-specified bound over the probability of collision. |
 | Explaining the plummeting cost of solar powerThe dramatic drop in the cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, which has fallen by 99 percent over the last four decades, is often touted as a major success story for renewable energy technology. But one question has never been fully addressed: What exactly accounts for that stunning drop? |
 | Real-time feedback makes hotel guests slash shower powerProviding hotel guests real-time feedback on the power they use in the shower sharply curbs the amount of energy consumed even though they do not pay for it, according to new research released Monday. |
 | Researchers examine 3-D printers' particle emissions, safety tipsDesktop 3-D printers are no longer a big novelty and can be found in offices and in homes. A current concern is their particle emissions. |
 | Aquatic animals that jump out of water inspire leaping robotsEver watch aquatic animals jump out of the water and wonder how they manage to do it in such a streamlined and graceful way? A group of researchers who specialize in water entry and exit in nature had the same question and are exploring the specific physical conditions required for animals to successfully leap out of water. |
 | Twitter bots had 'disproportionate' role spreading misinformation in 2016 election: studyAn analysis of information shared on Twitter during the 2016 U.S. presidential election has found that automated accounts—or "bots"—played a disproportionate role in spreading misinformation online. |
 | Instagram ousting fake followers from accountsInstagram on Monday said it is booting fake followers, likes, and comments generated by applications tailored to make accounts appear more popular than they actually are. |
 | EasyJet logs soaring annual profitEasyJet's annual net profit jumped by almost a fifth on strong sales and record passenger numbers, the British no-frills airline announced on Tuesday. |
 | Amazon HQ expansion means tough fight for talentWhen tech giants like Amazon expand, other companies don't just worry about losing business. They also fret about hanging on to their employees. |
 | Combining real, virtual worlds improves driverless vehicle testingAugmented reality technology can accelerate testing of connected and automated vehicles by 1,000 to 100,000 times, and reduce additional testing costs—beyond the price of physical vehicles—to almost zero, according to a new white paper published by Mcity. |
 | Will algorithms predict your future?A report from Cardiff University reveals the extent to which public service provision is now being influenced by data analytics. |
 | New fingertip sensors to help veterans feel through their prostheticsToday's prosthetic limbs are tools – literal attachments to the body. |
 | New technology paves the way for fewer orange barrels and safer, quicker road repairsImagine a drive to grandma's house or to work with fewer "left lane closed ahead" signs, fewer detour signs, fewer orange barrels and also safer travel near road crews. That may soon be possible with new technology from Purdue University researchers. |
 | Tactile Excel sheets and graphics to boost job prospects for blind peopleTouchscreens and digital graphics are everywhere, but for people who are visually impaired, they can be a major hurdle to using modern technology. But this is set to change, thanks to tactile technology that automatically converts complex digital graphics into braille and stick-on smartphone buttons that make apps navigable by touch. |
 | Smart car technologies save drivers $6.2 billion on fuel costs each yearOn one of the busiest traveling holidays of the year, drivers may be focusing on getting to grandma's house for Thanksgiving dinner, not on what smart car technologies are saving them in fuel costs. But in the first study to assess the energy impact of smart technology in cars, researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology have put a number on the potential fuel-cost savings alone: $6.2 billion. |
 | As Facebook faces fire, heat turns up on No. 2 SandbergFor the past decade, Sheryl Sandberg has been the poised, reliable second-in-command to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, helping steer Facebook's rapid growth around the world, while also cultivating her brand in ways that hint at aspirations well beyond the social network. |
 | Facebook access hit by unspecified problemsFacebook said Tuesday users were having trouble accessing the social network and its other applications such as Instagram, but did not explain the cause of the outages. |
 | EU turns eye to 'fake' Google shopping rivalsThe EU's top competition enforcer said Brussels was taking a closer look at allegations that Google had helped introduce false price comparison sites to answer a historic ruling against the search engine giant. |
 | Novel machine learning technique for simulating the every day task of dressingPutting on clothes is a daily, mundane task that most of us perform with little or no thought. We may never take into consideration the multiple steps and physical motions involved when we're getting dressed in the mornings. But that is precisely what needs to be explored when attempting to capture the motion of dressing and simulating cloth for computer animation. |
 | How reliable are search terms for SEO and SEM results?With billions of dollars spent each year on search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM), the power of search terms holds more value than ever. But more than a few digital marketing professionals have become frustrated over the years over the limits just how much can be assumed and predicted based on the search terms themselves. |
 | Bots actually target and pursue individual influencersNew research co-authored by assistant research professor and associate director of Informatics at the University of Southern California Department of Computer Science, Emilio Ferrara, looks at "social hacking" over social networks that can increase violent commentary and can affect voting behavior. |
 | Nissan shares plunge as Ghosn faces ouster after arrestNissan and Mitsubishi shares plunged Tuesday, as the automakers prepared to oust chairman Carlos Ghosn a day after he was arrested for alleged financial misconduct. |
 | S. Korea's Jeju Air in $4.4 bn 40-plane Boeing orderSouth Korean budget carrier Jeju Air has ordered 40 airplanes from US manufacturer Boeing for $4.4 billion, the airline said on Tuesday, one of the country's largest-ever aircraft purchases. |
 | Twitter CEO Dorsey sparks India social media stormTwitter CEO Jack Dorsey has been accused of inciting hate against India's highest caste after being photographed holding a poster declaring "smash Brahminical patriarchy" during a visit to the country. |
 | Star to fallen idol: The Japanese rise and fall of Carlos GhosnCarlos Ghosn's status as an outsider in Japan brought him huge success, as his maverick style blew a gale through a musty corporate world, but his disregard of business norms may ultimately prove his undoing. |
 | Siemens to build new London Underground trainsGerman manufacturing conglomerate Siemens will build almost 100 new trains to replace the decades-old rolling stock on London Underground's Piccadilly Line, the group said in a statement Tuesday. |
 | Who lives with you? Facebook seeks to patent software to figure out profiles of householdsFacebook Inc. is applying to patent software that it could use to create profiles of users' households by making educated guesses about how many people live in the household, what their relationships to each other are, what interests they share and what electronic devices they use. |
 | Toward net energy wastewater treatment using current technologyMunicipal wastewater treatment in Europe consumes the energy equivalent of around two power stations per year – but could actually be generating the energy of 12. The EU-funded POWERSTEP project demonstrates how to make this more than a pipe dream. |
 | Stopping cancer with a smartphoneUsing an affordable, portable device that attaches to a smartphone, a University of Arizona researcher and his collaborators hope to save lives in rural Africa. |
$3M reward offered in case where US device was used in IEDsFederal authorities are offering a $3 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a man wanted for illegally obtaining U.S. technology that was later used in improvised explosive devices in Iraq. | |
 | Glamour embraces digital, drops regular print editionGlamour, the fashion and beauty magazine popular with young women, is ditching its monthly print editions and embracing the online revolution, its chief editor and publishers Conde Nast announced Tuesday. |
 | Boeing insists will share info with clients after Indonesia crashBoeing on Tuesday insisted it would share any information to emerge from an investigation into the crash of one of its newest planes in Indonesia last month, amid reports a telephone conference with its customers had been canceled. |
Medicine & Health news
 | To predict the future, the brain has two clocksThat moment when you step on the gas pedal a split second before the light changes, or when you tap your toes even before the first piano note of Camila Cabello's "Havana" is struck. That's anticipatory timing. |
 | 'Druggable' cancer target found in pathway regulating organ sizeIt's known that cancer involves unchecked cell growth and that a biological pathway that regulates organ size, known at the Hippo pathway, is also involved in cancer. It's further known that a major player in this pathway, YAP, drives many types of tumors. Now, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have solved an ongoing problem: how to turn this knowledge into a practical drug target. In a study published November 16 in Nature Communications, they show that YAP acts largely through another downstream player called NUAK2 that can readily be inactivated with a small molecule. |
 | White matter pathway and individual variability in human stereoacuityResearchers in the Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology and Osaka University have identified a human white matter pathway associated with individual variability in human stereoacuity. By combining neuroimaging and psychophysical measurements, we found that the neural tissue density of the white matter pathway, the vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF), correlated with the individual variability in stereoacuity. The VOF connects the dorsal and ventral visual areas involved in stereopsis. This finding is important to understand the neural basis of dysfunction in stereopsis. |
 | Researchers hope to be able to replace dysfunctional brain cellsA new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet supports the theory that replacement of dysfunctional immune cells in the brain has therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and Alzheimer's disease. The study, which involved repopulating the brain with new immune cells in an experimental disease model, is published in Nature Communications. |
 | Regulating the immune system's 'regulator'A research team at the Academy of Immunology and Microbiology, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has discovered a possible therapeutic target that pulls the reins of immunity. In Nature Communications, the scientists reported that mice lacking Foxp1 protein in some specific immune cells are more susceptible to immune-induced inflammation. |
 | Sugar-sweetened beverages are harmful to health and may be addictive, researchers suggestJust as we might have guessed, those tasty, sugar-sweetened beverages that increase risk of diabetes and other chronic diseases may actually be addictive. Youth between 13 and 18 years of age who were deprived of sugary drinks for just three days reported headaches, cravings and other withdrawal symptoms, according to a University of California study with researchers from both the Davis and Berkeley campuses. |
 | When storing memories, brain prioritizes those experiences that are most rewardingThe brain's ability to preserve memories lies at the heart of our basic human experience. But how does the brain's mechanism for memory make sure we remember the most significant events and not clog our minds with superfluous details? |
 | Being fair: The benefits of early child educationChildren from low-income families who got intensive education early in life treat others with high levels of fairness in midlife, more than 40 years later, even when being fair comes at a high personal cost, according to a new study published today in Nature Communications. |
 | Low-protein high-carb diet shows promise for healthy brain agingLow-protein high-carbohydrate diets may be the key to longevity, and healthy brain ageing in particular, according to a new mice study from the University of Sydney. |
 | DNA vaccine reduces both toxic proteins linked to Alzheimer'sA DNA vaccine tested in mice reduces accumulation of both types of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to research that scientists say may pave the way to a clinical trial. |
 | Researchers find infectious prions throughout eyes of patients with deadly sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseaseBy the time symptoms of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) are typically discovered, death is looming and inevitable. But, in a new study, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine with colleagues at the National Institutes of Health and UC San Francisco, report finding tell-tale evidence of the condition's infectious agent in the eyes of deceased sCJD patients, making the eye a potential source for both early CJD detection and prevention of disease transmission. |
 | Parental 'feeding styles' reflect children's genesNew research from King's College London and UCL challenges the idea that a child's weight largely reflects the way their parents feed them. Instead, parents appear to adopt feeding styles in response to their children's natural body weight, which is largely genetically influenced. |
 | Machine learning can be used to predict which patients require emergency admissionMachine learning—a field of artificial intelligence that uses statistical techniques to enable computer systems to 'learn' from data—can be used to analyse electronic health records and predict the risk of emergency hospital admissions, a new study from The George Institute for Global Health at the University of Oxford has found. |
 | Researchers stop 'sneaky' cancer cells in their tracksA new study by University of Minnesota biomedical engineers shows how they stopped cancer cells from moving and spreading, even when the cells changed their movements. The discovery could have a major impact on millions of people undergoing therapies to prevent the spread of cancer within the body. |
 | Neuroimaging study reveals 'hot spot' for cue-reactivity in substance-dependent populationWhen patients with dependence on alcohol, cocaine or nicotine are shown drug cues, or images related to the substance, an area of their brain known as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) shows increased activity, report investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in an article published online September 7, 2018 in Translational Psychiatry. |
 | Improving dementia care and treatment saves thousands of pounds in care homesImproving staff training in care homes and reducing reliance on harmful medications saves thousands of pounds per year, as well as improving quality of life and reducing agitation in dementia, new research has demonstrated. |
Depressed people have an increased risk of atrial fibrillationDepressed people have an increased risk of atrial fibrillation, according to a study published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a European Society of Cardiology (ESC) journal. Medication was not responsible for the high frequency of atrial fibrillation in depressed people. The findings are reported during Global AF Aware Week. | |
 | Cessation fatigue predicts which smokers making a quit attempt are likely to relapseAlthough there is good news about smoking—only 14 percent of Americans smoke, the lowest number ever, according to a 2017 National Health Interview Survey—challenges remain. In a given year, more than 40 percent of smokers make no attempt to quit. For those who do, it can take many tries—estimates vary from six to 30—before they succeed, if they ever do. If more smokers are to succeed in staying quit, a better understanding of the factors that hinder them from meeting smoking cessation milestones is needed. |
 | Proposed cancer treatment may boost lung cancer stem cells, study warnsEpigenetic therapies—targeting enzymes that alter what genes are turned on or off in a cell—are of growing interest in the cancer field as a way of making a cancer less aggressive or less malignant. Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital now report that at least one epigenetic therapy that initially looked promising for lung cancer actually has the opposite effect, boosting cancer stem cells that are believed to drive tumors. They also identify a strategy that reduces these cells, curbing lung cancer in mice. |
 | Study sheds light on low asthma rates in rural childrenResearchers Oluwafemi Oluwole and Joshua Lawson have shed light on findings from previous studies that indicated rural children are less likely to have asthma. Without investigating diagnostic explanations, those studies suggested that early-life exposure to dust and other environmental allergens may have protected rural children from developing asthma. |
 | Redefining colorectal cancer subtypesThere is a long-standing belief that colorectal cancer (CRC), which causes some 50,000 deaths in the United States each year, can be categorized into distinct molecular subtypes. In a paper published recently in the journal Genome Biology, CUNY SPH Associate Professor Levi Waldron and colleagues challenged this basic assumption and proposed an approach to scoring tumors that can help to better differentiate patients who may differ in their exposures, outcomes, and optimal treatments. |
 | MS relapse drops during pregnancy but rises after(HealthDay)—Rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse decrease during pregnancy but increase postpartum, according to a study published online Oct. 23 in Neurology. |
 | Health utility values improve after septorhinoplasty(HealthDay)—Patients with nasal airway obstruction have health utility values (HUVs) below the mean Australian norm, with improvement noted after open septorhinoplasty, according to a study published online Nov. 15 in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery. |
 | Patient education ups VTE prophylaxis in hospital setting(HealthDay)—A patient-centered education bundle intervention can reduce nonadministration of venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis, according to a study published online Nov. 16 in JAMA Network Open. |
 | Is spanking ever right? Pediatricians say noIs it ever good to spank your children—or shame or humiliate them—to try and correct their behavior? The new answer from the American Academy of Pediatrics is an unequivocal "no." |
 | Researchers develop new method to diagnose, monitor chronic woundsResearchers at the University of Arkansas have developed a new approach to diagnosing and monitoring chronic skin wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers and pressure wounds. |
 | Infrared sauna is no better for your health than traditional sauna: Busting a common wellness mythIf you follow wellness trends, you might've come across the claim that an infrared sauna, which heats the body with light, is better for you than a traditional sauna, which uses radiant heat from a stove. |
 | Research addresses replicability problem in psychological scienceA Victoria University of Wellington researcher has led part of a just-published major international study that replicates 28 classic and contemporary psychology experiments to test their accuracy. |
 | Epilepsy and the social stigma surrounding itAccording to the World Health Organization, approximately 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, making it one of the most common neurological diseases. |
 | Stopping superbugs with friendly microbesNewborn Baby Jane in Sacramento, California, might have access to the best, most modern medical care, but she's likely missing something else: Friendly gut microbes. Uniquely adapted to human breast milk, these microbes provide optimal nutrition, keep out hostile infections, and may even stop the spread of disease. |
 | New immunotherapy improves MS symptomsA world-first clinical trial of a new cellular immunotherapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) has improved symptoms and quality of life for the majority of patients. |
 | How your moving brain sees the worldWhat we see is not only determined by what is really there, but also depends on whether we are paying attention, whether we are moving, excited or interested. In a new study published in Nature Communications, scientists from NERF (Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders) uncover that the processing of visual information in the brain is indeed modulated by our own behavior. |
 | Impaired cellular force transmission a cause for valvular heart diseaseAbout three per cent of the world's population is affected by valvular heart diseases. It is also the most common cause of heart surgery, as no drug-based treatment is available. Recent research has shed light on the molecular mechanism on valvular disease that is caused by a genetic mutation in Filamin gene. The result of the research will help to further investigate the mechanism by which the medical condition progress and to develop new treatments. |
 | A new atlas of the thalamus nuclei to better understand the brainA multidisciplinary study led by BCBL, a Basque research centre, opens the door to the investigation of the structure and functions of human thalamic nuclei and their involvement in Alzheimer's, dyslexia, epilepsy, Huntington's and schizophrenia. |
 | Personality and mood affect brain response to personal choicePersonality traits and mental health affect how people value personal control in decision making, according to a new study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. Our brain's reward and motivation systems show higher activity when we feel personal control in a situation and when we receive rewards that we've earned, rather than been given—but this activity was dampened in people with passive personalities or with symptoms of depression. The connections between personality, choice, and depression may help guide researchers to understand how to protect healthy people from developing the illness. |
 | Cap'n crunch cereal recalled due to Salmonella scare(HealthDay)—A small number of boxes of Cap'n Crunch's Peanut Butter Crunch are being recalled due to potential Salmonella contamination, Quaker Oats says. |
 | FDA approves first-line therapy for peripheral T-cell lymphoma(HealthDay)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday expanded approval for the use of Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) injection in combination with chemotherapy for adult patients with specific types of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). |
 | FDA warns against giving honey-filled pacifiers to infants(HealthDay)—Pacifiers filled with or dipped in honey should not be given to infants, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says. |
 | Researchers improve potential to identify diet-disease relationshipsResearchers at Trinity College Dublin have developed a new data mapping method which improves the capacity to identify diet-disease relationships. |
 | A study suggests that epigenetic treatments could trigger the development of aggressive tumoursA study headed by the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and published in the journal Nature Cell Biology examined whether the opening of chromatin (a complex formed by DNA bound to proteins) is the factor that determines the accumulation of more or fewer mutations in given regions. The work concludes that the drugs used to inhibit epigenetic factors—the functions of which are regulated depending on whether the DNA is more open of more closed—may alter the pattern and number of mutations that tumours accumulate, which could "even be detrimental for patients," state the researchers. |
 | Blocking a protein to prevent injuries caused by radiation therapyIt is possible to prevent certain injuries that can occur in radiation therapy against cancer. By blocking the activity of a plasma protein during and immediately after radiation, the patient can be protected against injury. This is shown in a new doctoral thesis at Umeå University, Sweden. |
 | Simple smartphone app that could help OCD sufferersImagine feeling anxious every time you touched a doorknob or dirty surface – maybe even spending hours washing and scrubbing your hands afterwards, sometimes until they bleed. For sufferers of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), especially those with contamination fears, managing the disorder in daily life can be difficult. |
 | Detoxify? Drink ginger? What to do after 10 days of bad airAs firefighters begin to gain control of the Camp Fire in Butte County and rain promises to wash away much of the unhealthy air in the Bay Area, a question remains: |
 | Gene vital for post-stroke recovery identified for the first timeHaving certain specific variants of the PATJ gene predisposes ischemic stroke victims for worse recovery. Seven out of 10 patients with these variants suffer severe sequelae three months after having a stroke and are thus placed in a situation of medical dependence, compared to less than half of patients who do not present these variants. |
 | The skinny on new sugar calorie counts(HealthDay)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is getting serious about added sugars. |
 | Opioids increasingly tied to deaths of pregnant women(HealthDay)—As the U.S. opioid epidemic rages unchecked, new research shows that pregnancy-related deaths due to opioid misuse more than doubled between 2007 and 2016. |
 | We predicted banning legal highs wouldn't work – and a new review shows it's as bad as we fearedThe trade in "legal highs" was banned in 2016 when the UK government introduced the Psychoactive Substances Act. Two years later, the government has published a review of the effects of its legislation. It's interesting that the government has chosen to release the review quietly without fanfare – perhaps because of the problems it reveals. |
 | Clean water linked to rising birth rates in Africa, need arises for women's reproductive servicesA researcher from the University of Bristol presented research at Parliament yesterday that recommends the consideration of more holistic interventions in the world's poorest countries. |
 | Preventing infant deaths: The ABCs of safe baby sleepJust last week, I read an X-ray study of an infant who died while sleeping with a parent. I am a pediatric radiologist, and in cases where an infant has died unexpectedly, we often obtain X-ray images to make sure that the infant does not have skeletal fractures or other signs of injury that might suggest that he or she was the victim of child abuse. Most of the time we find no such evidence. |
 | Six safety tips to avoid salmonella this ThanksgivingYou risk getting sick if you've already purchased a Thanksgiving turkey contaminated by salmonella but haven't started to thaw the frozen bird, said Darin Detwiler, an assistant teaching professor of food policy at Northeastern. |
 | Researchers use MRI to predict Alzheimer's diseaseMRI brain scans perform better than common clinical tests at predicting which people will go on to develop Alzheimer's disease, according to a study being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). |
 | Scientists unveil completely human platform for testing age-specific vaccine responsesA team of scientists at Boston Children's Hospital has developed the first modeling system for testing age-specific human immune responses to vaccines—outside the body. The practical, cost-effective new platform, using all human components, is expected to accelerate and de-risk the development, assessment and selection of vaccines. |
 | Does Netflix's '13 Reasons Why' influence teen suicide? Survey asks at-risk youthsA significant proportion of suicidal teens treated in a psychiatric emergency department said that watching the Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" had increased their suicide risk, a University of Michigan study finds. |
Women benefit from mammography screening beyond age 75Women age 75 years and older should continue to get screening mammograms because of the comparatively high incidence of breast cancer found in this age group, according to a new study being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). | |
 | Scientists identify new genetic causes linked to abnormal pregnancies and miscarriagesA team of scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and McGill University have identified three genes responsible for recurrent molar pregnancies, a rare complication that occurs when a non-viable pregnancy with no embryo implants in the uterus. The results of this study could have important implications, since until now very little is known about the genetic causes of all forms of fetal loss. Their study has recently been published in The American Journal of Human Genetics. |
 | When it comes to love—personality matters: researchMen with a greater range of personality traits, especially those deemed extraverted, emotionally stable, agreeable or conscientious, have sex more often and produce more children, according to a new QUT study. |
 | Babies born with broken heartsMore than 35,000 babies are born with life-threatening congenital heart defects every year in the United States. Fetal single ventricle defects can be identified with echocardiograms. In the first months of life, surgeries can correct these defects, but tragically, about 25 percent of babies do not make it through the first surgery. |
Scientists develop potential new treatment for common soft-tissue childhood cancerScientists have developed a potential new therapeutic approach for synovial sarcoma, one of the most common soft-tissue cancers in teenagers and young adults. At present the long-term survival rates for synovial sarcoma patients is well below 50%; a fact that underlines just how important new discoveries are if we are to improve the outlook for patients and their families. | |
 | Self-management program for patients with COPD boosts quality of life, cuts rehospitalizationJohns Hopkins Medicine researchers report that a program designed to enhance self-care and lead to more seamless management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adults successfully reduced rates of emergency room visits and hospitalization, and the burdensome symptoms and limitations caused by the condition. |
In heart failure, a stronger heart could spell worse symptomsHeart failure patients fall into two general categories: those with weaker hearts, and those with stronger, but stiffer hearts that continue to eject the normal volume of blood with every beat. Although their hearts have different pump strength, new research shows that both groups suffer from similar levels of physical and cognitive impairments after a hospitalization for their heart failure, and that surprisingly, patients with stronger hearts have higher rates of depressive symptoms and lower quality of life. | |
 | Vaping no boost to quit rates in smokers, study suggestsPeople who vape and smoke cigarettes are no more likely to drop the nicotine habit than those who just smoke, a new study suggests. |
 | A growing list of factors that impact CKD severity for kidsMyriad biological and societal factors can impact the occurrence and accelerate progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) for children of African descent—including preterm birth, exposure to toxins during gestation and lower socioeconomic status—and can complicate these children's access to effective treatments, according to an invited commentary published in the November 2018 edition of American Journal of Kidney Diseases. |
 | Can genetic therapy help kids with Angelman syndrome overcome seizures?Angelman syndrome is a genetic disease with no cure. Children grow up with severe intellectual disabilities and a range of other problems, arguably the worst of which are epileptic seizures. Now scientists at the UNC School of Medicine have found evidence that genetic therapy may prevent the enhanced seizure susceptibility. |
 | Gut protein mutations shield against spikes in glucoseWhy is it that, despite consuming the same number of calories, sodium and sugar, some people face little risk of diabetes or obesity while others are at higher risk? A new study by investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital has uncovered mutations in a gene that appear to help drive this difference. Individuals with a specific variant in a gene known as SGLT1, which results in reduced uptake of sugars in the gut, had lower incidence of obesity, diabetes, death and heart failure, suggesting that SGLT1 may make a promising therapeutic target for metabolic disease. The team's results were recently published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. |
 | A Trojan horse delivery method for miRNA-enriched extracellular vesiclesA method for large-scale production of extracellular vesicles enriched with specific microRNAs (miRNAs) has been developed in the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) labs, offering a manufacturing standardization process which may have therapeutic applications and clinical impact. |
 | People in US, Canada warned to not eat romaine lettuceHealth officials in the U.S. and Canada on Tuesday told people to avoid eating romaine lettuce because of a new E. coli outbreak. |
 | One in four U.S. adults sits more than eight hours a day(HealthDay)—Couch Potato Nation: Nearly half of Americans sit for far too many hours a day and don't get any exercise at all, a new study finds. |
 | Startling these twins could put their hearts at riskKatie and Lance Cox were watching TV one evening, their infant twins Carter and John asleep nearby, when Katie dropped the remote control. As it clattered across the floor, the couple froze, staring terrified at one another. |
 | Increased risk for oral cancer with exposure to high PM2.5(HealthDay)—Taiwanese men exposed to high concentrations of fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) have an increased risk for oral cancer, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Investigative Medicine. |
 | Pain management telementoring may cut opioid prescribing(HealthDay)—Military patients whose primary care clinicians participated in a telementoring program, including education on pain management best practices, have larger declines in opioid-related prescriptions than patients whose clinicians did not participate, according to a study published online Oct. 31 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. |
 | NPs and PAs can effectively manage diabetes in primary care(HealthDay)—Diabetes outcomes do not differ for patients treated with a primary care provider who is either a physician, nurse practitioner (NP), or physician assistant (PA), according to a study published online Nov. 20 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. |
 | Immunotherapy side effects may be more common than thought(HealthDay)—Adverse events for immune checkpoint inhibitors used to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may be more common in real-world settings than reported in the clinical trials that led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals, according to a study presented at the annual Palliative and Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium, held from Nov. 16 to 17 in San Diego. |
 | What are this year's most dangerous toys?(HealthDay)—Not all the toys in Santa's sack are safe to play with. Among this year's most dangerous playthings are data-collecting dolls and fidget spinners full of lead, a new report says. |
 | Influential U.S. panel backs PrEP HIV-prevention pills(HealthDay)—For the first time, a highly influential panel of experts says doctors should offer a daily pill to prevent HIV transmission to people who are at high risk for infection with the AIDS-causing virus. |
Aftermath of EU referendum linked to rise in antidepressant prescribing in EnglandAntidepressant prescribing in England rose relative to other types of drug in the immediate aftermath of the results of the European Union referendum in June 2016, when Britons voted in favor of Brexit, reveals research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. | |
Many patients diagnosed with adenomas may not receive colonoscopies in recommended time framePatients who are diagnosed with adenomas, a possible precursor of colorectal cancer, often do not receive subsequent colonoscopies within the recommended time frame. | |
 | 11th child dies in adenovirus outbreak at N.J. care facility(HealthDay)—An 11th child has died in an outbreak of a respiratory virus at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in New Jersey, health officials say. |
Home remedies: Steps for stopping and preventing nosebleedsMost nosebleeds aren't serious and will stop on their own or by following self-care steps. | |
Strong but uneven spending in medical and health research and development across sectors over five-year periodTotal U.S. investment in medical and health research and development (R&D) in the U.S. grew by 27% over the five-year period from 2013 to 2017, led by industry and the federal government, according to U.S. Investments in Medical and Health Research and Development, a new report from Research!America. Industry accounted for 67% of total spending in 2017, followed by the federal government at 22%. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) accounted for the lion's share of federal spending in medical and health research in 2017 - $32.4 billion or 82.1%. | |
 | Treating a rare genetic disorder that causes colon cancer in childrenA University of Houston pharmaceutical scientist is developing a new drug which could bring relief to children suffering with Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP), a rare genetic disorder characterized by hundreds—if not thousands—of colorectal polyps. This hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome occurs in 3-per-100,000 live births and, if left untreated, causes colorectal cancer in patients nearly 100 percent of the time. Prior medication for the disease failed because it increased the risk of heart attacks and death. |
Gene testing doesn't add much information for antidepressant or antipsychotic prescribingPharmacogenetic tests are marketed as an aid to psychiatrists in selecting the antidepressant or antipsychotic medication that will work best in individual patients, based on their genetic makeup. But for most patients, these pharmacogenetic tests don't provide much useful information, beyond a basic understanding of how antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs are metabolized, suggests a study in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice. | |
 | Green Tuesday: Crowds line up at 1st East Coast pot shopsPeople lined up in the rain Tuesday morning to be among the first customers at the first two legal pot shops on the U.S. East Coast, more than two years after Massachusetts voters approved of recreational marijuana for adults. |
Biology news
 | A toxic bullet involved in bacterial competition found by researchersA bacterial toxin that allows an infectious strain of bacteria to defeat its competitors has been discovered by Imperial College London scientists. |
 | Frogs breed young to beat virusFrogs from groups exposed to a deadly virus are breeding at younger ages, new research suggests. |
 | Plant characteristics shaped by parental conflictDifferent subpopulations of a plant species can have distinct traits, varying in size, seed count, coloration, and so on. The primary source of this variation is genes: different versions of a gene can lead to different traits. However, genes are not the only determinant of such traits, and researchers are learning more about another contributor: epigenetics. Epigenetic factors are things that regulate genes, altering their expression, and like genes they can be inherited from generation to generation, even though they are independent of the actual DNA sequences of the genes. |
 | Tracking an epidemic requires computer models—but what if those models are wrong?Whether they're tracking the future spread of an epidemic, or determining where best to distribute a vaccine during an outbreak, today's disease researchers depend on reliable computer models. |
 | Embryological study of the skull reveals dinosaur-bird connectionBirds are the surviving descendants of predatory dinosaurs. However, since the likes of Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor, some parts of their anatomy have become radically transformed. The skull, for instance, is now toothless, and accommodates much larger eyes and brain. Skulls are like 3-D puzzles made of smaller bones: As the eye socket and brain case expanded along evolution, birds lost two bones of the skull that were once present in dinosaurs -the prefrontal, at the upper front corner of the eye, and the postorbital, behind the eye (See the skull of Erlikosaurus compared to the seabird Sula in the image below). |
 | A Mexican cavefish with a scarred heartScientists are studying a guppy-sized, blind, translucent fish that lives in the cave systems of northern Mexico to figure out why some animals can regenerate their hearts, while others just scar. Their research appears November 20 in the journal Cell Reports. |
 | Researchers reveal how a deadly fungal infection shape-shifts into an invasive monsterMonash researchers have shed new light on just how the fungal infection, Candida albicans, shape-shifts into a deadly version with hyphae or filaments that help it break through human tissues and into the bloodstream. Understanding this process is key to the development of drugs against this fatal infection. |
 | Among birds-of-paradise, good looks are not enough to win a mateMale birds-of-paradise are notorious for their wildly extravagant feather ornaments, complex calls, and shape-shifting dance moves—all evolved to attract a mate. New research published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology on November 20 suggests for the first time that female preferences drive the evolution of combinations of physical and behavioral traits that may also be tied to where the male does his courting: on the ground or up in the trees. |
 | Tropical fish adapt to cold temperatures in coordination with their microbiomeScientists have discovered that tropical fish can control their gut microbes to better survive extremes of temperature, a study in eLife reveals. |
 | The taming of the dog, cow, horse, pig and rabbitResearch at the Earlham Institute into one of the 'genetic orchestra conductors', microRNAs, sheds light on our selectively guided evolution of domestic pets and farmyard animals such as dogs and cows. |
 | Discovery could neutralize West Nile virusResearchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and colleagues have isolated a human monoclonal antibody that can "neutralize" the West Nile virus and potentially prevent a leading cause of viral encephalitis (brain inflammation) in the United States. |
 | New model predicts which animal viruses may spread among humansResearchers have developed a model that predicts which of the viruses that can jump from animals to people can also be transmitted from person to person—and are therefore possible sources of human diseases. |
 | Researchers reveal secrets of parasite that causes African sleeping sicknessA team of Clemson University researchers wants to protect humans and other mammals from the debilitating and even deadly effects of African sleeping sickness. |
 | Scientists work to save wild Puerto Rican parrot after MariaBiologists are trying to save the last of the endangered Puerto Rican parrots after more than half the population of the bright green birds with turquoise-tipped wings disappeared when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and destroyed their habitat and food sources. |
 | Responses of waterbirds to climate change is linked to their preferred wintering habitatsA new scientific article shows that 25 European waterbird species can change their wintering areas depending on winter weather. Warm winters allow them to shift their wintering areas northeastwards, whereas cold spells push birds southwestwards. Species wintering in deep waters show the fastest long-term change: their abundances have shifted annually about 5 km northeastwards in the past 24 years. |
 | Fungal spores are a primary source of sodium salt particles in Amazon airTiny particles of sodium salt float in the air over the pristine Amazon basin. Why? The only explanation before now has been that winds blow marine particles hundreds of miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. An international team of scientists used chemical imaging and atmospheric models to prove otherwise. They discovered that, during the wet season, fungal spores make up as much as 69 percent of the airborne sodium salt particles in the central Amazon basin. |
 | Canopy cameras shed new light on monkey business in BrazilA team of Brazilian biologists supported by the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is unlocking the secrets of one of the world's most fragile and threatened biodiversity hotspots thanks to the success of a pioneering camera trap project. |
 | First insight into the ecology of an elusive and threatened rabbitThe Annamite mountains of Vietnam and Lao PDR (Laos) harbour exceptional species richness and endemism, but its wildlife is under threat from widespread and intensive poaching. The region is home to the Annamite striped rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi), a little-known lagomorph only discovered by science in 1995. A new study carried out by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo- and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in collaboration with WWF-Vietnam, WWF-Laos, and the Central Institute for Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (CRES) of the Vietnam National University, provides the first detailed information about the species ecology. The study is published in the international journal Oryx. |
 | Hyena population recovers slowly from a disease epidemicInfectious diseases can substantially reduce the size of wildlife populations, thereby affecting both the dynamics of ecosystems and biodiversity. Predicting the long-term consequences of epidemics is thus essential for conservation. Researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in Berlin and from the Center for Functional Ecology and Evolution (CEFE) in Montpellier, France, have now developed a mathematical model ("matrix model") to determine the impact of a major epidemic of canine distemper virus (CDV) on the population of spotted hyenas in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The results of the study are published in the new Nature open-access journal Communications Biology. |
 | Dogs know when they don't knowResearchers at the DogStudies lab at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History have shown that dogs possess some "metacognitive" abilities—specifically, they are aware of when they do not have enough information to solve a problem and will actively seek more information, similarly to primates. To investigate this, the researchers created a test in which dogs had to find a reward—a toy or food—behind one of two fences. They found that the dogs looked for additional information significantly more often when they had not seen where the reward was hidden. |
 | Sticky and heavily armed, a tomato-relative is the new 'star' of the Brazilian inselbergsArmed with long thorns and sticky stems, newly described plant Solanum kollastrum might look like a villain by plant standards, but a closer look on this curious new species will reveal its star-like nature in the context of its ecosystem. |
 | Transparency and reproducibility of biomedical research is improvingOver the past few years, there have been numerous efforts to promote open science practices across the scientific literature. With increased support for sharing of both data and study protocols, an increased appreciation of the importance of reproducing prior research results, and a growing number of journals requiring reporting guidelines and disclosure statements, is there a noticeable impact of open science culture on the biomedical literature? |
 | Eel trafficking in the EU, the world's 'biggest wildlife crime'Billions of euros worth of critically endangered eels are being trafficked each year from Europe, ending up on tables in China and Japan in what campaigners say is "the largest wildlife crime on Earth." |
 | Hungry ticks work harder to find youTicks are hardy little brutes that can go as long as a year without a meal. |
 | Australian mammals at greatest risk from cats and foxes, new studyNew research led by the Threatened Species Recovery Hub has revealed which Australian mammals are most vulnerable to cats and foxes, and many much-loved potoroos, bandicoots and bettongs, as well as native rodents, are at the top of the list. |
 | Do interactions in molecular and cellular networks follow the same principles as human social interplay?To decode the underlying laws that govern the organization of life into molecules, cells and tissues are the great scientific challenges of our time. Dr. Carlo Vittorio Cannistraci from the Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) at the Technical University Dresden, Germany, explored the question whether brain cells interact in the same manner as molecules within a cell and published his findings in the science magazine Scientific Reports. |
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