Science X Newsletter Week 12

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 12:

	High potency pot 'strongly linked' to psychosis: study High potency cannabis, especially when used daily, is "strongly linked" to the risk of developing psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and paranoia, scientists said Wednesday.
	A new Einstein cross is discovered This study, which has combined images from the Hubble Space Telescope with spectroscopic observations from the GTC, has confirmed the existence of a new example of a gravitational lens, a phenomenon predicted by Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity. In this case, the observed effect is due to the alteration caused by a galaxy that acts like a magnifying glass amplifying and distorting, in four separate images in the form of a cross, the light of another galaxy located 20,000 million light years away.
	Experimental blood test accurately spots fibromyalgia For the first time, researchers have evidence that fibromyalgia can be reliably detected in blood samples—work they hope will pave the way for a simple, fast diagnosis.
	Abel Prize for maths awarded to woman for first time Women took another step forward in the still male-dominated world of science Tuesday, as American Karen Uhlenbeck won the Abel Prize in mathematics for her work on partial differential equations.
	Researchers find Americans set their thermostat to match African environmental temperatures A team of researchers at North Carolina State University has found that people living in the United States tend to set their thermostats to temperatures that mimic natural environmental conditions in parts of Africa. In their paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the group describes their study, which involved installing sensors in homes across the U.S., and what they found.
	Many sharks closer to extinction than feared: Red List Human appetites are pushing makos and other iconic sharks to the brink of extinction, scientists warned in a new assessment of the apex predator's conservation status.
	Researchers create hydrogen fuel from seawater Stanford researchers have devised a way to generate hydrogen fuel using solar power, electrodes and saltwater from San Francisco Bay.
	Paleontologists report world's biggest Tyrannosaurus rex University of Alberta paleontologists have just reported the world's biggest Tyrannosaurus rex and the largest dinosaur skeleton ever found in Canada. The 13-metre-long T. rex, nicknamed "Scotty," lived in prehistoric Saskatchewan 66 million years ago.
	Robots enable bees and fish to talk to each other Through an imaginative experiment, researchers were able to get two extremely different animal species located far apart to interact with each other and reach a shared decision with the help of robots.
	Evidence that humans prefer genetically dissimilar partners based on scent A team of researchers at Université Paris Diderot has found evidence that suggests humans are able to detect via smell which partners are genetically preferable. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes their study of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in people, and the ability to detect it via smell.
	Complex societies gave birth to big gods, not the other way around: study An international research team, including a member of the Complexity Science Hub Vienna, investigated the role of "big gods" in the rise of complex large-scale societies. Big gods are defined as moralizing deities who punish ethical transgressions. Contrary to prevailing theories, the team found that beliefs in big gods are a consequence, not a cause, of the evolution of complex societies. The results are published in the current issue of the journal Nature.
	Changes in ocean 'conveyor belt' foretold abrupt climate changes by four centuries In the Atlantic Ocean, a giant 'conveyor belt' carries warm waters from the tropics into the North Atlantic, where they cool and sink and then return southwards in the deep ocean. This circulation pattern is an important player in the global climate, regulating weather patterns in the Arctic, Europe, and around the world. Evidence increasingly suggests that this system is slowing down, and some scientists fear it could have major effects, such as causing temperatures to dive in Europe and warming the waters off the East coast of the United States, potentially harming fisheries and exacerbating hurricanes. (For an over-exaggeration of the potential effects, see the 2004 movie The Day After Tomorrow.)
	Study shows IPCC is underselling climate change A new study has revealed that the language used by the global climate change watchdog, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), is overly conservative – and therefore the threats are much greater than the Panel's reports suggest.
	Physicists reveal why matter dominates universe Physicists in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University have confirmed that matter and antimatter decay differently for elementary particles containing charmed quarks.
	Levitating objects with light Researchers at Caltech have designed a way to levitate and propel objects using only light, by creating specific nanoscale patterning on the objects' surfaces.
	World's smallest bears' facial expressions throw doubt on human superiority The world's smallest bears can exactly mimic another bear's facial expressions, casting doubt on humans and other primates' supremacy at this subtle form of communication.
	Superbugs have colonized the International Space Station—but there's a silver lining Astronauts leave behind many things when they boldly go. Bacteria, however, stay with them.
	In a new quantum simulator, light behaves like a magnet Physicists at EPFL propose a new "quantum simulator": a laser-based device that can be used to study a wide range of quantum systems. Studying it, the researchers have found that photons can behave like magnetic dipoles at temperatures close to absolute zero, following the laws of quantum mechanics. The simple simulator can be used to better understand the properties of complex materials under such extreme conditions.
	Research ties common heartburn medications to kidney disease and failure Common medications prescribed to treat heartburn, acid reflux and ulcers are linked to increased risks for kidney failure and chronic kidney disease, found a recent University at Buffalo study.
	Alpine tundra releases long-frozen CO2 to the atmosphere, exacerbating climate warming Thawing permafrost in high-altitude mountain ecosystems may be a stealthy, underexplored contributor to atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions, new University of Colorado Boulder research shows.

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