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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for April 26, 2019:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | The giant galaxy around the giant black holeOn April 10, 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) unveiled the first-ever image of a black hole's event horizon, the area beyond which light cannot escape the immense gravity of the black hole. That giant black hole, with a mass of 6.5 billion Suns, is located in the elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (M87). EHT is an international collaboration whose support in the U.S. includes the National Science Foundation. |
 | Barfing neutron stars reveal their inner gutsWe don't really understand neutron stars. Oh, we know that they are – they're the leftover remnants of some of the most massive stars in the universe – but revealing their inner workings is a little bit tricky, because the physics keeping them alive is only poorly understood. |
 | How did the moon end up where it is?Nearly 50 years since man first walked on the moon, the human race is once more pushing forward with attempts to land on the Earth's satellite. This year alone, China has landed a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the moon, while India is close to landing a lunar vehicle, and Israel continues its mission to touch down on the surface, despite the crash of its recent venture. NASA meanwhile has announced it wants to send astronauts to the moon's south pole by 2024. |
 | Image: Hubble snaps a crowded clusterThis sparkling burst of stars is Messier 75. It is a globular cluster: a spherical collection of stars bound together by gravity. Clusters like this orbit around galaxies and typically reside in their outer and less-crowded areas, gathering to form dense communities in the galactic suburbs. |
 | The day the asteroid might hitFor the first time, ESA will cover a major international asteroid impact exercise live via social media, highlighting the the actions that might be taken by scientists, space agencies and civil protection organisations. |
Technology news
 | Fast, efficient and durable artificial synapse developedThe brain's capacity for simultaneously learning and memorizing large amounts of information while requiring little energy has inspired an entire field to pursue brain-like – or neuromorphic – computers. Researchers at Stanford University and Sandia National Laboratories previously developed one portion of such a computer: a device that acts as an artificial synapse, mimicking the way neurons communicate in the brain. |
 | Little shopping cart speedster in Aisle 7 inspires Ford braking solutionFor a child's mom, supermarkets are where you fulfill your list of candles, berries, bologna and soap. For the child, supermarkets, like parks, are where you can run and, best of all, drive a grown-up trolley and command the wheels. |
 | A personality test for ads: Machine learning algorithms could personalize advertisements for individual consumersIt's no surprise that images used for advertising on television and online play a powerful role in triggering emotions and shaping impressions of products or brands, but an ad that appeals to one person may seem irrelevant or distasteful to another. What if it was possible to start personalizing ads viewed by different consumers based on their personality types? |
 | Sony logs record profits, warns of headwinds to comeJapan's Sony said Friday that robust games and entertainment divisions had pushed annual profits to a second consecutive record high but warned of a looming downturn in its bottom line. |
 | Be wary of robot emotions; 'simulated love is never love'When a robot "dies," does it make you sad? For lots of people, the answer is "yes"—and that tells us something important, and potentially worrisome, about our emotional responses to the social machines that are starting to move into our lives. |
 | Uber aiming for stock market debut value of up to $90 bn: reportUber is aiming to make its stock market debut at a share price that would value the leading ride-share startup between $80 billion and $90 billion, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. |
 | Nintendo says working with Tencent to release Switch in ChinaJapanese games giant Nintendo said Friday it was working with Chinese internet firm Tencent to roll out its popular Switch console in China, confirming rumours that have dramatically pushed up its share price. |
 | Rear seats of cars need better safety equipment, study saysThe Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says in a new report that safer restraint systems are needed for the back seats of cars. The study finds that rear-seat safety has not kept pace with front-seat safety and it has been to the detriment of belted passengers in the back seat. |
 | Privacy settings can help ease suspicion of recommendation-making sites and appsWhen people see that they can control their privacy settings on websites and apps that offer entertainment or product recommendations, they tend to be more trusting of those sites, according to researchers. |
 | Uber pulls back on valuation with IPO pricingUber pulled back on its ambitious valuation target Friday for its Wall Street debut, while still pricing its share offering in a range that would make it one of the largest in recent years in the tech sector. |
 | Ford says US opened criminal probe over vehicle emissionsUS authorities have opened a criminal probe into Ford's emissions certification process, the automaker said Friday. |
 | Workplace messaging startup Slack to list on Wall StreetThe workplace messaging startup Slack filed documents Friday to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, the latest of a group of richly valued tech enterprises to look to Wall Street. |
 | Insights from Uganda on why solar street lights make senseStreet-lighting is important. It allows informal vendors and traders to operate for longer hours and improves road and public safety. It also makes streets feel safer and more secure, especially for women. |
 | Amazon to bring 1-day delivery to Prime membersTwo-day delivery is going out of style. |
 | American expects $350 million hit from grounded Boeing planeAmerican Airlines expects to take a $1 billion hit from two things it didn't expect when 2019 started: That its newest Boeing jet would be grounded for months after two deadly crashes, and that oil prices would rise. |
 | Smart cities aim to make urban life more efficient—but for citizens' sake they need to slow downAll over the world, governments, institutions and businesses are combining technologies for gathering data, enhancing communications and sharing information, with urban infrastructure, to create smart cities. One of the main goals of these efforts is to make city living more efficient and productive – in other words, to speed things up. |
 | California governor signs internet sales tax lawCalifornia's Democratic governor has signed a law requiring companies like Amazon and eBay to collect sales taxes on behalf of some out-of-state sellers. |
 | Musk still working on pact with SEC to avoid contempt rulingElon Musk and U.S. securities regulators say they are still trying to work out an agreement that would avoid the Tesla CEO being held in contempt of court over his tweets. |
 | SAS pilot strike strands 72,000 passengersPilots at Scandinavian carrier SAS walked off the job in Sweden, Denmark and Norway on Friday, stranding more than 72,000 travellers as 673 flights were cancelled, the airline said. |
 | How intelligent workstations will use AI to improve health and happinessStatistics show that if you're reading this at work, you're likely indoors at a table or a desk. If so, pause for a moment: How's your posture? Is the room temperature comfortable? Lighting OK? In the U.S., 81 million office workers spend at least 75% of the day at a desk, and logging long hours in front of screens has been linked to significant health conditions, including heart disease and diabetes. There has to be a better way of doing work. |
 | Renault wants joint holding with Nissan: mediaFrench car maker Renault wants to create a common holding company with its Japanese partner Nissan that will own 100 percent of both auto manufacturers, the business daily Nikkei reported Friday. |
 | Blogs must adapt or dieBlogs, or as they were originally known, weblogs, first hit the World Wide Web back in 1997. The term "weblog" was coined in December that year and almost immediately abbreviated to "blog". The subsequent two decades saw the rise and rise of millions of blogs, they rode the wave of Web 2.0, became multi-author publication tools, and many matured into fully-fledged information and news services. |
Game of Thrones: for HBO, piracy is 'better than an Emmy' as it battles NetflixEight years after the first season premiered, the long-awaited winter has finally come – Game of Thrones' final season is here. The television series created by David Benioff and Daniel Brett Weiss from the books by George RR Martin has built a rich and complex multi-thread plot-knot of epic battles, of the living and the undead, of long owed-debts to be paid, and of the culmination of clan stratagems to win the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms. | |
 | Researchers develop new class of anti-ice surfacesScraping an icy windshield can be a seasonal struggle for those that live in colder climates. But engineers from UBC's Okanagan campus are aiming to ease that winter frustration with a new surface coating that can shed ice from large areas using little effort. |
 | American Airlines cuts profit forecast as 737 MAX woes biteAmerican Airlines slashed its profit forecast Friday largely due to the crisis around the Boeing 737 MAX, a somewhat more profound hit to operations and customer bookings than at other carriers affected by the jet's grounding. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Another victim of violence: Trust in those who mean no harmExposure to violence does not change the ability to learn who is likely to do harm, but it does damage the ability to place trust in "good people," psychologists at Yale and University of Oxford report April 26 in the journal Nature Communications. |
 | Brain's support network may play key role in attention deficit, hyperactivity behaviorsA new UCLA study suggests that brain cells called astrocytes, previously thought to provide mainly nourishment and housekeeping functions for neurons, may play a key role in the regulation of attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity. |
 | Multitasking with perfection: Nerve cell works like 1400 individual cellsCT1 is different. In general, a nerve cell receives input from a number of presynaptic cells, processes the signals, and passes its output to downstream cells. In the cell CT1, however, each of the approximately 1400 cell areas works like a separate neuron. This allows CT1 to access information from all facets of the fly's complex eye and to contribute locally to the calculation of motion direction. Using a computer model of the cell, Alexander Borst and Matthias Meier from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology show that CT1 is reaching biophysical limits. |
 | TET proteins regulate factors essential for normal antibody productionA family of cancer suppressive proteins, known as TET proteins, help regulate gene activity via their influence on chromosomal architecture. However, until now it wasn't entirely clear how genes were activated by TET proteins to make sure that cells perform their normal functions efficiently. |
 | Common oral infections in childhood may increase the risk of atherosclerosis in adulthoodA Finnish 27-year follow-up study suggests that common oral infections in childhood, caries and periodontal diseases, are associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis in adulthood. |
 | Three new classes of obesity-related adipocyte progenitor cells identifiedA team of researchers with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has identified three new classes of obesity-related adipocyte progenitor cells in humans. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their study of new adipocyte formation from progenitor cells within fat tissue and what they found. You-Ying Chau and William Cawthorn with the University of Edinburgh have published a Perspective piece on the work done by the team at UoP in the same journal issue. |
 | A spoonful of peppermint helps the meal go downImagine that while eating a delicious meal at your favorite restaurant, your joy is cut short because of difficulty swallowing your food, followed by chest pain. |
 | 'Lock-'n'-block' drug may prevent cancer from metastasizing"They got all of it" are the reassuring words people hope to hear following cancer surgery, but a growing understanding of the science of how cancer spreads, and metastasizes, is suggesting that not only is this almost never true but—and here is the surprising part—it might be better to try to contain the cancer than to eliminate it. |
 | Gene repair improves memory and seizures in adult autism modelA new study challenges the presumption that people born with developmental brain disorders such as severe autism will benefit from medical interventions only if treated during a narrow window in infancy or early childhood. |
 | No safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy, suggest researchersAn international group of researchers has taken one of the first major steps in finding the biological changes in the brain that drive fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). New work using chaos theory to analyze brain signals, discussed this month in the journal Chaos, shows the long-term effects. |
 | Lung cancer under-recognized in people who have never smokedA group of respiratory medicine and public health experts are calling for lung cancer in never-smokers to be given greater recognition. Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, they say that lung cancer in people who have never smoked is under recognised and presents a diagnostic challenge, particularly for GPs seeking to balance over-investigation with early diagnosis and high quality care. |
 | LA universities quarantine over 900 after measles exposure (Update)More than 900 students and staff members at two Los Angeles universities were quarantined on campus or sent home this week in one of the most sweeping efforts yet by public health authorities to contain the spread of measles in the U.S., where cases have reached a 25-year high. |
 | Peanut allergy oral immunotherapy increases allergic reactions, compared with avoidance or placeboA systematic review including 12 studies with more than 1,000 patients who were followed for a year finds that, compared with allergen avoidance or placebo, current oral immunotherapy treatments result in a large increase in anaphylaxis and other allergic reactions, rather than preventing them as intended. |
Early, hormone-driven breast cancer is less likely to recur if treated with radiotherapyWomen with early, low risk, hormone-driven breast cancer are less likely to have a recurrence of their disease if they have radiotherapy after surgery, as well as anti-hormone treatment, according to results from a trial that has followed 869 women for ten years. | |
 | Global malaria spending $2 billion short of WHO target, stifling progressA first-of-its-kind study reveals malaria spending in 2016 totaled $4.3 billion globally, far short of the annual funding target of $6.6 billion set by the World Health Organization. |
 | Quality improvement in emergency surgery shows no difference in patient survivalResearchers from Queen Mary University of London studied the effectiveness of one of the largest ever national quality improvement programmes in the National Health Service (NHS) and found no improvement in patient survival. |
Changes from head injuries associated with increases in youth offendingA new longitudinal study looked at the impact on criminal persistence of head injuries, which have been linked to increased levels of offending, among adolescents and early adults. It found that changes in individuals with head injuries were associated with increases in self-reported offending, and with violent offending in particular. | |
Veterans suffer from 'culture shock' when returning to universityThe study, based on interviews with 20 military veterans on a US college campus found that civilians' trivial concerns, inappropriate clothing, lack of respect for lecturers and willingness to criticise the President of the United States clashed with the conservative values instilled in ex service personnel. These cultural differences led to veterans arguing with other students, and becoming increasingly isolated and ostracized from their peers. | |
 | How cortisol affects exposure therapy for anxiety disordersBochum-based psychologists have studied how the application of the stress hormone cortisol affects exposure therapy for anxiety disorders. The researchers knew from earlier studies that extinction learning, which constitutes the foundation of exposure therapy, can be reinforced by administering cortisol. However, the team headed by Professor Armin Zlomuzica at Zentrum für Psychotherapie (psychotherapy centre) at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has demonstrated with a group of arachnophobics that an application of cortisol after exposure is not beneficial for the patients. Rubin, the RUB's science magazine, reports about the results which were also published in the scientific journal Psychoneuroendocrinology. |
 | First major study of proteins in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemiaThe most common form of childhood cancer is acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Researchers at Lund University in Sweden, in cooperation with Karolinska Institutet, SciLifeLab and the University of Cambridge, have now carried out the most extensive analysis to date of ALL at the protein level, by studying the activity in over 8,000 genes and proteins. The results show aberrant folding in the DNA string, which in turn affects the genes' activity. The study was recently published in Nature Communications. |
 | Researchers find significant delays in West Nile virus reportingMount Sinai researchers found significant delays in reporting human cases of West Nile virus, hampering real-time forecasting of the potentially deadly mosquito-borne disease, according to a study in the JAMA Network Open in April. |
 | Association between high blood PCB levels and premature deathHigh levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the blood are associated with premature death. This is shown by a cross-disciplinary study, based on 1,000 randomly selected 70-year-olds in Uppsala, that is published in the JAMA Network Open journal today. |
 | Individual nutrition shows benefits in hospital patientsIndividualized nutrition not only causes hospital patients to consume more protein and calories, but also improves clinical treatment outcomes. This has been demonstrated in a study by researchers from the University of Basel and Aarau Cantonal Hospital in the journal The Lancet. |
 | Parents and 'smart crib' can soothe baby with sensory stimuliWhat is the most effective way for parents to soothe their crying babies? A combination of sensory stimuli – by way of swaddling, sound and movement – can help, according to a new study by SEIN, the expertise centre for epilepsy and sleep medicine, and the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The researchers discovered an immediate calming response irrespective of whether the infant was soothed by its parent or a 'smart crib." The results were published on 24 April in the open access journal PLOS ONE. |
 | Structure and degradation of circular RNAs regulate PKR activation in innate immunityCovalently closed circular RNAs (circRNAs) are produced by precursor mRNA back-splicing the exons of thousands of genes in eukaryotes. They are generally expressed at low levels and often exhibit cell-type-specific and tissue-specific patterns. The study of circRNAs, especially their function, is challenging due to their circular conformation and sequence-overlap with linear mRNA counterparts. |
 | A new window into macaque brain connectionsResearchers can now see how the two sides of the living brain mirror each other thanks to a new combination-imaging technique. The method dubbed "opto-OISI" takes advantage of rapidly developing high-resolution optical technologies to help make sense of the trillions of connections in the brain. Published on April 23 in the open-access journal Scientific Reports, the study allows us to see how living monkey brains are wired in ways that were previously only accessible using invasive methods or post-mortem samples. |
 | New discovery could lead to improved blood sugar level controlMany diabetes patients do not only have problems with their insulin, but also with the release of the hormone glucagon. Researchers at Uppsala University have now discovered a regulation mechanism which could provide an opportunity to improve blood glucose control in these patients. The research is published in the journal Diabetologia. |
 | No cure for Alzheimer's disease in my lifetimeBiogen recently announced that it was abandoning its late stage drug for Alzheimer's, aducanumab, causing investors to lose billions of dollars. |
 | Detailed map of lung immune response in TBThe picture above shows a tuberculosis (TB) infection in a mouse lung, in which immune cells form a granuloma around the bacteria. The different symbols represent working copies of active genes, called messenger RNA, which are different in the granuloma centre in comparison to the surrounding cells. |
 | Humanization of antibodies targeting human herpesvirus 6BA research group led by Professor Yasuko Mori (Division of Clinical Virology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Kobe University) has succeeded in humanization of mouse antibodies that can neutralize the infection caused by human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B). Infection by HHV-6B in infants can lead to complications such as encephalitis—brain inflammation—but an effective way to control the infection has not yet been found. Professor Mori's research team created "humanized" antibodies based on the mouse (murine) antibodies for HHV-6B. The findings were published on March 6 in the online edition of the Journal of Virology. |
 | A smart watch for lymphoedema managementAbout ten percent of all cancer patients suffer from lymphoedema, which produces swelling in the legs, arms and breasts. The ETH start-up Dicronis has developed an instrument for simple and early diagnosis of this medical condition. The young entrepreneurs behind the concept have been nominated for the ZKB Pioneer Prize. |
 | Gonorrhoea cases on the rise across EuropeFollowing a decline in notification rates in 2016, the number of gonorrhoea cases has gone up by 17% across the reporting EU/EEA countries with more than 89 000 confirmed diagnoses in 2017—more than 240 cases a day. |
 | Trigger region found for absence epileptic seizuresScientists have discovered a neurological origin for absence seizures—a type of seizure characterized by very short periods of lost consciousness in which people appear to stare blankly at nothing. Using a mouse model of childhood epilepsy, a team led by Kazuhiro Yamakawa at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science (CBS) in Japan showed that absence epilepsy can be triggered by impaired communication between two brain regions: the cortex and the striatum. |
 | Doctors face a dilemma when seeking mental health assistance for themselvesIt's no secret that physicians have stressful jobs. Figuring out how to mitigate and deal with that stress can be a key part of a successful medical career. But while individual physicians seek and find help for their mental health issues privately, the prevailing public perception among physicians is that it just isn't done. |
 | Team finds ketamine alleviates acute pain during ambulance ridesDr. Gary Andolfatto didn't anticipate that furthering his pain management research would become a personal mission—but he didn't expect to injure himself either. |
 | New guide to help manage anxiety in autismAround 40% of autistic children, young people and adults are believed to have one or more anxiety disorders, compared to 10-15% of the general population. |
 | Telehealth pulmonary rehabilitation reduces 30-day readmissionsNew research published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine from the University of Alabama at Birmingham shows that video telehealth pulmonary rehabilitation interventions reduce 30-day all-cause readmission rates following hospitalization for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation. |
 | Artemisinins still our best weapon against malaria, say expertsThe powerful medicines known as artemisinins have plenty of mileage in them in the global fight against malaria, and concern about partial resistance has been overstated. |
 | Study pinpoints what causes relapse after cancer immunotherapyHarnessing the body's immune system to fight off cancer, a tactic known as immunotherapy, has tremendously improved outcomes for patients. But a lingering problem with immunotherapy, as with many other cancer treatments, is relapse. In many cases the tumor comes back, and doctors don't know why. Now, research from the lab of Elaine Fuchs, Rockefeller's Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor, identifies the tumor cells responsible for thwarting the treatment and offers new insights into how they do it. |
 | Study: Intense exercise may reduce entrepreneurs' stress, increase job satisfactionEntrepreneurs live emotionally taxing lifestyles, but a Ball State University researcher believes rigorous exercise can reduce stress while increasing job satisfaction. |
 | Think you're allergic to penicillin? There's a good chance you're wrongAre you allergic to penicillin? Perhaps you have a friend or relative who is? With about one in ten people reporting a penicillin allergy, that's not altogether surprising. |
 | How to combine 'leg day' with runningJames Cook University scientists in Australia say they have the solution for a problem gym-goers have when they combine endurance and weight training. |
 | University of Maryland first to use unmanned aircraft to deliver kidney for transplantIn a first-ever advancement in human medicine and aviation technology, a University of Maryland unmanned aircraft has delivered a donor kidney to surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) in Baltimore for successful transplantation into a patient with kidney failure. This successful demonstration illustrates the potential of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for providing organ deliveries that, in many cases, could be faster, safer, and more widely available than traditional transport methods. |
Awakening from decades-long coma 'very rare': expertsThe case of a woman from the United Arab Emirates who regained consciousness after a 27-year coma-like state provoked by a brain injury has startled the world. | |
 | Got unused meds? Saturday is national drug take back day(HealthDay)—If you have unused or expired medications at home, be sure to take them to one of thousands of drop-off sites across the country on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, Saturday, April 27. |
 | Why kids should play more than one sport(HealthDay)—Playing team sports is a great way to teach kids life lessons about leadership, teamwork and how to socialize with peers. Sports are also a great way to build self-esteem and gain physical skills. Most important, they're fun. |
 | Telerehabilitation aids function, pain with advanced cancer(HealthDay)—Collaborative telerehabilitation modestly improves function and pain while decreasing hospital length of stay and the need for postacute care in advanced cancer patients, according to a study published online April 4 in JAMA Oncology. |
 | Dapagliflozin improves glucose outcomes in type 1 diabetes(HealthDay)—In patients with type 1 diabetes, treatment with dapagliflozin for 24 weeks improves time in range, mean glucose, and glycemic variability, according to a study published online April 9 in Diabetes Care. |
 | Children with ADHD may have higher risk for poor diet(HealthDay)—Children with more attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms may be at higher risk for an unhealthy diet, but diet quality does not appear to affect ADHD risk, according to a study published in the April issue of The Journal of Nutrition. |
Pain during sex? Incontinence or constipation? You might benefit from pelvic floor physiotherapy"How did I not know this was a pelvic floor issue? Why didn't my doctor send me here sooner? Do you have other patients with problems like mine?" | |
 | Children's NICU slashes unintended extubation rates by 60% over 10 yearsA quality-improvement project at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Children's National that included standardized taping methods, bedside review of events within 72 hours and reducing how often newborns received chest X-rays reduced unintended extubations by 60% over 10 years and saved an estimated $1.5 million per year, according to research published online April 26, 2019 in Pediatrics. |
 | 'I got there first!' How your subjective experience of time makes you think you did – even when you didn'tImagine a championship match between two rival basketball teams. The game is tied, seconds left on the shot clock, two players lunge forward, reaching for the ball. In a split second, their hands both collide with the ball, but neither player gains possession. Instead, the ball goes soaring out of bounds. Immediately an argument erupts as each player claims the other knocked the ball out. The referee desperately tries to break the two apart and make the correct call. |
 | When premenstrual syndrome becomes debilitatingMany women suffer from premenstrual syndrome (PMS), but some experience a severe and possibly disabling subset of PMS known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). |
 | Researchers find tissue environment plays important role in tumor formationA team of Florida State University researchers used a simple tumor model to show the importance of tissue microenvironment in primary tumor formation. |
 | Antibiotics: beneficial side effects are starting to come to lightThe discovery of antibiotics in the 1920s has contributed to longer and healthier lives, and they are now being used more widely than ever before. The main reason that antibiotics are prescribed is to kill bacterial infections. They are usually given when someone is already unwell and are taken until the infection is cleared. But, despite being used for decades, we know very little about how antibiotics affect the body beyond destroying bacteria. |
 | Feel like time is flying? Here's how to slow it downSometimes it seems as if life is passing us by. When we are children, time ambles by, with endless car journeys and summer holidays which seem to last forever. But as adults, time seems to speed up at a frightening rate, with Christmas and birthdays arriving more quickly every year. |
 | Study to examine impact of therapy animals on children with cancerThe sight of a dog in a therapy vest trotting down a hospital hallway or being petted by a child lying in a hospital bed is familiar to many, yet the scientific research showing the impact of therapy animals is largely anecdotal, says Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Professor Mary Jo Gilmer, Ph.D., FAAN. Her work is changing that. |
Intervention increases healthy behavior among South African adolescentsIn Sub-Saharan Africa, the leading causes of death are changing. Fewer people are dying of infectious diseases like malaria or tuberculosis, but non-communicable diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, are on the rise. The situation is particularly grim in South Africa, where citizens are just as likely to die from a non-communicable disease as from anything else. | |
 | Some children find it harder to understand what strangers are sayingNew research by New York University Steinhardt Associate Professor Susannah Levi finds that children with poorer language skills are at a disadvantage when given tasks or being spoken to by strangers because they cannot, as easily as their peers, understand speech from people they do not know. |
 | In first for EU, anti-skin cancer drug approvedFrench pharmaceutical giant Sanofi on Friday said the European Medicines Agency had conditionally approved its anti-cancer drug Libtayo, the first drug of its kind to be authorised for use in the EU. |
 | Mexican lawmaker proposes warm beers to cool desire for a drinkTime to crack open a cold one? Not so fast—a local Mexican lawmaker proposed a measure Thursday limiting the sale of cold beer to curb alcohol consumption, unbottling a wave of mainly mocking reactions online. |
 | Parents learn skills to encourage healthier diet in children, without leaving the dinner tableThirty-one percent of children in the United States are overweight or obese according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Parents can play an important role in helping their children adopt healthier eating habits. But trying to encourage children to eat more vegetables and cut down on the sugary treats can be a daunting task. A new project from Drexel University's Center for Weight, Eating, and Lifestyle Science (WELL Center) called "Project PICNIC" aims to help parents guide their children toward healthier choices, without it turning into a battle of wills. |
 | Asthma varies with gender and ageThe medical community has long recognized that asthma prevalence, severity and response to treatment vary significantly with age and gender. Michael Wechsler, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Cohen Family Asthma Institute, and his colleagues recently reviewed and summarized the latest information about variations in asthma. |
 | How to make a powerhouse smoothie(HealthDay)—Smoothies make for a fast and filling breakfast or snack, but the bloom is off the rose when it comes to their health profile. Turns out that many store-bought smoothies are hidden havens for a crazy amount of calories, many coming not only from the natural sugar in the fruit but also from added sweeteners. |
Biology news
 | Research finds some bacteria travel an alternate path to antibiotic resistanceIn a study with implications for efforts to halt the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, researchers at Princeton have identified a new, troubling path that some bacteria take toward resistance. |
 | Gene-editing technology to create virus-resistant cassava plant has opposite effect, researchers findUsing gene-editing technology to create virus-resistant cassava plants could have serious negative ramifications, according to new research by plant biologists at the University of Alberta, the University of Liège in Belgium and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. |
 | Cancer treatment could become more effective thanks to new algorithms which can predict millions of gene interactionsWhile network algorithms are usually associated with finding friends on social media, researchers at the University of Sussex have shown how they could also be used improve the effectiveness of cancer treatment, by predicting the interactions between genes. |
 | Lionfish genes studied for clues to invasive prowessWhat makes the red lionfish (Pterois volitans) such a successful and powerful invader in Atlantic Ocean waters compared to its rather lamblike existence in its native Pacific Ocean? |
 | Designing ocean ecological systems in the labResearchers from MIT have discovered simple rules of assembly of ocean microbiomes that degrade complex polysaccharides in coastal environments. Microbiomes, or microbial communities, are composed of hundreds or thousands of diverse species, making it a challenge to identify the principles that govern their structure and function. |
 | Turtle Power: near extinct terrapins make Cambodian comebackTwenty critically endangered 'Royal Turtles' were released into a remote stretch of a Cambodian river Friday—a species once feared extinct because of hunting, trafficking and illegal sand mining. |
 | African populations crossbred with other extinct humansA new international study led by David Comas, principal investigator at UPFand at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE: CSIC-UPF), demonstrates for the first time using artificial intelligence that African populations hybridized with other extinct humans. The study is published today, 26 April, in the journal Genome Biology. |
 | DNA as you've never seen it before, thanks to a new nanotechnology imaging methodFor biologists everywhere, April 25 is auspicious. It is DNA Day and commemorates the date in 1953 when scientists Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins published seminal scientific papers describing the helical structure of the DNA molecule. In 2003, April 25 was used to announce the completion of the Human Genome Project. Now annual festivities on this day celebrate the molecule of life with new discoveries. What better time to provide a new picture of DNA. |
 | Red-neck phalarope: a migratory divide towards the Pacific Ocean and the Arabian SeaWhen winter comes, populations of red-neck phalarope from the Western Palearctic migrate to two different destinations -the Pacific Ocean or the Arabian Sea- following an exceptional migratory divide strategy which has never been described in this geographical area. |
 | Bizarrely distributed and verging on extinction, this 'mystic' tree went unidentified for 17 yearsAlmost 30 years ago, the specimen of a weird tree collected in the southern part of Kakadu National Park was packed in my luggage. It was on its way to the mecca of botanical knowledge in London, the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. |
 | Why the southern resident killer whales should have the same rights as peopleEach year, the number of southern resident killer whales in the Salish Sea on the Pacific coast declines—yet another species on the road to extinction. Last summer, many grieved as they watched an orca named J35, also known as Tahlequah, carried her dead calf for more than two weeks. |
 | Biological machinery of cell's 'executioner' yields secrets of its controlResearchers led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital structural biologists have discovered how the cell switches on an executioner mechanism called necroptosis that induces damaged or infected cells to commit suicide to protect the body. |
 | Lobstering gear could be reduced, changed to save whalesA group organized by the federal government is recommending reductions and changes for lobster gear off the East Coast to try to protect a rare species of whale. |
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