Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for December 3, 2018:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Astronomers detect low-mass brown dwarf around A-type main-sequence starUsing HATSouth Exoplanet Survey, an international group of astronomers has discovered a low-mass brown dwarf transiting an A-type main-sequence star. The newly detected brown dwarf, designated HATS-70b, is the first such object found around a star of this type. The finding is detailed in a paper published November 16 on arXiv.org. |
 | NASA's Martian quake sensor InSight lands at slight angleNASA's unmanned Martian quake sensor, InSight, has landed at a slight angle on the Red Planet, and experts are hopeful the spacecraft will work as planned, the US space agency said Friday. |
 | Planet Earth working on 3 Mars landers to follow InSightAs Mars' newest resident settles in, Planet Earth is working on three more landers and at least two orbiters to join the scientific Martian brigade. |
 | Mars new home 'a large sandbox'With InSight safely on the surface of Mars, the mission team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is busy learning more about the spacecraft's landing site. They knew when InSight landed on Nov. 26 that the spacecraft had touched down on target, a lava plain named Elysium Planitia. Now they've determined that the vehicle sits slightly tilted (about 4 degrees) in a shallow dust- and sand-filled impact crater known as a "hollow." InSight has been engineered to operate on a surface with an inclination up to 15 degrees. |
 | Curiosity to study possible meteorite on Mars surfaceCuriosity woke up to Mr Rogers' "Please would you be my neighbour" this morning to welcome InSight, and then got busy at the Highfield drill site. Curiosity will dump the Highfield sample, which requires several MAHLI looks and an APXS operation, but the plan also requires swinging the arm out of the way so other instruments can have their unobscured look at the dump pile. |
 | LCO and NASA's Kepler work together to determine origins of supernovaAstronomers at Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) are part of an international team of scientists who used NASA's Kepler satellite to catch a rare glimpse of a Type Ia supernova minutes after explosion. The supernova, named SN 2018oh, was brighter than expected over the first few days. The increased brightness is an indication that it slammed into a nearby companion star. This adds to the growing body of evidence that some, but not all, of these thermonuclear supernovae have a large companion star that triggers the explosion. |
 | How do stellar binaries form?Most stars with the mass of the sun or larger have one or more companion stars, but when and how these multiple stars form is one of the controversial central problems of astronomy. Gravity contracts the natal gas and dust in an interstellar cloud until clumps develop that are dense enough to coalesce into stars, but how are multiple stars fashioned? Because the shrinking cloud has a slight spin, a disk (possibly a preplanetary system) eventually forms. In one model of binary star formation, this disk fragments due to gravitational instabilities, producing a second star. The other model argues that turbulence in the contracting cloud itself fragments the clumps into multiple star systems. In the first case, simulations show that the two stars should be relatively close together, typically less than about 600 astronomical units (one AU is the average distance of the earth from the sun). If the second mechanism is correct, both close and wide binary pairs can form. A distinguishing feature of the turbulent fragmentation process, and one that facilitates an observational test, is that the seeds for multiplicity are produced early in the pre-stellar phases. |
 | Charting a course for astronaut safety as NASA launches to the Moon and to MarsIn the next decade, NASA aims to launch humankind toward the moon and on to Mars—a monumental step in crewed space travel. Such a journey is filled with challenges and perils, not unlike those faced by the first explorers to cross the ocean. However, instead of stormy seas, these explorers will set sail amid the hazards of the heliosphere—the magnetic environment emanating out from the sun and encompassing the solar system. The risks of travelling through this realm ultimately ride on how well we can understand the dynamics therein. |
 | The water in Saturn's rings and satellites is like that on Earth except for moon Phoebe, which is out of this worldBy developing a new method for measuring isotopic ratios of water and carbon dioxide remotely, scientists have found that the water in Saturn's rings and satellites is unexpectedly like water on the Earth, except on Saturn's moon Phoebe, where the water is more unusual than on any other object so far studied in the Solar System. |
 | NASA spacecraft arrives at ancient asteroid, its first visitorAfter a two-year chase, a NASA spacecraft arrived Monday at the ancient asteroid Bennu, its first visitor in billions of years. |
 | SpaceX launches 64 satellites at onceSpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket on Monday, sending an unusual payload into space—64 satellites at the same time, a US record. |
 | Three astronauts safely aboard International Space Station (Update)Three astronauts who were launched into space aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft Monday entered the International Space Station nearly eight hours later, a relief to relatives and scientists months after a rocket failure aborted another mission. |
 | Soyuz heads to ISS on first manned mission since October failure (Update)A Soyuz rocket carrying Russian, American and Canadian astronauts took off from Kazakhstan and reached orbit on Monday, the first manned mission since a failed launch in October. |
 | Three astronauts blast off to International Space StationThree astronauts have blasted off to the International Space Station, a successful launch that follows October's aborted mission. |
 | An artificial Proba-2 view of the solar north poleWe've sent numerous missions into space to study the Sun; past and present solar explorers include ESA's Proba-2 (PRoject for OnBoard Autonomy 2) and SOHO (SOlar Heliospheric Observatory) probes, NASA's SDO and STEREO missions (the Solar Dynamics Observatory and Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, respectively), and the joint NASA/ESA Ulysses mission. However, most of these spacecraft have focused mainly on the equatorial regions of the Sun, with the notable exception of Ulysses – this probe observed our star at a wide range of latitudes for nearly two decades, until the mission came to an end in 2009. |
 | NASA's first asteroid sample-collector arrives at target, BennuNASA's first-ever mission designed to visit an asteroid and return a sample of its dust back to Earth arrived Monday at its destination, Bennu, two years after launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida. |
Technology news
 | Research explores the ethical implications of creating sentient and self-aware sexbotsSo far, robots have primarily been developed to fulfill utilitarian purposes, assisting humans or serving as tools to facilitate the completion of particular tasks. As robots become more human-like, however, this could pose significant challenges, particularly for robots built to engage with humans socially. |
 | This new atomic clock is so exact, it could be used to detect dark matterScientists have invented a new clock that keeps time more precisely than any that have come before. |
 | A sensor called Structure Core will serve the spatial-awareness needyGood news for those wanting to work with a depth-sensing camera. Occipital is announcing Structure Core sensor—a 3-D perception system that goes on sale next year. Target users would be roboticists, developers, hardware hackers, R&D. |
 | How engineers are straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa"It's still straightening," said engineer Roberto Cela, gazing at the Leaning Tower of Pisa gleaming in the autumn sunshine of northern Italy. "And many years will have to pass before it stops." |
 | As I move, it moves: Toyota's humanoid robot will rock in action modeGood things happen when Toyota cozies up to the next generation 5G technology. The news is not about self-driving cars but rather another "tomorrow" topic, in the name of robotics. Toyota has turned to 5G to remotely control a robot and with success. |
 | Micro-manufacturing technology promises a revolution in blood testingImagine a pocket-sized device that can conduct laboratory-scale testing in an instant. Now imagine that device applied to the medical industry, affording a revolution in diagnosis and health monitoring worldwide. |
 | Utility customers overestimate cost savings with energy-conservation plansWhen deciding whether to participate in programs designed to conserve energy during peak hours, consumers appear to rely more on their intuition about how much money they're saving rather than on proof their bills are smaller, a new study has found. |
 | Fix Facebook, whether it wants to or not: whistleblowerEight months after revealing the links between Facebook and Cambridge Analytica (CA), whistleblower Christopher Wylie is pushing for the internet giant to be regulated—whether it wants to or not. |
 | France, Japan uphold auto alliance amid Ghosn crisisThe leaders of France and Japan on Friday stood by the Renault-Nissan auto alliance despite ructions from the arrest of its chief executive, officials said. |
 | Green finance blooms as investors look beyond profitsEnvironment-friendly finance is blooming thanks to investors willing to weigh profits against ecology, but decisions about meaningful investments can be complex. |
 | Attack of the small screens: Africa eyes mobile gaming boomAn army of humans laid waste to an alien colony as South African video game maker Simon Spreckley enthusiastically controlled the action using his phone's touch screen. |
 | Olympic broadcasters gear up for the biggest show on earthClock-watching is an integral part of any Olympic Games but even the most eagle-eyed sporting anoraks might be forgiven for missing the fact that Sunday marks 600 days until the start of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. |
 | Weibo eyes expansion to 'Chinese-speaking world'Chinese social media giant Weibo is making a push into foreign markets and is considering launching new products in different languages, a senior executive told AFP, brushing off concerns over censorship and credibility. |
 | Turning the page: Japan's last pager service ends after 50 yearsThe end of the pager era is nigh in Japan after five decades as the country's last provider announced on Monday it would be scrapping its service next year. |
 | Dual 8-bit breakthroughs bring AI to the edgeThis week, at the International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) and the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), IBM researchers will showcase new hardware that will take AI further than it's been before: right to the edge. Our novel approaches for digital and analog AI chips boost speed and slash energy demand for deep learning, without sacrificing accuracy. On the digital side, we're setting the stage for a new industry standard in AI training with an approach that achieves full accuracy with eight-bit precision, accelerating training time by two to four times over today's systems. On the analog side, we report eight-bit precision—the highest yet—for an analog chip, roughly doubling accuracy compared with previous analog chips while consuming 33x less energy than a digital architecture of similar precision. These achievements herald a new era of computing hardware designed to unleash the full potential of AI. |
 | Interpretability and performance: Can the same model achieve both?Interpretability and performance of a system are usually at odds with each other, as many of the best-performing models (viz. deep neural networks) are black box in nature. In our work, Improving Simple Models with Confidence Profiles, we try to bridge this gap by proposing a method to transfer information from a high-performing neural network to another model that the domain expert or the application may demand. For example, in computational biology and economics, sparse linear models are often preferred, while in complex instrumented domains such as semi-conductor manufacturing, the engineers might prefer using decision trees. Such simpler interpretable models can build trust with the expert and provide useful insight leading to discovery of novel and previously unknown facts. Our goal is pictorially depicted below, for a specific case in which we are trying to improve performance of a decision tree. |
 | Novel color sensors are less expensive to manufactureIn the FOWINA project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen and the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg have developed novel color sensors with a special microlens arrangement. The sensors can be realized directly on the chip and combine multiple functions in a minimum of space. Their extremely slim design makes the sensors suitable for a wide range of applications, such as in mobile devices or color-adjustable LED lamps. |
 | Creating digital twins of materialsTo ensure the digital networking of production systems and the optimization of material-specific requirements, we need to measure, analyze and replicate the changes in material properties in a process in which "digital twins" of materials are created. The materials data space developed by Fraunhofer researchers has laid the groundwork for this process. |
 | Precisely fitting bone implants from the printerCancerous tumors, infections or bad fractures can make it necessary to surgically remove bones and insert implants in their place. In collaboration with European partners, Fraunhofer researchers have now developed a technique with which bone implants that are precisely fitting, stable and variable in dimensions can be 3-D printed from a special plastic. The secret lies in the printing process, where the individual layers are treated with a cold plasma in order to improve the bonding of bone-forming cells. |
 | Imec reports for the first time direct growth of 2-D materials on 300mm wafersThis week, at the 2018 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), imec, the world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, presents a 300mm-wafer platform for MOSFET devices with 2-D materials. 2-D materials could provide the path towards extreme device-dimension scaling as they are atomically precise and suffer little from short channel effects. Other possible applications of 2-D materials could come from using them as switches in the BEOL, which puts an upper limit on the allowed temperature budget in the integration flow. |
 | Leak site's launch shows dilemma of radical transparencyA new leak website is wrestling with what to make available to the public, an illustration of the difficulty of balancing full transparency with respect for privacy in an age of mass disclosures. |
 | Where are the drones? Amazon's customers are still waitingJeff Bezos boldly predicted five years ago that drones would be carrying Amazon packages to people's doorsteps by now. |
 | Television holds ground for news, as print fades: US studyTelevision remains the biggest source of news for Americans, with print losing further ground to digital services, a survey showed Monday. |
 | Tumblr bans porn to clean up the blogging platformTumblr on Monday said it is banning adult content from the Yahoo-owned blogging platform, which saw its app pulled from Apple's App Store last month over child pornography. |
 | Nanotechnology solution for photovoltaic systemsPhotovoltaic (PV) systems, which harvest sustainable and clean energy from the sun, accumulate dirt or particles like dust, water and sand. This build-up leads to a reduction in the light energy reaching the solar cells and lowers their power output by up to 50%, according to some studies. Therefore, it's crucial to keep them clean. However, the process of regular cleaning and maintenance could be costly and also waste water. |
 | Nexstar to buy Tribune Media for $4.1 bnTribune Media agreed Monday to be acquired by Nexstar Media Group for $4.1 billion in a deal that would create the largest operator local US television stations. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Neuroscientists pinpoint genes tied to dementiaA UCLA-led research team has identified genetic processes involved in the neurodegeneration that occurs in dementia—an important step on the path toward developing therapies that could slow or halt the course of the disease. The findings appear Dec. 3 in the journal Nature Medicine. |
 | A cancer drug may help treat human papillomavirus infectionsPreclinical experiments by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers suggest the cancer drugs vorinostat, belinostat and panobinostat might be repurposed to treat infections caused by human papillomaviruses, or HPVs. |
 | Immunotherapy keeps some advanced head and neck cancer patients alive for over three yearsA new immunotherapy can greatly extend the lives of a proportion of people with advanced head and neck cancer, with some living for three years or more, a major new clinical trial reports. |
 | In vitro cell culture findings could lead to novel interventions for schizophreniaA study recently published in Translational Psychiatry, a Nature journal, has shown how using cultured cells from patients with psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, to investigate abnormalities in nerve connections in the brain could lead to new treatments. Strong correlations were observed between the findings in the cells in culture—grown outside the body in a controlled environment—and findings from brain imaging performed on the very same human participants. |
 | Opioid prescriptions from dentists linked to youth addiction riskTeens and young adults who receive their initial opioid prescriptions from their dentists or oral surgeons are at increased risk for opioid addiction in the following year, a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine has found. |
 | Stentrode developed for brain treatments without major surgeryAustralian researchers have developed a tiny device that electrically stimulates the brain and could one day be used to treat conditions such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease without invasive surgery. |
 | Discovery may lead to safer drugs to save more women in childbirthPostpartum hemorrhaging is the world's leading cause of death for women during and after childbirth, and the third-leading cause in the United States alone. Many doctors in developing countries have turned to the drug misoprostol to save more women from deadly bleeding. |
 | Study discovers 40 new genetic variants associated with colorectal cancer riskThe most comprehensive genome-wide association study, or GWAS, of colorectal cancer risk to date, published today in Nature Genetics, has discovered 40 new genetic variants and validated 55 previously identified variants that signal an increased risk of colon cancer. |
 | A sobering conclusion: Adult hearts contain no stem cellsA detailed cell-by-cell map of all dividing cells in the adult murine heart before and after myocardial infarction was created using advanced molecular and genetic technologies in a combined research effort led by Hans Clevers from the Hubrecht Institute (Netherlands). The authors conclude that the adult heart does not contain heart stem cells. Cells identified as heart stem cells in previous studies turn out to produce blood vessels or immune cells, but never heart muscle. |
 | Ibrutinib outperforms chemoimmunotherapy in older patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemiaResults from an multi-institutional, phase 3 clinical trial show that older patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have a significantly lower rate of disease progression if treated with the newer targeted drug, ibrutinib, rather than bendamustine plus rituximab—the regimen previously considered as one of the most effective therapies in this group of patients. |
 | The long and short of CDK12Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes pose a serious risk for breast and ovarian cancer because they endanger the genomic stability of a cell by interfering with homologous recombination repair (HR), a key mechanism for accurately repairing harmful double-stranded breaks in DNA. Without the ability to use HR to fix double-stranded breaks, the cell is forced to resort to more error-prone—and thus more cancer-prone—forms of DNA repair. |
 | Free, publicly available health data proves to be research gold mineIt's a popular question: What did you do over the summer? For Lubaba (Aurna) Khan, the summer of 2018 will be one she will never forget. |
 | Targeting sepsis, the leading cause of ICU deaths, with a nanocarrier-delivered microRNAOne in three patients who die in the U.S. dies of sepsis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is one of the leading causes of death in intensive care units and, with an estimated price tag of $20 billion in 2011, the most expensive condition that hospitals treat. |
 | New drug combination could be more effective against melanomaA class of cancer drugs called protein kinase inhibitors is one of the most effective treatments for melanoma. However, in many cases, tumors eventually become resistant to the drugs and cause a relapse in the patient. |
 | Scientists use EEG to decode how people navigate complex sequencesTo perform a song, a dance or write computer code, people need to call upon the basic elements of their craft and then order and recombine them in creative ways. |
 | Researchers develop accurate, non-invasive method to detect bladder cancerA research team led by Tufts University engineers has developed a non-invasive method for detecting bladder cancer that might make screening easier and more accurate than current invasive clinical tests involving visual inspection of bladder. In the first successful use of atomic force microscopy (AFM) for clinical diagnostic purposes, the researchers have been able to identify signature features of cancerous cells found in patients' urine by developing a nanoscale resolution map of the cells' surface, as reported today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). |
 | Risk factors like smoking, high BP common among younger patients with repeat heart attacksHeart attacks reoccurred more frequently in younger patients with several modifiable risk factors, including smoking and high blood pressure. Researchers on the new study, presented at the American College of Cardiology Asia Conference 2018 in Shanghai, suggested secondary preventive programs for younger patients should target modifiable risk factors. |
 | App helps breast cancer survivors improve health after treatmentBreast cancer survivors who used a smartphone app created at Houston Methodist consistently lost weight, largely due to daily, real-time interactions with their health care team via the mobile app. Few clinically-tested mobile apps exist today with clear measurable goals to support continued care of cancer survivors and patients. |
 | What are the ethics of baby gene-editing?A Chinese scientist's stunning claim he has pioneered the world's first genetically modified baby has suddenly made the eternal debate over ethics and emerging scientific capabilities pressing and real. |
 | Are doctors and teachers confusing immaturity and attention deficit?The youngest children in a given class at school are more likely to be diagnosed with an attention deficit disorder than those older than them, according to an American study triggering renewed debate on overdiagnosing. |
Government investigation finds flaws in FDA's orphan drug programThe Food and Drug Administration has failed to ensure that drugs given prized rare-disease status meet the intent of a 35-year-old law, federal officials revealed in a report Friday. | |
Studies suggest immunotherapy adds punch to earlier attemptsNew drugs that harness the body's immune system to destroy cancer cells appear to increase the effectiveness of later drug therapies for non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin lymphoma patients, new research suggests. This happens, scientists say, even for repeat drug therapies whose initial attempts failed to stop or reverse the disease. | |
 | Sickle cell anemia treatment safely lowers disease burden in African childrenA daily hydroxyurea pill may finally bring some relief for young children living with the painful and deadly blood disease sickle cell anemia (SCA) in resource-challenged sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease is prevalent and health care availability is suboptimal. |
Global trial shows CAR T therapy can lead to durable remissions in non-Hodgkin's lymphomaIn an update to a global clinical trial stretching from Philadelphia to four continents, the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel, formerly CTL019) led to long-lasting remissions in patients with relapsed/refractory (r/r) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The most recent results from the trial will be presented today at the 60th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego (Abstract #1684). Stephen J. Schuster, MD, director of the Lymphoma Program at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, was the principal investigator on the trial, which is known as JULIET and has already led to approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as well as by the European Commission, Health Canada, and Swissmedic. Another data set from the JULIET trial with an earlier cut-off date will also be published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). | |
CAR-T cell update: Therapy improves outcomes for patients with B-cell lymphomaAn international phase-2 trial of a CAR-T cell therapy—to be published on-line Dec. 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine (and presented at the ASH annual meeting in San Diego)—found that 52 percent of patients responded favorably to the therapy; 40 percent had a complete response and 12 percent had a partial response. One year later, 65 percent percent of those patients were relapse-free, including 79 percent of complete responders. The median progression-free survival 'has not been reached.' | |
High-strength opioid formulations: The case for the federal minister of health to recall themOne regulatory tool that has yet to be deployed to curb the ongoing opioid epidemic is the power of the federal minister of health to recall high-strength opioid formulations from the market. These opioid formulations can harm patients with chronic pain in multiple ways and the minister could recall them, argues a commentary in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). | |
Epileptics in high-crime neighborhoods have three times as many seizuresPeople with epilepsy living in high crime neighborhoods in Chicago had three times as many seizures as those living in neighborhoods with lower crime rates according to new research from the University of Illinois at Chicago presented at the American Epilepsy Society 2018 conference in New Orleans. | |
 | Bonus for superior snoozing: Students who meet 8-hour sleep challenge do better on finalsStudents given extra points if they met "The 8-hour Challenge"—averaging eight hours of sleep for five nights during final exams week—did better than those who snubbed (or flubbed) the incentive, according to Baylor University research. |
Baby's first cold can last longer depending on nose-dwelling bacteriaNew research on the types of bacteria living in babies' noses could offer clues as to why some recover quickly from their first cough or cold, while others suffer for longer. | |
 | Top tot toys? Blocks and boxes backed over high-tech toysSkip the costly electronic games and flashy digital gizmos. Pediatricians say the best toys for tots are old-fashioned hands-on playthings that young children can enjoy with parents—things like blocks, puzzles—even throwaway cardboard boxes—that spark imagination and creativity. |
 | New review highlights importance of good sleep routines for childrenSleep hygiene, which includes practices like providing a cool and quiet sleeping environment or reading before bed time to help kids unwind, is increasingly popular among parents looking to ensure their children get a good night's rest. But are these practices all they're cracked up to be? University of British Columbia sleep expert and nursing professor Wendy Hall recently led a review of the latest studies to find out. |
Women reveal the reasons they reject a preventive drug for breast cancerOnly around a fifth of women at higher risk of developing breast cancer think they need to take a drug proven to help prevent the disease, according to new research funded by Cancer Research UK and published today (Monday) in Clinical Breast Cancer. | |
 | Tool identifies which patients with COPD are at risk of death, serious complicationsA new decision tool to help emergency physicians identify patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are at high risk of serious complications, including death, performs better than current practice, according to a validation study of the Ottawa COPD Risk Scale in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). |
 | Running a marathon can increase cardiac strain in amateur runnersFull marathons may significantly raise concentrations of several biomarkers of strain on the heart, according to new research in Circulation, Journal of the American Heart Association. |
 | Poor sleep, missed meals, less mobility and stress in hospital may lead to readmissionPatients who experience disturbances in sleep, mobility, nutrition or mood while admitted in hospital may be more likely to be readmitted within 30 days after discharge, finds a new study co-led by St. Michael's Hospital and the University Health Network (UHN) in Canada. |
Combination immunotherapy shows high activity against recurrent Hodgkin lymphomaA new combination of three drugs that harness the body's immune system is safe and effective, destroying most cancer cells in 95 percent of patients with recurrent Hodgkin lymphoma, according to the results of an early-phase study. | |
 | Nervous tummy: Why you might get the runs before a first dateSo, you're going on a date and you're understandably a bit nervous. And then you feel it – a churning and cramping in your gut. Suddenly you're running to the toilet and wondering why your body reacts this way. How does a case of nerves translate to an upset stomach? What is actually happening in your body? |
 | What is nitrous oxide, and how dangerous is it?Media reports last week linked the use of "nangs" to the death of a teenager at schoolies week on the Gold Coast. Hamish Bidgood died when he fell from a balcony. He and his friends had reportedly been using "nangs" that day. |
 | Why do we stay in unhappy relationships? Research offers answersWhy do we remain in romantic relationships that leave us unhappy and unfulfilled? The answer in two new studies co-authored by a University of Toronto researcher might surprise you. |
 | Culturally tailored text messages improve Alzheimer's education among African-AmericansA new USC study shows that older African-Americans who received culturally tailored text messages about Alzheimer's disease had the highest increase in Alzheimer's disease literacy levels when compared with other participants. |
 | A change in marital status affects the number of daily steps takenAccording to a recent study, changes in relationships have links to physical activity. The total number of non-exercise steps was reduced during a four-year follow-up study for men who divorced. For women who found a new spouse between the measurement points, the total steps decreased significantly when compared to women married throughout the period. |
 | More than half of English female heart patients missing out on aftercareMore than 50 percent of women do not take up cardiac rehabilitation following heart issues, according to a new report. |
 | Fighting the crave for fattening food? Just surround yourself in its scentJust a whiff of fried food may entice you to order a high-calorie meal. But breathe it in for longer than two minutes, and you're more likely to be content with fruit. |
 | How you respond to drama depends on if you are a holistic or analytical thinkerMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of people watching the same clip from a dramatic film show that holistic thinkers all have similar brain responses to the scene, whereas analytical thinkers respond differently to each other. |
 | Patients with cancer are more at risk of complications following heart procedureIn the largest such study undertaken to date, research led by Keele University suggests that patients with cancer who undergo a common heart procedure have worse short-term clinical outcomes compared to non-cancer patients, . |
 | Research: A third of hospitalised adolescents with life-threatening anorexia are not thinHealth workers are being urged to closely monitor adolescents losing weight after a study of patients with anorexia nervosa found 31 per cent had all the cognitive features and physical complications of the disease without being underweight. |
 | Beta cell biomarker findings may speed diabetes researchResearchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified a biomarker for insulin-producing beta cells. Their finding, reported this month in the journal Cell Metabolism, could lead to improved ways to study and treat diabetes. |
 | Lung cancer survival signalSmall cell lung cancer (SCLC) represents up to 25 percent of lung cancer cell deaths and is associated with early metastasis and poor patient survival. Thus, SCLC is in need of better therapeutics and more efficient targeted treatments. |
 | Green tea and diabetesStudies investigating the association between tea consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes have had inconsistent findings. |
 | Analyzing single-cell landscapesSingle-cell RNA sequencing is a powerful tool for studying cellular diversity, for example in cancer where varied tumor cell types determine diagnosis, prognosis and response to therapy. Single-cell technologies generate hundreds to thousands of data points per sample, generating a need for new methods to define cell populations across different single-cell landscapes. |
 | Parsing diabetic skin infectionsPeople with diabetes are more susceptible to skin infection. According to a new study by C. Henrique Serezani, Ph.D., Stephanie Brandt, Ph.D., and colleagues, this susceptibility might be due to overabundance of a compound produced by phagocytes, called leukotriene B4 (LTB4). |
 | Research reveals AIDS stigma remains in AustraliaAs Australia marks World AIDS Day on Saturday 1 December, new research reveals the enduring challenge of tackling stigma surrounding HIV. |
 | Study reveals gut microbes may help protect people having a bone marrow transplantResearchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) reported results from a new study that looks at the likelihood of complications for people undergoing bone marrow transplants (BMTs). The observational study found that people with lower gut microbiota diversity before having a transplant appear to be at higher risk for developing complications. These findings further support evidence that the connection between microbiota and outcomes starts before people begin the transplantation process. These findings were presented as part of the 2018 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) press program. |
 | Gentle treatment for premature babies with lung diseasesPremature babies who are born before their lungs have finished maturing often suffer from a lack of surfactant – a substance necessary for lung development. They are also particularly susceptible to illnesses of the respiratory organ, which have to be treated by means of inhalation. However, the inhalation systems available are not geared to the needs of preterm infants and newborns. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM are working with partners to develop a system that would allow drugs to be administered as aerosols in an efficient and breath-triggered manner. This would shorten therapy duration, thereby easing the strain on little bodies. |
 | Experimental cancer drug shows promise for Parkinson'sThe study, funded by Parkinson's UK, suggests that the drug, tasquinimod, which is not yet on the market, works by controlling genes that may cause Parkinson's. This happens when the drug interacts with a protein inside brain cells. |
 | How where you're born influences the person you becomeAs early as the fifth century, the Greek philosopher Thucydides contrasted the self-control and stoicism of Spartans with the more indulgent and free-thinking citizens of Athens. |
 | Global map of HIV reveals challenge to vaccine developmentA study to be published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on World AIDS Day shows the extraordinary global genetic diversity of HIV and highlights just how big the challenge is to develop a vaccine to combat the global spread of HIV. |
 | Presence of antiphospholipid antibodies tied to first-time MI(HealthDay)—There is a strong and independent association between the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) and first-time myocardial infarction (MI), according to a research letter published recently in the Annals of Internal Medicine. |
 | Are you married to bickering?(HealthDay)—If you bicker a lot with your spouse, it could be because you're running low on energy. Low energy translates to less self-control and a greater chance of aggression. |
 | Is all well with your drinking water?(HealthDay)—More than 15 million homes in the United States get their water from private wells, according to federal estimates. |
 | Some types of epilepsy pose more risks during pregnancy(HealthDay)—Women with frontal lobe epilepsy are much more likely to have an increase in seizures during pregnancy than those with focal epilepsy or generalized epilepsy, researchers report. |
 | Sudden death risk in epilepsy can wane over time(HealthDay)—The risk of sudden unexpected death in people with epilepsy can change over time, and it usually changes for the better, a new study reports. |
 | Benefits of CBD liquid for epilepsy may fade with time: study(HealthDay)—A marijuana-derived drug that helps control epileptic seizures appears to become less effective over time in some patients, a new Israeli study reports. |
 | Teva recalls two blood pressure medications(HealthDay)—All lots of amlodipine/valsartan and amlodipine/valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide combination blood pressure tablets have been recalled by Teva Pharmaceuticals due to higher-than-acceptable levels of a chemical that may cause cancer. |
 | Case description can reliably define acute flaccid myelitis(HealthDay)—A case description can reliably define patients with acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), according to a study published online Nov. 30 in JAMA Pediatrics. |
New two-year data show 39 percent of NHL patients treated with CAR T remain in remissionA new article published today in The Lancet Oncology shows 39 percent of large B cell lymphoma patients treated with the chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR T) Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) remained in remission more than two years (27.1 months median follow up) following therapy, and more than half of the patients treated remain alive. The new long-term safety and activity results of the ZUMA-1 clinical trial were also presented Sunday, Dec. 2 at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in San Diego. | |
 | Genetic relic of the 'black death' may offer clues in treating liver diseaseA gene mutation that is believed to have safeguarded some people in 14th century Europe from the bubonic plague today may be protecting HIV patients co-infected with hepatitis C from potentially fatal liver scarring, says a University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine physician-scientist. |
Tailored lifestyle feedback during colorectal cancer screening improved health behaviorsA program that provided individually tailored lifestyle recommendations for patients undergoing screening for colorectal cancer helped encourage healthy behavior, according to results published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. | |
 | Epigenetic map may pave way for new therapeutic solutions to hearing lossEpigenetics is the expression and control of genes. The epigenetics involved in the inner ear is a critical part of the mystery of hearing. A team led by Prof. Karen B. Avraham, Vice Dean of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, has now created the first map of "methylation"—one of the body's main epigenetic signals—that reflects the functioning of the inner ear in its entirety. |
 | Hoosier firefighters face higher risk of dying from cancer than non-firefightersHoosier firefighters face a significantly higher risk of dying from cancer than non-firefighters in Indiana, according to a study that shows death from malignant cancers was the leading cause of death for Indiana firefighters between 1985 and 2013. |
 | Essential oils from garlic and other herbs kill 'persister' Lyme disease bacteriaOils from garlic and several other common herbs and medicinal plants show strong activity against the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, according to a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. These oils may be especially useful in alleviating Lyme symptoms that persist despite standard antibiotic treatment, the study also suggests. |
 | Alcohol intake may be key to long-term weight loss for people with diabetesResearch shows that losing weight can help prevent or delay the onset of diabetes. While best practice for weight loss often includes decreasing or eliminating calories from alcohol, few studies examine whether people who undergo weight loss treatment report changes in alcohol intake and whether alcohol influences their weight loss. |
 | One in four patients say they've skimped on insulin because of high costFor patients with diabetes, insulin is a life-saving medicine and an essential component of diabetes management, yet in the past decade alone, the out-of-pocket costs for insulin have doubled in the United States. One-quarter of patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes have reported using less insulin than prescribed due to these high costs, Yale researchers write in JAMA Internal Medicine, and over a third of those patients experiencing cost-related underuse said they never discussed this reality with their provider. |
 | Boys with social difficulties most susceptible to early substance use, study findsBoys who enter sixth-grade with co-occurring social skills, anxiety, learning and conduct problems are at the greatest risk of developing aggressive behavior and using tobacco, alcohol and marijuana by the end of eighth grade, a new study found. |
 | Study takes stand on true health benefits of getting up out of your chairOffice employees who opt to stand when working are likely to be burning only fractionally more calories than their seated colleagues, according to new research from the University of Bath. |
For older adults with heart failure: Can taking too many medications reduce the ability to perform daily activities?As we age, we tend to develop a number of chronic health conditions and concerns. Often, managing health problems can mean that older adults may take many different medications. When older adults take five or more medicines (a scenario health experts call "polypharmacy", it can increase the risk of harmful side effects. | |
Women in hospital medicine face major obstaclesWomen in hospital medicine face major obstacles during pregnancy, parental leave and returning to work, prompting a discussion about gender equity in medicine, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. | |
Investigators discover compounds that block reactivation of latent HIV-1A team of investigators from the University of Pittsburgh has identified compounds that block the reactivation of latent HIV-1 in a human cell line containing the latent virus. The research is published December 3rd in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. | |
 | Retail outlets using telehealth pose significant privacy, policy concerns for health careA significant shift in the health care market is well underway, with various insurers, medical groups, vendors and supply chains pursuing acquisitions and mergers to expand their services, and retail outlets, from Walmart and Amazon to Rite-Aid and Albertsons, delivering health care services, including telehealth. |
Despite increase in telehealth participation, underserved populations use telehealth leastDespite a substantial increase in the overall use of telehealth services, underserved populations continue to use telehealth options least, according to a new study by the George Washington University Health Workforce Research Center. The paper, "Are State Telehealth Policies Associated with the Use of Telehealth Services Among Underserved Populations?" was published today in the December issue of the journal Health Affairs. | |
For large health systems, telehealth programs mean challenges and resultsFor many patients, a doctor's visit can mean weeks long waits for an appointment, transportation issues and other inconveniences even for brief encounters that don't require a physical exam. | |
Heart failure telemedicine programs prove effective six months after discharge, study findsHome telemedicine programs for heart failure are effective at preventing death for at least six months after hospitalization, but generally lose any benefit after one year, according to a meta-analysis of clinical trials published today and announced tomorrow at a briefing. These findings, published in the December issue of Health Affairs by a study team led by Feinstein Institute for Medical Research Professor Renee Pekmezaris, Ph.D., help educate health care professionals how to refine heart failure telemedicine programs and about who most benefits from these programs. | |
 | New tool to find and fight most dangerous types of lymphomaUK scientists have found a new way to identify people with the most aggressive types of lymphoma who are less likely to respond to standard drugs. |
Study shows promise for fighting relapsed blood cancer with CAR-T immunotherapy, chemotherapyUniversity of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers reported promising early results from a clinical study of an investigational cellular immunotherapy that used a patient's own, genetically engineered immune cells to recognize and fight Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells. | |
 | Rural youth with mild head injuries face higher medical costs, less careFamilies of rural children with mild head injuries pay more for medical care and get less of it, a Washington State University analysis has found. |
Researchers say oral apixaban safe and effective for treating blood clots in cancer patientsMayo Clinic researchers have found that an oral drug, apixaban, used to treat blood clots in patients undergoing cancer therapy, is safe and effective. The drug was associated with fewer major bleeding events and fewer recurrent blood clots, compared to low-molecular- weight heparin. Their findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology by Robert McBane II M.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist. | |
 | High childhood BMI linked to obesity at age 24 in womenGirls who gain weight more rapidly between the ages of 5 and 15 are more likely to be obese at age 24, according to researchers. |
 | Joint mobilization plus exercise beneficial for knee osteoarthritis(HealthDay)—Patellar mobilization therapy (PMT) plus exercise has the potential to reduce pain and improve function and quality of life for patients with knee osteoarthritis, according to a phase 2 study published Nov. 12 in the Annals of Family Medicine. |
 | Shifting pattern seen for primary care office visits(HealthDay)—Among patients with employer-sponsored insurance, there was a decline in visits to primary care physicians (PCPs) from 2012 to 2016, according to a brief released Nov. 15 by the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI). |
 | Core language skill stable from infancy to adolescence(HealthDay)—A core language skill, extracted from multiple measures, is stable from infancy to adolescence in children, including atypically developing children, according to a study published online Nov. 21 in Science Advances. |
 | More people worldwide now know their HIV status(HealthDay)—Three-quarters of patients living with HIV worldwide know their infection status, according to Knowledge Is Power, a new report released Nov. 22 by UNAIDS. |
 | Impact of fructose varies with energy control, food source(HealthDay)—Energy control and food source appear to mediate the effect of fructose-containing sugars on glycemic control, according to a review published online Nov. 21 in The BMJ. |
More than half of patients alive 2 years after receiving CAR-T therapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in ZUMA-1 trialA follow-up analysis of patients enrolled in a Phase I/II multi-center trial for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) reported 51 percent of patients receiving an anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR T) called axi-cel were still alive two years post-treatment. Axi-cel was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of DLBCL in October 2017 and by the European Commission in August 2018. | |
Team develops personalized prediction model for patients with MDSAt the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Cleveland Clinic medical hematologist and oncologist Aziz Nazha, M.D., will present results of a personalized prediction model that surpassed current prediction models for Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS). | |
Acute flaccid myelitis: Five things to knowAcute flaccid myelitis, a syndrome with rapid muscle weakness in children, has been seen in hospitals in the United States and Canada this fall. A practice article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) outlines five things to know about this health issue: | |
 | What makes rats relapseActivation of the anterior insular cortex—a brain region implicated in drug abuse—rather than drinking history or motivation for alcohol predicts relapse after a month of abstinence, reports a study of male rats published in JNeurosci. The results may explain why some individuals are more likely than others to relapse. |
 | Reproductive cycle may foreshadow Alzheimer's diseaseFemale mice destined to develop Alzheimer's-like pathology and related cognitive impairments display a unique pattern of fluctuation in sex hormones during the ovarian cycle, finds new research published in eNeuro. This study suggests the natural reproductive cycle may provide a new window into Alzheimer's Disease (AD) risk among young women. |
 | Timing could mean everything after spinal cord injuryModerate damage to the thoracic spinal cord causes widespread disruption to the timing of the body's daily activities, according to a study of male and female rats published in eNeuro. If this also occurs in humans, transitioning patients back to the normal rhythms of their daily life after a spinal cord injury could help prevent further dysregulation of essential biological processes. |
 | GSK sells health drinks arm, buys US cancer treatment firmBritish pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline announced two multi-billion-dollar deals Monday—the sale of its Asian health drinks unit to Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever and the purchase of US cancer specialist Tesaro. |
Dana-Farber researchers report clinical trial results in treatment of leukemia and lymphomaNew results from clinical trials of immunotherapy and experimental targeted agents for patients with leukemia and lymphoma are being presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting Dec. 1-4. | |
 | Larotrectinib: Targeting DNA in cancer therapyWhile other toddlers her age were fighting naptime, two-year-old Michelle was battling an aggressive, life-threatening cancer. Doctors at Children's Hospital Los Angeles saved her life in an epic battle, wielding what is being hailed as a "magic bullet" in the fight against certain cancers. |
New study highlights CAR T-cell therapy success for lymphoma when used as standard of careChimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, or CAR T, was named the 2017 Advance of the Year by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The FDA approved two CAR T products last year for treatment of adult large B-cell lymphoma based on the exceptional patient outcomes seen in clinical trials. Now, a follow-up study of one of those products shows that it matches clinical trial outcomes when used as a standard of care. | |
National rheumatology and psoriasis organizations release joint guideline for psoriatic arthritisThe American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) have released a joint treatment guideline for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) that provides evidence-based pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic recommendations on caring for treatment-naïve patients with active PsA and patients who continue to have active PsA despite treatment. It also includes recommendations for vaccinations, psoriatic spondylitis, predominant enthesitis, and treatment in the presence of inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, or serious infections. | |
 | The 'best prospect' for ensuring success in demanding rolesOn any given day, people are bombarded by countless preoccupations and distractions, some we ignore and others that hijack our attention. One's internal focus can be derailed by competing thoughts and worries, as well as external intrusions too—with text messages, e-mail notifications, news feeds, and phone calls constantly diverting our train of thought. |
 | UMSOM and GRAS begin second typhoid conjugate vaccine study in AfricaA new study has been launched in Burkina Faso for Bharat Biotech's typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV). It is the second clinical study underway in Africa for the vaccine and the first in West Africa. The vaccine study is a joint effort by the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, (UMSOM) and Groupe de Recherche Action en Santé (GRAS) in Burkina Faso. |
Biology news
 | First jellyfish genome reveals ancient beginnings of complex body planJellyfish undergo an amazing metamorphosis, from tiny polyps growing on the seafloor to swimming medusae with stinging tentacles. This shape-shifting has served them well, shepherding jellyfish through more than 500 million years of mass extinctions on Earth. |
 | New machine learning method predicts additions to global list of threatened plant speciesThe International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species is a powerful tool for researchers and policymakers working to stem the tide of species loss across the globe. But adding even a single species to the list is no small task, demanding countless hours of expensive, rigorous and highly specialized research. |
 | Salt-evolved zooplankton grow too slowly to block salt-induced algal bloomsSmall animals at the base of the freshwater food chain can rapidly adapt to salt pollution—from sources like winter road deicing, agriculture, and mining—but at a price. In a special December edition of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B devoted to freshwater salt pollution, research shows that salt-adapted freshwater zooplankton grow 65 percent slower than regular zooplankton. Their slow growth cascades down the food chain in environments polluted with the most commonly found salt, triggering algal blooms. |
 | In death, Lonesome George reveals why giant tortoises live so longLonesome George's species may have died with him in 2012, but he and other giant tortoises of the Galapagos are still providing genetic clues to individual longevity through a new study by researchers at Yale University, the University of Oviedo in Spain, the Galapagos Conservancy, and the Galapagos National Park Service. |
 | A bastard seal from the past reveals the potential for human hybridsAlmost 90 years ago on a freezing January morning, the keepers of the Stockholm Zoo in Sweden discovered a dead seal pup in their seal pond. The pup was immediately recognized as a bastard—a hybrid between species that should not interbreed. Only two grey seal males and one ringed seal female, species belonging to different mammalian genera, were housed in the pond. The hybrid appeared to carry a mixture of features of both the parent species. |
 | Evolution sans mutation discovered in single-celled archaeaUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers have found revolutionary evidence that an evolutionary phenomenon at work in complex organisms is at play in their single-celled counterparts, too. |
 | Knowing exactly what genes are saying – and whereScientists can now discover how the fine details of gene activity differ from one cell type to another in a tissue sample, thanks to a technique invented by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. |
 | Autophagy has remarkable influence on plant metabolism—even in healthy growing conditionsReduce, reuse, recycle. Or just stick with recycle. |
 | Wild yeasts may hold key to better wines from warmer climatesResearchers at the University of Adelaide have found yeasts that naturally occur on wine grapes may improve wines produced in warmer climates. Up until now the use of these 'natural' or 'wild' yeasts during the production process has mostly been discouraged by wine makers. |
 | Hundreds of unrecognized halogenated contaminants discovered in polar bear serumUsing a new approach to measure chemical contaminants in polar bears, scientists from Canada and the United States found a large variety of new chlorinated and fluorinated substances, including many new polychlorinated biphenyl metabolites. Worryingly, these previously unrecognized contaminants have not declined in the past decades, and many long-chain fluorinated alkyl sulfonic acids have been increasing over time, says the study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie. |
 | Clever repurposing of biological tool gives researchers new clues as to how the flu remains so successfulScientists have known for decades that a flu virus in a human body can be a lot different than viruses grown in a lab. As opposed to the uniform, spherical, textbook-style viruses in a petri dish, in humans they vary in shape and composition—particularly the abundance of certain proteins—even if they are genetically very similar. |
 | Study offers new approach to assess sustainability of reef fishA new study helping to improve how sustainability is measured for popular reef fish could help better assess the eco-friendly seafood options at the dinner table. |
 | US approves seismic tests despite dolphin, whale concernsThe US government Friday took a big step toward opening oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic ocean by approving seismic airgun tests that experts warn are harmful to dolphins and whales. |
 | Undercover investigation: Socio-economic survey of pangolin hunting in Assam, IndiaAlarming footage captured by World Animal Protection and the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at University of Oxford reveals the heart-breaking moment a pangolin is brutally killed for its body parts to be sold on the black market in Assam, north-eastern India. |
 | Inactivating genes can boost crop genetic diversityResearchers from CIRAD and INRA recently showed that inactivating a gene, RECQ4, leads to a three-fold increase in recombination in crops such as rice, pea and tomato. The gene inhibits the exchange of genetic material via recombination (crossover) during the sexual reproduction process in crops. This discovery, published in the journal Nature Plants on 26 November 2018, could speed up plant breeding and development of varieties better suited to specific environmental conditions (disease resistance, adaptation to climate change). |
 | New mudweed species threatens Hawaiʻi marine environmentsA team of scientists led by researchers from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Department of Botany has discovered two populations of a new species of leather mudweed or Avrainvillea erecta, a widespread tropical algae, which may pose a threat to Hawai'i's marine environments. |
 | The more male gorillas look after young, the more young they're likely to havePaternal care – where fathers care for their children – is rare among mammals (that is, animals which give birth to live young). Scientists have identified more than 6,000 mammal species, but paternal care only occurs in 5 to 10% of them. |
 | Deepwater corals thrive at the bottom of the ocean, but can't escape human impactsWhen people think of coral reefs, they typically picture warm, clear waters with brightly colored corals and fishes. But other corals live in deep, dark, cold waters, often far from shore in remote locations. These varieties are just as ecologically important as their shallow water counterparts. They also are just as vulnerable to human activities like fishing and energy production. |
 | CRISPR babies raise an uncomfortable reality – abiding by scientific standards doesn't guarantee ethical researchUncertainty continues to swirl around scientist He Jiankui's gene editing experiment in China. Using CRISPR technology, He modified a gene related to immune function in human embryos and transferred the embryos to their mother's womb, producing twin girls. |
 | New laboratory system allows researchers to probe the secret lives of queen beesMore than a decade after the identification of colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon marked by widespread loss of honey bee colonies, scientists are still working to untangle the ecologically complex problem of how to mitigate ongoing losses of honey bees and other pollinating species. One much-needed aid in this effort is more efficient ways to track specific impacts on bee health. To address this need, a group of Illinois researchers has established a laboratory-based method for tracking the fertility of honey bee queens. |
 | Disappearing Arctic sea ice threatens Canada's polar bears: expert panelA committee of wildlife experts warned Monday that Canada's largest land predator, the polar bear, was at risk of disappearing from its vast Arctic landscape as melting Arctic sea ice makes hunting prey a challenge. |
Visually impaired sea lions join group at New Orleans zooA pair of visually impaired 2-year-old sea lions has joined the four sea lions already at the zoo in New Orleans. | |
This email is a free service of Science X Network
You received this email because you subscribed to our list.
If you do not wish to receive such emails in the future, please unsubscribe here.
You are subscribed as jmabs1@gmail.com. You may manage your subscription options from your Science X profile
No comments:
Post a Comment