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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for November 7, 2018:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Astronomers find pairs of black holes at the centers of merging galaxiesFor the first time, a team of astronomers has observed several pairs of galaxies in the final stages of merging together into single, larger galaxies. Peering through thick walls of gas and dust surrounding the merging galaxies' messy cores, the research team captured pairs of supermassive black holes—each of which once occupied the center of one of the two original smaller galaxies—drawing closer together before they coalescence into one giant black hole. |
 | Ultra-hot gas around remnants of sun-like starsSolving a decades-old mystery, an international team of astronomers have discovered an extremely hot magnetosphere around a white dwarf, a remnant of a star like our Sun. The work was led by Dr. Nicole Reindl, Research Fellow of the Royal Commission 1851, based at the University of Leicester, and is published today (7 November) in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. |
 | Scientists push back against Harvard 'alien spacecraft' theoryA scientific paper led by two researchers at Harvard University made a splash this week by claiming that a cigar-shaped rock zooming through our solar system may have been sent by aliens. |
 | Cosmic collisions: SOFIA unravels the mysterious formation of star clustersThe sun, like all stars, was born in a giant cold cloud of molecular gas and dust. It may have had dozens or even hundreds of stellar siblings – a star cluster – but these early companions are now scattered throughout our Milky Way galaxy. Although the remnants of this particular creation event have long since dispersed, the process of star birth continues today within our galaxy and beyond. Star clusters are conceived in the hearts of optically dark clouds where the early phases of formation have historically been hidden from view. But these cold, dusty clouds shine brightly in the infrared, so telescopes like the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, can begin to reveal these long-held secrets. |
 | Aluminium oxide found in an ultra-hot JupiterAn international team led by the astrophysicist Carolina von Essen, has used the OSIRIS spectrograph on the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) to study the chemical composition of a planet whose equilibrium temperature is around 3,200 °C. |
 | Image: A rare optical phenomenon spotted from orbitDespite humankind's scientific prowess there are still many phenomena that defy explanation or a common agreement on why something happens. A 'glory' is a rare optical phenomenon that is mostly seen by pilots and mountain climbers looking down at mists or clouds. Forming a miniature circular rainbow, glories are seen when the Sun shines from behind and interacts with water droplets to refract light back to the observer. |
 | Image: Earth enveloped in airglowOn October 7, 2018, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) shot this photograph while orbiting at an altitude of more than 250 miles over Australia. |
 | Bringing 'space trash' safely back to EarthTalk about space junk. |
 | ESA rocks space weatherThis week, to coincide with the fifteenth annual European Space Weather Week, ESA is celebrating the dynamic phenomenon of space weather. |
 | This star killed its companion and is now escaping the Milky WayOur universe is capable of some truly frightening scenarios, and in this case we have an apparent tragedy: two stars, lifelong companions, decide to move away from the Milky Way galaxy together. But after millions of years of adventure into intergalactic space, one star murders and consumes the other. It now continues its journey through the universe alone, much brighter than before, surrounded by a shell of leftover remnants. |
Technology news
 | Object detection in 4K and 8K video using GPUsResearchers at Carnegie Mellon University have recently developed a new model that enables fast and accurate object detection in high-resolution 4K and 8K video footage using GPUs. Their attention pipeline method carries out a two-stage evaluation of every image or video frame under rough and refined resolution, limiting the total number of evaluations necessary. |
 | Why some Wikipedia disputes go unresolved—Study identifies reasons, offers predictive toolsWikipedia has enabled large-scale, open collaboration on the internet's largest general-reference resource. But, as with many collaborative writing projects, crafting the content can be a contentious subject. |
 | New deep knowledge AI system could resolve bottlenecks in drug researchResearchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a new system that could significantly speed up the discovery of new drugs and reduce the need for costly and time-consuming laboratory tests. |
 | This way, that-away: Researchers give dog special vest with lights to tell it where to go"Remote-controlled dog" were the three words lighting up Tuesday's tech headlines, and by the looks of it one was easily assuming this was yet another cute robot giving off puppy vibes for the elderly and children to enjoy. |
 | Team breaks world record for fast, accurate AI trainingResearchers at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) have partnered with a team from Tencent Machine Learning to create a new technique for training artificial intelligence (AI) machines faster than ever before while maintaining accuracy. |
 | Researchers discover security flaws in widely used data storage devicesResearchers at Radboud University in the Netherlands have discovered that widely used data storage devices with self-encrypting drives do not provide the expected level of data protection. A malicious expert with direct physical access to widely sold storage devices can bypass existing protection mechanisms and access the data without knowing the user-chosen password. |
 | Machine-learning system could aid critical decisions in sepsis careResearchers from MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have developed a predictive model that could guide clinicians in deciding when to give potentially life-saving drugs to patients being treated for sepsis in the emergency room. |
 | Google touts progress in fight against piracyGoogle said Wednesday it is making strides in helping internet users legitimately get songs, films and apps while choking off revenue to websites with stolen digital content. |
 | How to make your car's safety features work for youDrivers are used to traditional passive safety features, such as airbags and seat belts, that help limit injury in case of an accident. But vehicle safety is changing dramatically. The latest vehicles have safety features that can help prevent an accident in the first place. A potential problem, however, is that drivers aren't fully ready for them. |
 | Boeing issues advice over sensors after Indonesia crashBoeing issued a special bulletin Wednesday addressing a sensor problem flagged by Indonesian safety officials investigating the crash of a Lion Air 737 that killed 189 people last week. |
 | Making wind farms more efficientWith energy demands rising, researchers at Penn State Behrend and the University of Tabriz, Iran, have completed an algorithm—or approach—to design more efficient wind farms, helping to generate more revenue for builders and more renewable energy for their customers. |
 | Wind tunnel and lasers provide hypersonic proving ground at Sandia National LaboratoriesIt's about speed, and Sandia National Laboratories, with a hypersonic wind tunnel and advanced laser diagnostic technology, is in an excellent position to help U.S. defense agencies understand the physics associated with aircraft flying five times the speed of sound. |
 | Unclear whether digital revolution lowers prices - surveyA new survey suggests the digital technologies sweeping through the corporate world could mean some job losses at big companies, but it's unclear what impact they will have on consumer prices. |
 | Netflix to boost production of European seriesNetflix said Wednesday it will produce more series in Europe in languages other than English following the global success of Spanish crime caper "Money Heist" and German mystery "Dark". |
 | Autonomous vehicles could shape the future of urban tourismIn the first study of its kind, published in the Annals of Tourism Research, academics from the University of Surrey and the University of Oxford have examined how Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) may have a substantial impact on the future of urban tourism. |
 | Bitcoin's high energy consumption is a concern – but it may be a price worth payingBitcoin recently turned 10 years old. In that time, it has proved revolutionary because it ignores the need for modern money's institutions to verify payments. Instead, Bitcoin relies on cryptographic techniques to prove identity and authenticity. |
 | Keeping health data under lock and keyResearchers from the Collaborative Research Center CROSSING at Technische Universität Darmstadt (Germany) have developed a solution that will ensure decades of safe storage for sensitive health data in a joint project with Japanese and Canadian partners. An initial prototype was presented during a recent conference in Beijing, China. The system will go into trial operation in Japan in the coming weeks. |
 | Using diamonds to recharge civilian drones in flightA small lab-grown diamond measuring a few millimeters per side could one day enable civilian drones to be recharged in mid-flight through a laser. Thanks to the diamond, the laser beam can remain strong enough over a long distance to recharge photovoltaic cells on the drones' surface. This system, which poses no threat to human health, is being developed by EPFL spin-off LakeDiamond. It could also be used to transmit both power and data to satellites and has just been included in the ten projects supported for two years by of the Swiss Space Office. |
 | Brussels backs efforts to save EU digital tax proposalThe European Commission on Wednesday urged backers of an EU-wide tax on high-tech giants to keep pushing the proposal, which has stalled due to opposition from Ireland and Nordic countries. |
 | Smartphone makers bet on foldable screens as next big thingThe smartphone industry has been searching for a breakthrough to revive a market mired in an innovation lull and a sales slump. |
 | Runaway mining train travels 90 kilometres without driverA huge runaway train laden with iron ore had to be derailed remotely after speeding through the Australian outback for almost an hour. |
 | BMW profit dips in 'volatile' timesGerman high-end carmaker BMW on Wednesday posted a steep drop in quarterly profit as new emissions tests, global trade tensions and costly recalls weighed on the bottom line. |
 | Adidas lifts profit outlook after 'strong' quarterGerman sporting goods maker Adidas on Wednesday lifted its profit expectations for 2018 after a "strong" third quarter that saw brisk global demand for its sportswear and sneakers. |
 | Boeing braces for trade war headwinds in ChinaAt China's biggest air show, a top Boeing executive voiced hope that the US and China would resume trade talks. He has reason to worry: The US aerospace giant could fly into turbulence in a protracted commercial conflict. |
 | Turbine maker Vestas turns in record order bookVestas, the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer, said Wednesday its order book had reached an all-time high, but falling prices took the gust out of the company's sales figures. |
 | Zuckerberg rebuffs request to appear before UK parliamentFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has rejected a request to appear before an international parliamentary committee delving into the questions around fake news. |
 | Former Intel boss Brian Krzanich to lead CDK GlobalThe former CEO of Intel is being named as the top executive at CDK Global, a company that provides technology to auto dealers. |
 | Advance pay service may reduce use of payday loansAmericans take out roughly $50 billion in payday loans a year, each racking up hundreds of dollars in fees and interest. But a small and growing service that allows its users to take an advance on their paycheck might be giving the payday loan industry a run for its money. |
 | Italy to sue Ryanair, Wizz Air over bag chargeItaly's competition watchdog said on Wednesday it will begin legal proceedings against low-cost airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air for failing to suspend controversial charges for carry-on bags. |
 | Midterm voting exposes growing problem of aging machinesElection experts have long warned about the nation's aging fleet of voting equipment. This week's elections underscored just how badly upgrades are needed. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Mutant protein tackles DNA guardian to promote cancer developmentMelbourne scientists have discovered how tumour development is driven by mutations in the most important gene in preventing cancer, p53. |
 | Selective amnesia: How rats and humans are able to forget distracting memoriesOur ability to selectively forget distracting memories is shared with other mammals, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge. The discovery that rats and humans share a common active forgetting ability—and in similar brain regions—suggests that the capacity to forget plays a vital role in adapting mammalian species to their environments, and that its evolution may date back at least to the time of our common ancestor. |
 | Singing may reduce stress, improve motor function for people with Parkinson's diseaseSinging may provide benefits beyond improving respiratory and swallow control in people with Parkinson's disease, according to new data from Iowa State University researchers. |
 | Ultrasound releases drug to alter activity in targeted brain areas in ratsStanford University School of Medicine scientists have developed a noninvasive way of delivering drugs to within a few millimeters of a desired point in the brain. |
 | Open source machine learning tool could help choose cancer drugsThe selection of a first-line chemotherapy drug to treat many types of cancer is often a clear-cut decision governed by standard-of-care protocols, but what drug should be used next if the first one fails? |
 | Lifespan is increasing in people who live to 65Stanford biologist Shripad Tuljapurkar had assumed humans were approaching the limit to their longevity – that's what previous research had suggested – but what he observed in 50 years of lifespan data was more optimistic than he was. |
 | Researchers find connection between heart rate and peer victimizationPenn State Scranton assistant professors of psychology Karin Machluf and P. Douglas Sellers II, along with their colleague, Christopher Aults from King's College in Wilkes-Barre, have found in a study that heart rate reactivity is a biological moderator between peer victimization (bullying) and internalizing problems (anxiety/depression) in adolescent girls. |
 | Scientists overturn odds to make Parkinson's discoveryScientists at the University of Dundee have confirmed that a key cellular pathway that protects the brain from damage is disrupted in Parkinson's patients, raising the possibility of new treatments for the disease. |
 | Immune cells could hold key to therapies for spinal cord injuriesFresh insights into how zebrafish repair their damaged nerve connections could aid the development of therapies for people with spinal cord injuries. |
 | Stroke of genius: Drug could target leading cause in youngA study led by researchers at the Centenary Institute has identified a drug currently used to treat cancer patients, as a potential treatment option for a leading cause of stroke in young people. |
 | How do babies laugh? Like chimps!Few things can delight an adult more easily than the uninhibited, effervescent laughter of a baby. Yet baby laughter, a new study shows, differs from adult laughter in a key way: Babies laugh as they both exhale and inhale, in a manner that is remarkably similar to nonhuman primates. |
 | Tiny molecule has big effect in childhood brain tumor studiesSometimes small things make the biggest differences. |
Children may be most at risk of stab injuries on way home from schoolChildren may be most at risk of being stabbed on their way home from school, suggests research published in the online journal BMJ Open. | |
Summer birth and computer games linked to heightened short-sight risk in childhoodSummer birth and hours spent playing computer games are linked to a heightened risk of developing short or near sightedness (myopia) in childhood, indicates a twin study, published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. | |
 | Health services must address multiple conditions in dementia careMost people living with dementia also have at least one other health condition, and health services need to adapt to optimise their health and quality of life, a new study concludes. |
 | Pilates provides a range of benefits for patients with chronic musculoskeletal conditionsA Musculoskeletal Care study is the first to investigate individual perceptions of the impact of a Pilates exercise programme on the daily lives of people with chronic conditions. |
 | Preschool children show awake responses to naptime nonsense wordsOf all of our senses, hearing is the only one that has long been suspected as being "on" all the time—even in our sleep. Sounds that occur during the night have a way of registering in the brain. Now a group of scientists in Tennessee is reporting the results of studies on what is heard and not heard during sleep and what that might mean for a developing brain. |
 | Study uncovers possible link between immune system and postpartum depressionThe immune system might play an important role in the development of postpartum depression after a stressful pregnancy, new research suggests. |
 | Surgery patients use only 1/4 of prescribed opioids, and prescription size mattersMany surgeons write prescriptions for opioid pain medications four times larger than what their patients will actually use after common operations, a new study shows. |
 | Researchers discover new gene for hair lossHypotrichosis simplex leads to progressive hair loss as early as childhood. A team of researchers led by human geneticists at the University Hospital of Bonn has now found a gene that is responsible for this rare form of hair loss. Changes in the LSS gene lead to impairment of an important enzyme that has a crucial function in cholesterol metabolism. The scientists have presented their findings in the renowned journal the American Journal of Human Genetics. |
 | Researchers find novel mutation affecting YARS causes multisystem diseaseResearchers have identified a novel missense mutation in tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (YARS c.499C>A, p.Pro167Thr) that causes a severe recessive disorder in affected individuals. The study, led by clinicians, researchers and collaborators of the Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, PA, appears in Human Molecular Genetics. The report includes detailed clinical characterization of seven related Amish children who were homozygous for the variant. The children all exhibited poor growth, developmental delay, abnormal brain white matter, hearing loss, involuntary eye movements, progressive cholestatic liver disease, pancreatic insufficiency, hypoglycemia, anemia, intermittent excess of protein in urine, recurrent bloodstream infections, and chronic pulmonary disease. |
 | Antibiotic-resistant bacteria now claiming 33,000 lives annuallyAn ECDC study estimates the burden of five types of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria of public health concern in the European Union and in the European Economic Area (EU/EEA). The burden of disease is measured in number of cases, attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). These estimates are based on data from the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net) data from 2015. |
 | Pathway to resolve allergic asthma is discoveredA group of Brazilian researchers succeeded in preventing allergic asthma from progressing in experimental models by increasing the amount of a certain protein. This increase, in turn, blocked the CD4+ T lymphocytes responsible for producing a cytokine that triggers a cascade of events resulting in the onset and progression of the disease. |
 | Drug overdose epidemic goes far beyond opioids, requires new policiesMost government-funded initiatives to address the overdose epidemic in the United States have targeted opioids specifically and have neglected other drugs that are increasingly implicated in overdoses, such as cocaine and methamphetamine, according to an issue brief by a drug policy expert at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. |
 | Exercise, diet and wellness apps are powerful learning resources for young people, study findsResearch undertaken at the University of Birmingham has found that young people are able to judge which health related apps are relevant to their age and bodies, are able to source appropriate digital content as well as dismiss app content that might be harmful to them. |
 | Research finds bilingual therapy vital to improving language disorders in dual-language childrenNew research has found that providing bilingual therapy is vital to improving developmental language disorders in dual-language children. |
 | Link between vaccines and allergies dismissedResearchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, having compared the development of allergies in children with and without the recommended vaccinations, find no support for the claim that childhood vaccination can increase the risk of allergy. The study is published in EClinicalMedicine, a new open access journal published by The Lancet. |
 | Genetic study clarifies the causes of the most severe heart muscle diseases of childrenCardiac muscle degeneration—cardiomyopathy—is the most common cause of severe cardiac dysfunction and life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias in children. These severe disorders often lead to consideration of heart transplant. However, their actual cause—the genetic basis, that is—has been poorly characterized. |
 | Quetiapine, the antipsychotic 'sleeping pill' linked to overdosesQuetiapine is a drug designed to reduce hallucinations and delusions experienced by people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. |
 | Study aims to enhance knee and hip replacement experience and outcomes for patientsAn app that uses Apple Watch technology to connect patients and their surgical teams may optimize the care and outcomes for patients who undergo knee replacement and hip replacement, two of the surgeries performed most often in the United States each year. |
 | Will the arrival of El Niño mean fewer mosquitoes this summer?Once the warm weather arrives, you know mosquitoes won't be far behind. Spring heatwaves associated with the impending arrival of El Niño to the east coast of Australia may mean we'll get an early taste of summer, but what about mosquitoes? Does a long, hot summer mean fewer annoying buzzing and biting beasts bothering us whenever we spend time outdoors? |
 | No butts – it's time to help people with mental health conditions quit smokingAustralians with mental health conditions are more than twice as likely to be smokers as the general population. About 22% of people with a mental health condition smoke daily compared to a national rate under 13%. And the more severe your illness, the more likely you are to smoke. For example, about 60-70% of people with psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia smoke. |
 | How the opioid crisis is disrupting hospital care"… there is always soma, delicious soma, half a gramme for a half-holiday, a gramme for a week-end, two grammes for a trip to the gorgeous East, three for a dark eternity on the moon…" |
 | CDC: cases of polio-like illness still increasing in the U.S.(HealthDay)—Cases of a polio-like condition that mainly affects children continue to rise this year in the United States, health officials say. |
 | Inhaled nitrite does not improve exercise capacity in HFpEF(HealthDay)—Administration of inhaled nitrite is not associated with improvement in exercise capacity compared with placebo among patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), according to a study published in the Nov. 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. |
 | Over two million people living with hepatitis C from 2013 to 2016(HealthDay)—During 2013 to 2016, more than two million people in the United States had current hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, according to a study published online Nov. 6 in Hepatology. |
 | Better sex education urgently needed for at-risk teenagers, researchers saySexually active teenagers who were offered rapid, confidential chlamydia testing and same-day treatment at college mostly did not take up the offer, largely due to ignorance about the risks. |
 | Big change from small player—mitochondrial background modulates whole body metabolism and gene expressionAbout 1.5 billion years ago, tiny visitors came to live inside the cells that later evolved into all plant and animal life—including humans. |
 | Sleepy drivers involved in 100,000 crashes a year(HealthDay)—Driving under the influence and distracted driving are well-known hazards, but few people think twice about getting behind the wheel when feeling drowsy, a sleep expert warns. |
 | Home health-care tests: Proceed with caution(HealthDay)—Home pregnancy tests are commonplace, but that doesn't mean that every type of self-test for health issues is reliable. |
 | Kratom use in pregnancy spurs withdrawal symptoms in newborns(HealthDay)—Although the herbal supplement kratom is still legal and widely available, its opioid-like effects have caused significant withdrawal symptoms in at least two newborns in the United States and that should raise concerns, researchers say. |
 | Precision medicine: Statistical model can calculate potential success of new drugsThe aim of "precision medicine" is to devise individualised treatment strategies and therapies. Statistical methods play an important role in predicting the efficacy of drugs from clinical study data, based on patient characteristics. A research team from MedUni Vienna's Institute of Medical Statistics has now presented new mathematical methods that efficiently identify the characteristics that are relevant for such predictions. These methods can also be used to calculate the range of statistical variation of these predictions. |
 | Concussion prevention: Sorting through the science to see what's soundAs his helmet collided violently with his opponent's shoulder, Luke Kuechly looked like a life-size bobblehead doll. In an instant, the Carolina Panthers star linebacker suffered yet another concussion. His season, and perhaps career, was in jeopardy. |
 | Why inability to cope with uncertainty may cause mental health problemsNot knowing is an uncomfortable experience. As human beings, we are naturally curious. We seek to understand, predict and control – it helps us learn and it keeps us safe. Uncertainty can feel dangerous because we cannot predict with complete confidence what will happen. As a result, both our hearts and minds may race. |
 | Salt: how to cut back without losing that delicious flavourOne of the targets of the UK government's new health strategy is salt. Your body needs salt to function normally, but an excess leads to raised blood pressure and an increase in the risk of stroke and heart disease. Since prevention is better than cure, the government has ambitious plans to get the public to consume less salt. |
 | Silicone breast implant patients face greatly increased risk of autoimmune diseaseWomen with breast implants mostly only had to worry about leaks, but a large-scale Israeli study performed in collaboration with researchers from the University of Alberta confirmed almost one in four implantation patients is at risk of a serious autoimmune disorder. |
 | Researchers report connection between intestinal bacteria and development of diabetesResearchers at Örebro University have, together with a well-known research team in Denmark, developed a method for studying how metabolism in gut bacteria influences health. Their method will now be published in its entirety in the scientific journal Nature Protocols. |
Researchers develop prosthetic hand system, allowing user to 'feel' againArizona State University researcher James Abbas is part of a multi-institutional research team that has developed a new prosthetic hand system with a fully implanted, wirelessly controlled neurostimulator that has restored "feeling" to a person with a hand amputation. | |
 | Study findings show promise in preventing heart disease in cancer survivorsA new study by Washington State University researchers suggests that a protein called CDK2 plays a critical role in heart damage caused by doxorubicin, a commonly used chemotherapy drug. |
Nasal delivery of weight-loss hormone eases breathing problems in sleeping miceExperimenting with mice, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have added to evidence that a hormone best known for helping regulate hunger and body weight might also ease breathing problems experienced during sleep more effectively when given through the nose. | |
 | Mailed HPV tests can help find women at-risk for cervical cancer, study findsUniversity of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have found that mailing self-collection kits to test for high-risk human papillomavirus infection has the potential to boost cervical cancer screening—especially for low-income women who are overdue for testing. |
 | Clearing up information about corneal dystrophiesJayne Weiss, MD, Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs, Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, is the lead author of an editorial about inaccuracies in the medical literature that medical professionals rely upon to diagnose corneal dystrophies, as well as a free resource that provides correct information. The paper is published in the November 2018, issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology. |
Experimental compound reduces Gulf War illness-like behavior in miceAn experimental drug is showing some promise in stopping mood abnormalities and cognitive disorders similar to those seen in people with Gulf War illness, an animal study suggests. | |
One type of brain cell might hold key to inflammation after head injuryBy eliminating one type of immune cell in the brain, researchers were able to erase any evidence of inflammation following traumatic brain injury, according to a new study from The Ohio State University. | |
 | Could machines using artificial intelligence make doctors obsolete?The technology of these tools is evolving rapidly. Standalone machines can now perform limited tasks raising the question of whether machines will ever completely replace doctors? Experts debate the issue in The BMJ today. |
Low health literacy associated with early death for cardiovascular patientsPatients hospitalized with a cardiovascular event are more likely to die within one year if they have low health literacy, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study released today in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. | |
Researchers study the impact of insurance coverage on transferred patientsUniversity of Minnesota Medical School researchers seek to identify the relationship between insurance coverage and the mortality rate of patients transferred between hospitals. | |
 | Will tarloxotinib finally break the HER2 barrier in lung cancer?The HER2 gene is a well-known driver of breast cancer, where changes in this gene are found in about 1-in-5 cases of the disease. HER2 also contributes to about 3 percent of lung cancers, representing about 6,500 patients per year. But while drugs like trastuzumab and lapatinib have proven effective in silencing the action of HER2 in breast cancer, there are currently no approved HER2-targeted therapies for the treatment of lung cancer. |
Tumour immune cells could aid cancer therapies, study showsA pioneering technique designed to spot differences between immune cells in tumours could speed the development of cancer treatments, research suggests. | |
Nutrition educators identify barriers to physical activity and propose strategies to overcome themThroughout its fifty years of publication, the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (JNEB) has recognized the importance of physical activity as a key behavior helpful to achieving a healthy lifestyle. The November/December issue's theme of physical activity highlights recent research on designing, delivering, and measuring physical activity programs for different audiences. | |
 | Study finds 'dual mobility' hip replacement implant reduces risk of dislocationHip replacement surgery is highly successful in relieving pain, restoring mobility and improving quality of life. More than 330,000 procedures are performed each year in the United States, and that number is expected to almost double by the year 2030. |
 | Worst bedsores still plague US hospital patients: study(HealthDay)—Despite years of attention to the problem, U.S. hospitals have made little headway in preventing severe cases of bedsores among older Americans, a new study shows. |
 | More frequent surveillance no benefit after NSCLC resection(HealthDay)—For patients undergoing resection for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), more frequent surveillance is not associated with improved survival, according to a study published in the October issue of the Annals of Surgery. |
 | Among heart attack survivors, drug reduces chances of second heart attack or strokeIn a clinical trial involving 18,924 patients from 57 countries who had suffered a recent heart attack or threatened heart attack, researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and fellow scientists around the world have found that the cholesterol-lowering drug alirocumab reduced the chance of having additional heart problems or stroke. |
Study explores timing of muscle-related problems of statin useStatins have been linked with muscle pain and other musculoskeletal adverse events (MAEs) in some patients. A new Pharmacology Research & Perspectives study has examined the timing of MAEs that develop during statin therapy and determined whether concomitant drugs used concurrently with statin therapy shifts the timing of MAEs. | |
 | Compound derived from marijuana may benefit children with epilepsyIn recent years, cannabinoids—the active chemicals in medical marijuana— have been increasingly touted as a potential treatment for a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. In a Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology review, investigators compare their efficacy with antiepileptic drugs for children with epilepsy. |
Many older adults do not take prescribed statins properlyIn a British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology study of older adults prescribed statins, first-year nonadherence and discontinuation rates were high. | |
 | Does a woman's weight gain during pregnancy affect children's bone health?A new study has examined whether managing weight during pregnancy might affect children's bone mass. |
Researchers examine health behaviors after childhood cancer diagnosisIn a Psycho-Oncology study of childhood cancer survivors, several health behaviors fell short of expectations for exercise and diet during early survivorship, and they remained sub-optimal upon reaching five years post-diagnosis. | |
 | Fine water particle sprays improve facial skin moistureIn aSkin Research & Technology study, spraying fine water particles onto the facial skin of adult women in winter, when skin is dry, improved skin hydration and softening. In addition, water retention remained constant at 360 minutes after spraying. |
Antihormone therapy linked with higher heart failure risk in prostate cancer patientsAndrogen deprivation therapy was associated with a 72 percent higher risk of heart failure in a study of patients with prostate cancer. | |
 | Smoking during pregnancy may lead to childhood eye conditionIn an Acta Ophthalmologica analysis of 11 relevant articles, maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with a 46 percent increased risk that offspring will develop strabismus—one of the most prevalent eye-related diseases among children. Maternal smoking of ?10 cigarettes per day during pregnancy was linked with a 79 percent increased risk of strabismus in offspring. |
 | Study compares stools of breastfed and formula-fed infantsWhen researchers compared the stools of 40 infants who were exclusively breastfed with those of 13 who were exclusively formula fed, the average daily stool frequency was significantly higher in the breastfed than formula fed infants during the first month of life (4.9 versus 2.3) and second month of life (3.2 versus 1.6). |
Campaigners call for stronger rights to work for people living with breast cancerBrussels, Belgium: Campaigners are calling on EU parliamentarians to make it easier for people with advanced breast cancer to return to work and to support them properly with flexible working arrangements. | |
Radiotherapy is 'undervalued' and 'needs greater investment' say expertsRadiotherapy is 'undervalued' and 'needs greater investment' according to a new report published today commissioned by the Marie Curie Legacy Campaign—an initiative of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) and the ESTRO Cancer Foundation (ECF). | |
Rat models of opioid use and addiction explore risk of abuseNew research revealed today highlights the power of animal studies to explore mechanisms of opioid addiction, withdrawal, and relapse to inform new prevention strategies and treatments for people. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2018, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. | |
 | Uganda, at high risk for Ebola, starts vaccinating medicsUganda has started vaccinating health workers against Ebola in a border district near the outbreak in Congo, where the highly infectious viral disease has killed 189 people. |
 | Risk factors of type 2 diabetes and CVD accumulate in children with poor aerobic fitnessRisk factors of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease accumulate in children who have poor aerobic fitness, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows. The study also found that the traditional way of expressing aerobic fitness in proportion to total body mass overestimates the role of aerobic fitness in identifying children at an increased risk of these diseases. |
 | CDC director says Congo Ebola outbreak may be uncontainable(HealthDay)—It may not be possible to bring the Ebola outbreak in Congo under control, and the deadly disease may become entrenched in the northeastern part of the country, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield says. |
 | Miners in developing countries face "substantial risk inequality"Greater worker representation results in higher standards of safety for coal miners, a study has concluded. |
Clinical and environmental factors impact absorption of common sunscreen ingredientWith the growing awareness of ultraviolet (UV) exposure resulting in an increased risk of photoaging and skin cancers, consumers are using higher sun protection factor (SPF) sunscreens with frequent reapplication. New research, Evaluation of Reapplication and Controlled Heat Exposure on Oxybenzone Permeation from Commercial Sunscreen Using Excised Human Abdominal Skin, presented today at the 2018 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) PharmSci 360 Meeting demonstrates that heat and reapplication influences different sunscreen products containing the same amount of a key ingredient, oxybenzone, potentially affecting safety and toxicity of the UV filters included in sunscreens. | |
Promising new targeted therapy for acceleration of bone fracture repairThere are over six million fractures per year in the U.S. with direct costs in the billions, not to mention lost productivity. The only drug currently available to accelerate the healing process must be applied directly onto the fracture surface during surgery, but not all breaks require such intervention. New research, Bone Fracture-Targeted Dasatinib Conjugate Potently Enhances Fracture Repair In Vivo, presented today at the 2018 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) PharmSci 360 Meeting highlights a novel bone anabolic agent that, when injected, intravenously reduces femur fracture healing time by 60 percent without impacting the surrounding healthy tissue. | |
 | Are there geographic disparities in death due to traumatic brain injury for US veterans?There are known racial and ethnic disparities in death due to traumatic brain injury (TBI) and a new study has now examined if there is an association between TBI mortality and where a U.S. veteran lives. The study showed that, among veterans with TBI, mortality was higher for those living in the U.S. territories compared to the mainland, as reported in an article published in Health Equity. |
 | Precision medicine is not enough: Moving towards precision surveillanceThe interval at which an individual undergoes a repeat colonoscopy because of previous pre-cancerous polyps—a practice known as "surveillance"—should be tailored to the individual and not simply be determined by the results of prior colonoscopies, according to Regenstrief Institute research scientist Thomas F. Imperiale, M.D. In an editorial in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, he calls for "precision surveillance," a phrase he has coined to echo the personalized, targeted focus of precision medicine and the application of these concepts to colon cancer screening and surveillance. |
New, more accessible staging system developed to predict survival for patients with AL amyloidosisA new staging system developed with a more accessible test to predict the chance of survival in patients living with light chain (AL) amyloidosis. Led by researchers from the Amyloidosis Center at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine, the test incorporates cardiac biomarkers to accurately identify the involvement of the heart in the disease, allowing doctors to predict outcomes of patients with AL amyloidosis. | |
Biology news
 | Machine-learning algorithm predicts how cells repair broken DNAThe human genome has its own proofreaders and editors, and their handiwork is not as haphazard as once thought. |
 | Genetic study shows white rhinos intermixed during ice age offering hope for saving sub-speciesAn international team of researchers has found genetic evidence of northern and southern white rhinoceros' intermingling during the last ice age. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes their study and their hopes that the new information may lead to a new population of hybrids. |
 | Undeterred, gulf fish spawn despite hurricaneEven a Category 4 hurricane doesn't kill the mood for coastal fish—and that's good news for all species, as well as for a multibillion-dollar recreational fishing industry. As extreme weather patterns threaten to bring more and larger storms to the Gulf Coast, new findings from the University of Texas at Austin's Marine Science Institute show some important fish species are able to continue spawning even in a severe storm. |
 | Woodland hawks flock to urban buffetFor the nearly 35 million Americans who faithfully stock their feeders to attract songbirds, an increasingly common sight is a hawk feeding on the birds being fed. |
 | Recovery of endangered whales hampered by humans long after huntingWhen an endangered female North Atlantic right whale spends months, even years, disentangling itself from cast-off fishing nets, there's not much energy left over for mating and nursing calves. |
 | Research team constructs world's most comprehensive digital roadmap to unlock male infertilityMillions of couples who have trouble conceiving may get relief from new research led by scientists at The University of Texas at San Antonio. The researchers have developed a high-resolution genetic map showing how men produce sperm cells. Their effort could help address genetically based challenges with male fertility, a major cause of conception problems. |
 | Bacteria use different strategies to divide and survive under stressUnder laboratory conditions, many common bacteria reproduce and divide into symmetrical halves. In the real world with limited resources, however, conditions aren't always ideal for this kind of carefully planned growth. |
 | Goffin's cockatoos can create and manipulate novel toolsGoffin's cockatoos can tear cardboard into long strips as tools to reach food—but fail to adjust strip width to fit through narrow openings, according to a study published November 7, 2018 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by A.M.I. Auersperg from the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, and colleagues. |
 | Exhaustive analysis reveals cell division's inner timing mechanismsUnderstanding how and when cells divide is important to figuring out everything from how cancers grow to why some mammals are able to get so big. A new study of E. coli cell data, published November 7 in Science Advances, sheds new light on a long-standing question about what triggers cell division. |
 | A new piece to the puzzle sheds light on how UHRF1 regulates gene activityEpigenetic changes often play an important role in cancer, because they cause the genetic material to be read incorrectly at certain locations. Genes that are especially critical are those that control the growth and death of cells. Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum München have now discovered new details about the UHRF1 protein. UHRF1 catalyses particular steps that are required for marking DNA with epigenetic modifications that suppress parts of the genome. As reported in Molecular Cell, the molecule may serve as a target for drug therapies because it is produced at elevated levels in cancer cells. |
 | A possible explanation for why pygmy people in the jungle are so shortA team of researchers from the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Harvard University, the University of Exeter and the University of California has come up with a new theory to explain the short stature of pygmies living in the jungle. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group suggests that shorter steps taken by shorter people are an evolutionary advantage in the jungle. |
 | Research shows how vultures evesdrop to gather vital flight informationA new study has revealed how vultures use their very own social networks to work out the best way to use thermal updrafts to help them fly vast distances. |
 | Microbiome implicated in sea star wasting diseaseThe culprit might be many microbes. Since 2013, a gruesome and mysterious disease has killed millions of sea stars along the West Coast from Mexico to Alaska—making the animals turn to goo, lose their legs, and pull their own bodies into pieces. For years, ocean scientists have searched in vain for the cause. |
 | Chlamydia attacks with Frankenstein proteinWhen Chlamydia trachomatis, the bacterium that causes one of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide, infects a human cell, it hijacks parts of the host to build protective layers around itself. |
 | Goldilocks and the optimal mating distance: Neither too small nor too large but just rightEvolutionary theory predicts that the fitness of an individual is maximized when the genetic differences between its parents are neither too small nor too large but some ideal amount known as the optimal mating distance. |
 | Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument home to rich bee diversityThe state of Utah's nickname is "The Beehive State," and the moniker couldn't be more apt, say Utah State University scientists. One out of every four bee species in the United States is found In Utah and the arid, western state is home to more bee species than most states in the nation. About half of those species dwell within the original boundaries of the newly reduced Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. |
 | Home cleanliness, residents' tolerance predict where cockroaches take up residencePoor home sanitation and residents' tolerance regarding German cockroaches were a good predictor of the pest's presence in their apartments, according to a Rutgers study in Paterson and Irvington, New Jersey. |
 | Trying to understand cells' interior designHow do you imagine the interior of our cells? Often compared to tiny factories, cells found smart and sophisticated ways to organize their interiors. Most biological processes require cells to bring together structures such as proteins and nucleic acids (like DNA) at the right time. Scientists at the Center for Soft and Living Matter, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS, South Korea), have explained how liquid-like droplets made of proteins and DNA form in vitro. Currently, there is a huge interest in understanding the molecular mechanisms behind the creation of such droplets, as it is linked to some human diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The results, published as a featured article in Biophysical Journal, showed how much the sequence of DNA matters in the formation of such droplets. |
 | How we wiped out the invasive African big-headed ant from Lord Howe IslandThe invasive African big-headed ant (Pheidole megacephala) was found on Lord Howe Island in 2003 following complaints from residents about large numbers of ants in buildings. |
 | Discovery: Rare three-species hybrid warblerScientists have shown that a bird found in Pennsylvania is the offspring of a hybrid warbler mother and a warbler father from an entirely different genus—a combination never recorded before now and which resulted in a three-species hybrid bird. This finding has just been published in the journal Biology Letters. |
 | Need to mail mosquitoes? Pack them up nice and snugIn the global effort to prevent diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, several promising new techniques for reducing their populations are all based on a single concept: fighting mosquitoes with mosquitoes. |
 | An overlooked giant: Useful and abundant, African 'Zam' palm newly described for scienceCommon sight along road sides in south Cameroon and western Gabon, and growing in hard-to-be-missed dense colonies, it remains a mystery how this locally useful new palm species Raphia zamiana (locally known as "Zam") has been missed by botanists until now, with its first collection dating to 2012. The overlooked giant has been recently described in the open access journal PhytoKeys, alongside a shy and rare endemic from the same genus. |
 | After a bad winter in the ocean, female Magellanic penguins suffer most, study showsEvery autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, Magellanic penguins leave their coastal nesting sites in South America. For adults, their summer task—breeding, or at least trying to—is complete. Newly fledged chicks and adults gradually head out to sea to spend the winter feeding. They won't return to land until spring. |
 | Hawk study could benefit conservationResearchers at the University of Cincinnati are perfecting an innovative way to track the migration of elusive wildlife to help in their conservation. |
 | First monarch butterflies arrive at Mexico wintering areaThe first monarch butterflies have arrived at their wintering grounds in the mountains of central Mexico almost a week later than usual, Mexico's Environment Department said Wednesday. |
 | Modern slavery promotes overfishingLabour abuses, including modern slavery, are 'hidden subsidies' that allow distant-water fishing fleets to remain profitable and promote overfishing, new research from the University of Western Australia and the Sea Around Us initiative at the University of British Columbia has found. |
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