Science X Newsletter Week 50

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 50:

	Scientists crack the CRISPR code for precise human genome editing Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute have discovered a set of simple rules that determine the precision of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing in human cells. These rules, published in Molecular Cell, could help to improve the efficiency and safety of genome editing in both the lab and the clinic.
	Heavy screen time appears to impact childrens' brains: study Researchers have found "different patterns" in brain scans among children who record heavy smart device and video game use, according to initial data from a major ongoing US study.
	NASA's Voyager 2 probe enters interstellar space For the second time in history, a human-made object has reached the space between the stars. NASA's Voyager 2 probe now has exited the heliosphere – the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields created by the Sun.
	Flea-sized solar panels embedded in clothes can charge a mobile phone Clothing embedded with tiny solar cells the size of a flea can allow wearers to generate electricity on the move and charge items like mobile phones and smartwatches.
	Studies reveal role of red meat in gut bacteria, heart disease development In concurrent studies, Cleveland Clinic researchers have uncovered new mechanisms that demonstrate why and how regularly eating red meat can increase the risk of heart disease, and the role gut bacteria play in that process.
	Hubble finds far-away planet vanishing at record speed The speed and distance at which planets orbit their respective blazing stars can determine each planet's fate—whether the planet remains a longstanding part of its solar system or evaporates into the universe's dark graveyard more quickly.
	Team invents method to shrink objects to the nanoscale MIT researchers have invented a way to fabricate nanoscale 3-D objects of nearly any shape. They can also pattern the objects with a variety of useful materials, including metals, quantum dots, and DNA.
	Study shows magnesium optimizes vitamin D status A randomized trial by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers indicates that magnesium optimizes vitamin D status, raising it in people with deficient levels and lowering it in people with high levels.
	Life in deep Earth totals 15 to 23 billion tons of carbon—hundreds of times more than humans Barely living "zombie" bacteria and other forms of life constitute an immense amount of carbon deep within Earth's subsurface—245 to 385 times greater than the carbon mass of all humans on the surface, according to scientists nearing the end of a 10-year international collaboration to reveal Earth's innermost secrets.
	South African skeleton shows humans learned to walk upright in the trees The analysis of the world's most complete skeleton of an early human ancestor, conducted by a research collaboration involving the University of Liverpool, offers conclusive evidence that human ancestors became efficient upright walkers while they were still substantially tree dwelling animals.
	Researchers suggest broiler chicken is the hallmark of the Anthropocene A team of researchers from several institutions in the U.K. and one in South Africa has come to the conclusion that the broiler chicken offers perhaps the most striking evidence of the rise of the Anthropocene. In their paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the group outlines their reasons for choosing the chicken as a signal of human biosphere reconfiguration.
	Humans may be reversing the climate clock, by 50 million years Our future on Earth may also be our past. In a study published Monday (Dec. 10, 2018) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers show that humans are reversing a long-term cooling trend tracing back at least 50 million years. And it's taken just two centuries.
	Astronomers find that dark matter dominates across cosmic time In findings published today in The Astrophysical Journal, University of Texas at Austin astronomers report that they have stumbled on an extraordinary galaxy that may corroborate a recently contested theory about dark matter.
	See a passing comet this Sunday On Sunday, Dec. 16, the comet known as 46P/Wirtanen will make one of the 10 closest comet flybys of Earth in 70 years, and you may even be able to see it without a telescope.
	Geneticists make new discovery about how a baby's sex is determined Medical researchers at Melbourne's Murdoch Children's Research Institute have made a new discovery about how a baby's sex is determined—it's not just about the X-Y chromosomes, but involves a 'regulator' that increases or decreases the activity of genes which decide if we become male or female.
	New device could help answer fundamental questions about quantum physics Researchers have developed a new device that can measure and control a nanoparticle trapped in a laser beam with unprecedented sensitivity. The new technology could help scientists study a macroscopic particle's motion with subatomic resolution, a scale governed by the rules of quantum mechanics rather than classical physics.
	InSight Mars lander takes its first selfie NASA's InSight lander isn't camera-shy. The spacecraft used a camera on its robotic arm to take its first selfie—a mosaic made up of 11 images. This is the same imaging process used by NASA's Curiosity rover mission, in which many overlapping pictures are taken and later stitched together. Visible in the selfie are the lander's solar panel and its entire deck, including its science instruments.
	Scientists create bee vaccine to fight off 'insect apocalypse' Scientists in Finland have developed what they believe is the world's first vaccine to protect bees against disease, raising hopes for tackling the drastic decline in insect numbers which could cause a global food crisis.
	A nuclear-powered 'tunnelbot' to search for life on Jupiter's icy moon Europa Between 1995 and 2003, NASA's Galileo spacecraft made several flybys of Jupiter's moon, Europa. Several findings from observations of the moon pointed to evidence of a liquid ocean beneath Europa's icy surface. The ocean, researchers believe, could harbor microbial life, or evidence of now-extinct microbial life.
	Researchers uncover molecular mechanisms linked to autism and schizophrenia Since the completion of the groundbreaking Human Genome Project in 2003, researchers have discovered changes to hundreds of places in the DNA, called genetic variants, associated with psychiatric diseases such as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. Now, new findings from a major study has linked many of these changes in DNA to their molecular effect in the brain, revealing new mechanisms of diseases.

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