Science X Newsletter Friday, Apr 5

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for April 5, 2019:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

Studying the swimming patterns of bacteria near surfaces

New understanding of heat transfer in boiling water could lead to efficiency improvements in power plants

Unexpected rain on sun links two solar mysteries

Like old photographs, memories fade over time

Screen time—even before bed—has little impact on teen well-being: study

Japan spacecraft drops explosive on asteroid to make crater

Scientists warn of pandemic endangering amphibians

Research identifies genetic causes of poor sleep

Scientists develop methods to validate gene regulation networks

Rocket fuel that's cleaner, safer and still full of energy

Synthetic antibody rapidly protects mice and monkeys from Zika

Robotic bees are joining the International Space Station

Catalyst research for solar fuels: Amorphous molybdenum sulfide works best

Black nanoparticles slow the growth of tumors

Mystery of negative capacitance in perovskite solar cells solved

Astronomy & Space news

	Unexpected rain on sun links two solar mysteries For five months in mid 2017, Emily Mason did the same thing every day. Arriving to her office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, she sat at her desk, opened up her computer, and stared at images of the Sun—all day, every day. "I probably looked through three or five years' worth of data," Mason estimated. Then, in October 2017, she stopped. She realized she had been looking at the wrong thing all along.
	Japan spacecraft drops explosive on asteroid to make crater Japan's space agency said an explosive dropped Friday from its Hayabusa2 spacecraft successfully blasted the surface of an asteroid for the first time to form a crater and pave the way for the collection of underground samples for possible clues to the origin of the solar system.
	Gamma-ray blazars in the sky When the supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies accrete material, they can eject powerful jets of charged particles at speeds approaching that of light. These particles in turn emit radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio to gamma-rays. When the jets happen to be aligned toward the Earth, these objects are called blazars, and in a flare they can emit as much radiation as a million billion suns.
	How a startup plans to clean up space Since 2012, engineers at EPFL's Space Center have been hard at work on a new junk-clearing satellite to capture debris orbiting the earth. The team has now shifted up a gear, founding a company called ClearSpace to pick up where the CleanSpace One project leaves off. For the first test mission, penciled in for 2024, the company has set its sights on capturing and destroying SwissCube, a nanosatellite developed by students from EPFL and other Swiss universities and launched on 23 September 2009. Looking further ahead, the startup plans to develop a viable, cost-efficient system for cleaning up the estimated 3,000-or-so derelict satellites orbiting closest to earth.
	A decade-long quest to build an ecosystem in a room Yesterday the MELiSSA pilot plant at the University of Barcelona celebrated 10 years spent demonstrating the ideal technologies to recycle waste from space missions into air, water and food.
	BepiColombo is ready for its long cruise Following a series of tests conducted in space over the past five months, the ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission has successfully completed its near-Earth commissioning phase and is now ready for the operations that will take place during the cruise and, eventually, for its scientific investigations at Mercury.
	Self-driving spacecraft set for planetary defence expedition Engineers designing ESA's Hera planetary defence mission to the Didymos asteroid pair are developing advanced technology to let the spacecraft steer itself through space, taking a similar approach to self-driving cars.
	Gravitational waves helping to expose black holes, dark matter and theoretical particles Gravitational waves – the invisible ripples in the fabric of space predicted by Albert Einstein – are opening up a new era of astronomy that is allowing scientists to see parts of the universe once thought to be invisible, such as black holes, dark matter and theoretical subatomic particles called axions.

Technology news

	Robotic bees are joining the International Space Station "There are some things only humans can do in space. The rest can be left to robots." The NASA team is showcasing hw to put that simple observation into interesting practice with their development of Astrobees.
	Mystery of negative capacitance in perovskite solar cells solved On the verge of outcompeting current thin-film solar cells, perovskite solar cells seem to embody an ideal solar cell with high efficiency and low cost. However, they have poor long-term stability, which remains a challenge. Related to this are peculiar phenomena occurring in perovskite materials and devices, where very slow microscopic processes cause a kind of "memory effect."
	Google disbands artificial intelligence ethics board Google on Thursday confirmed that it has disbanded a recently assembled artificial intelligence ethics advisory panel in the face of controversy over its membership.
	Samsung Electronics flags 60% slump in Q1 operating profit The world's biggest smartphone and memory chip maker Samsung Electronics warned Friday of a more than 60 percent plunge in first-quarter operating profits in the face of weakening markets.
	World's first 5G phone released in South Korea Telecom giant Samsung Electronics on Friday released the Galaxy S10 5G, the world's first available smartphone with built-in fifth-generation communications, as South Korea seeks to build a lead in the transformative technology.
	Facebook to block foreign ads for Australia election Facebook will block election advertising from outside Australia ahead of polls next month, in the wake of growing criticism of the social media giant's role in the spread of disinformation.
	Gone in 6 minutes: an Ethiopian Airlines jet's final journey From nearly the moment they roared down the runway and took off in their new Boeing jetliner, the pilots of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 encountered problems with the plane.
	France insists on digital tax despite US anger France will stick to plans for a tax on digital giants such as Facebook and Apple, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday, despite angry opposition from Washington.
	Amazon working on internet-serving satellite network Amazon on Thursday confirmed it is working on a project to deploy a network of satellites for high-speed internet service in underserved parts of the world.
	BMW, Daimler, VW broke antitrust rules: EU 'preliminary view' The European Union warned German car giants BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen on Friday that a preliminary inquiry has concluded they colluded to avoid competing on emission control technology.
	Robots reading feelings Robots are getting smarter—and faster—at knowing what humans are feeling and thinking just by "looking" into their faces, a development that might one day allow more emotionally perceptive machines to detect changes in a person's health or mental state.
	Artificial intelligence in Australia needs to get ethical, so we have a plan The question of whether technology is good or bad depends on how it's developed and used. Nowhere is that more topical than in technolgies using artificial intelligence.
	Female astronauts: How performance gear is designed to pave the way for women's accomplishments On my first day of spring break, I woke up to way more emails than necessary and a flurry of activity on my social media. Acquaintances from near and far wrote about "patriarchy," "NASA seems to have a history of lady issues" and posted emojis of sad faces and encouragement to my students to fix the situation.
	Artificial intelligence can now emulate human behaviors – soon it will be dangerously good When artificial intelligence systems start getting creative, they can create great things – and scary ones. Take, for instance, an AI program that let web users compose music along with a virtual Johann Sebastian Bach by entering notes into a program that generates Bach-like harmonies to match them.
	Don't break up digital giants, force them to give users data access, says report A landmark report produced for the European Commission "Competition policy for the digital era" co-authored by an Imperial academic has been published
	VW seals 10-year lithium deal for electric cars German car behemoth Volkswagen said Friday it had secured 10 years' worth of lithium for electric car batteries from Chinese manufacturer Ganfeng, ensuring supply of a key ingredient for the vital components.
	Boeing dealing with second software problem on troubled jet Boeing has found another software issue that needs fixing on its 737 Max jets, and the discovery explains why the aircraft maker is delaying its schedule for getting the planes back in the air.
US judge orders talks between Tesla's Musk, securities regulators A federal judge on Thursday gave Tesla chief executive Elon Musk and US securities regulators two weeks to resolve their differences over Musk's prolific social media use.
	Italian company wins big Australian hydroelectric contract Italy's leading construction company Salini Impregilo said Friday it would share in a contract to build a hydroelectric station in Australia, the biggest deal ever in the country's hydropower sector.
	India weighs ban on popular online game after deaths A boy's suicide this week in southern India after his mother scolded him for playing a popular online game has inflamed a national debate over whether the game should be banned.
EU investigates video game companies over antitrust concerns The European Union's competition watchdog is stepping up its investigation of a U.S. video game platform and five game makers over concerns they blocked players from buying cheaper versions of games in other countries.
	Social media gets thumbs-down in new US poll Americans are fearful about the impact of social media firms such as Facebook and Twitter, with many saying they spread misinformation and divide the country, even though most people still use these networks, a new poll showed Friday.
UK to hold social media bosses liable for harmful content: report Britain will make social media executives personally liable for harmful content published on their platforms, a leaked government proposal said Friday.
	EU says BMW, Daimler, VW colluded to limit emissions tech European Union authorities said Friday that German automakers BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen colluded to limit the development of emissions-cleaning technology in cars.
	UC professor's startup promotes literacy through design Reneé Seward's last name is pronounced see-word, though some might not realize that when reading her name. So it's fitting that this University of Cincinnati associate professor created an app that helps users with reading, pronunciation and recognizing letters. Appropriately, the tool is called See Word Reading.
Public gets to take free ride in self-driving car in Detroit Members of the public are getting the chance to take a free ride in a self-driving car as part of an effort to clear up confusion about the technology.

Medicine & Health news

	Like old photographs, memories fade over time Like old photographs, memories fade in quality over time—a surprising finding for a team of Boston College researchers who expected recollections would become less accurate, but found people also report declines in the vibrancy and visual qualities of their memories.
	Screen time—even before bed—has little impact on teen well-being: study Data from more than 17,000 teenagers show little evidence of a relationship between screen time and well-being in adolescents. The study, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, casts doubt on the widely accepted notion that spending time online, gaming, or watching TV, especially before bedtime, can damage young people's mental health.
	Research identifies genetic causes of poor sleep The largest genetic study of its kind ever to use accelerometer data to examine how we slumber has uncovered a number of parts of our genetic code that could be responsible for causing poor sleep quality and duration.
	Synthetic antibody rapidly protects mice and monkeys from Zika A DNA-encoded monoclonal antibody prevents Zika infection in mice and non-human primates, researchers report April 5th in the journal Molecular Therapy. Injections of synthetic DNA encoding the potent anti-Zika monoclonal antibody ZK190 resulted in high production of ZK190 for weeks to months, effectively controlling infection in all animals. The new platform for monoclonal-antibody gene delivery and expression, called DMAb-ZK190, may be valuable for conferring rapid, transient preventative protection against Zika infection in high-risk populations.
	Possible link discovered between autism and formation of inhibitory synapses Neurobiologists Cátia Frias and Corette Wierenga have studied the formation of inhibitory synapses, a complex process that occurs when the brain adapts. Their research uncovered an astonishing link to autism: One of the proteins involved, known as MET, is listed among the risk factors for autism—errors in that protein are found in some people with autism. This shows that there may be ties between autism and the formation of inhibitory synapses. The results of the study were published in Journal of Neuroscience on 26 March.
	First case of person without the protein needed to transport vitamin D identified Research identifying the first case of a person living without the protein needed to bind and transport vitamin D in the bloodstream has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The paper, led by a University of Calgary geneticist, and co-authored by researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle, U.S., and University of British Columbia (UBC), opens important new avenues of research into how the body transports and absorbs vitamin D, as well as how it can best be measured.
	Old nuclear fallout study provides pancreatic promise A Rice University chemist's research conducted years ago to protect people from radiation poisoning due to nuclear fallout may now offer a glimmer of hope to patients with pancreatic cancer.
	When robots commit wrongdoing, people may incorrectly assign the blame Last year, a self-driven car struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona. The woman's family is now suing Arizona and the city of Tempe for negligence. But, in an article published on April 5 in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, cognitive and computer scientists ask at what point people will begin to hold self-driven vehicles or other robots responsible for their own actions—and whether blaming them for wrongdoing will be justified.
	New discovery provides key to side effects caused by erectile dysfunction drugs In a study published in Science Advances magazine, researchers from the University of California, Irvine have captured, for the first time, the full-length structure of the rod photoreceptor phosphodiesterase 6 (PDE6), an enzyme that plays an indispensable role in human vision.
	Most links between personality traits and life outcomes are replicable Studies showing links between personality traits and life outcomes, such as marital stability and vocational achievements, provide a reasonably accurate map of the relationship between personality and various aspects of one's life, according to findings from a large-scale replication project. The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
	Study reveals why heart failure patients suffer depression, impaired thinking Heart failure patients often have trouble with thinking and depression.
Health claims on packaging for many foods marketed to UK kids are 'confusing' The health claims made on the product packaging for a large proportion of foods marketed to children in the UK are 'confusing', and could be contributing to rising rates of childhood obesity, suggests research published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
	Multiple mechanisms behind disease associated with unexpected heart attacks Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is best known for revealing itself in one certain way: as an unexpected, fatal heart attack during strenuous exercise. But researchers suspect as many as 300 mutations can individually cause enlargement of the heart that renders it vulnerable to strain. Recent studies examining three of those mutations at the molecular level found separate mechanisms at work, said Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute muscle protein and contraction expert Doug Swank, whose most recent paper on the topic was published today in the Journal of Physiology.
	Unlocking the female bias in lupus The autoimmune disease lupus, which can cause fatigue, a facial rash, and joint pain, strikes females far more often than males. Eight-five percent of people with lupus are female, and their second X chromosome seems partly to blame. According to a new study by Penn researchers, females with lupus don't fully "silence" their second X chromosome in the immune system's T cells, leading to abnormal expression of genes linked to that chromosome.
	Moderate alcohol consumption does not protect against stroke, study shows Blood pressure and stroke risk increase steadily with increasing alcohol intake, and previous claims that 1-2 alcoholic drinks a day might protect against stroke are dismissed by new evidence from a genetic study involving 160,000 adults.
	Do you comfort eat when you are blue? A team of researchers at the University of Wollongong (UOW) School of Medicine and the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI) has found that people who are depressed are at higher risk of weight gain.
	Cancer's SOS RAS proteins regulate growth, survival and proliferation of cells in their active state. However, the uncontrolled activation of RAS causes approximately a third of all tumors and helps cancerous cells evade anti-cancer drugs. Thus RAS is an important target for effective anti-cancer treatments.
	Pain clinics could cut down on opioid use, team finds Chronic non-cancer pain is sometimes managed with high-dose opioids, which has partially contributed to the current opioid epidemic. New research from pain specialists at the University of Arizona and Banner – University Medicine may provide options other than opioids for patients with non-cancer chronic pain.
	Most of us support mandatory vaccines for schoolkids, but is it good policy? Recently, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, including a measles outbreak in British Columbia, have ignited a firestorm of public debate about childhood vaccination and what should be done about current under-vaccination.
	Don't kiss your kids? Questioning the recent advice about CMV in pregnancy These days, guilt seems intrinsic to parenthood. And as many mothers will know, health professionals seem ever ready to stoke up guilt with their advice. Don't smoke. Don't drink. Have your vaccines. Take your folate tablets. Eat a nutritious diet, but avoid soft cheese, cured meat, food that's been long in a fridge, or (the list goes on). Avoid cats. Don't co-sleep. Breast is best. And if other women can manage all this, why can't you?
	New advances to improve the genetic diagnosis of Opitz C syndrome Opitz C syndrome (OCS), an ultra-rare disease that causes serious physical and intellectual disabilities, has an heterogeneous genetic base that makes its medical diagnostic and therapeutic intervention difficult, according to a new study by professors Daniel Grinberg, Susanna Balcells and Roser Urreizti, from the Group on Human Molecular Genetics of the of the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona and the Rare Diseases Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERER).
	The risks of infectious mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis, or mono, sidelines high school athletes every year. Kids who play sports aren't more susceptible to the disease. Instead, adolescent competitors are at a greater risk for one of the illness's serious complications—splenic rupture.
	Multigene test predicts depression risk An international team led by Munich-based researchers has found a genetic score that reliably predicts which youths will have depression, the severity of the depression and the age of onset. Furthermore, an additive effect was seen in the youths who had experienced childhood abuse.
	Why do we mix up faces? Game of Thrones might help us find the answer In the Game of Thrones universe, confusing a photograph of actor Jack Gleeson, who played the popular HBO TV show's despised sadist Joffrey Baratheon, for one of Maisie Williams, the beloved Arya Stark, is an egregious case of mistaken identity.
	Researchers find probiotics may increase intestinal motility in mouse model Emory researchers have found that adding good bacteria into the intestines can guide the development of the enteric nervous system, also called "the gut brain," while increasing intestinal motility, or movement of the digestive tract, in a mouse model. The results are good news for medical conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, Parkinson's disease, autism and others, where activity in the digestive tract is slowed. The findings were published in the journal Gastroenterology on March 28, 2019.
	High-resolution scanning helps secure guilty verdict against child's mother Researchers from WMG at The University of Warwick, have used a high resolution X-ray (micro-CT) scanner, a novel 3-D imaging technology more commonly employed in industry and materials research, to scan 9 week old Teri-Rae's rib cage.
	Whooping cough evolving to beat antibiotics and possibly vaccine A new strain of Bordetella pertussis – the bacterium that causes whooping cough – has become resistant to antibiotic treatment and may also be resistant to the vaccine used in China. A UNSW Sydney academic says the growing threat of it spreading to Australia should be taken seriously.
	Cardiac dysfunction in Duchenne's Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe muscle disease that causes progressive muscle weakening and degeneration.
	Drug interaction causes hypotension The commonly used muscle relaxant tizanidine can lower blood pressure. Tizanidine is metabolized by the enzyme CYP1A2, and concurrent use of tizanidine and a CYP1A2 inhibitor, such as ciprofloxacin, greatly increases tizanidine plasma concentrations. Despite package insert warnings, tizanidine and CYP1A2 inhibitors are commonly co-prescribed.
	Poor children troubled emotionally when parents fight Kids' emotional security becomes threatened when their parents can't resolve their differences peacefully, especially in low-income households dealing with stress and finances.
	The 'painless woman' helps us see how anxiety and fear fit in the big picture of pain Imagine a life without pain. No toothache. No period pain. No arthritis.
	Polysulfide donors strongly suppress inflammatory responses Researchers from Japan have developed a new polysulfide donor: a chemical compound composed of chains of sulfur atoms that can artificially increase reactive sulfur species (chemically reactive molecules containing sulfur) in cells and tissues. This donor is believed to be an excellent candidate for a new anti-inflammatory therapy because it has an extremely high anti-inflammatory effect.
	Low dose photodynamic therapy shows promise in the treatment of cancerous tumors A new study reveals the mechanisms whereby low dose photodynamic therapy affects the microstructure of vessels. Using co-cultures of pericytes and endothelial cells in vitro, the authors show that low dose photodynamic therapy activates pericytes through Rho, myosin light chain and focal adhesion kinase phosphorylation (MLC‐P, FAK‐P). This leads to cytoskeletal reconfiguration causing pericytes to contract 3-D collagen gels more efficiently.
	Older patients with vision loss have higher hospital use, costs (HealthDay)—Hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries with vision loss experience longer mean length of stay, higher readmission rates, and higher costs during hospitalization and postdischarge, according to a study published online April 4 in JAMA Ophthalmology.
	CDC: Violence against seniors on rise, especially among men (HealthDay)—There has been an increase in the rates of violence among older adults, especially among older men, according to research published in the April 5 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
	FDA: High levels of heavy metals found in kratom products (HealthDay)—Dangerously high levels of heavy metals have been found in dozens of kratom products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.
	FDA issues warning on E-cigarette liquids resembling cough syrup (HealthDay)—Warning letters have been sent to two companies that make and sell electronic cigarette liquids that look like prescription cough syrups, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.
	The DRC's Ebola outbreak has all the makings of a humanitarian crisis It's been eight months since the start of the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). By the beginning of April, almost 700 people have succumbed to the disease, making this the second worst Ebola outbreak ever recorded. It's second only to the West Africa outbreak of 2013 to 2016 that claimed more than 11 000 lives. And it seems that the end is not yet in sight. The Conversation Africa's Ina Skosana asked Jacqueline Weyer about this deepening public health crisis.
	Kidney cancer immunotherapy combo approved for NHS use in England A combination of immunotherapy drugs will be made available to NHS patients with advanced and aggressive kidney cancer on the NHS in England.
	The 7-minute workout (HealthDay)—Are you in a time crunch for even a short workout? Experts at the American College of Sports Medicine created a 7-minute plan that can fit into almost anyone's schedule.
	Baby-led eating: A healthier approach (HealthDay)—With childhood obesity rates soaring, prevention should start at a very early age. One approach gaining in popularity is baby-led weaning.
	Voice-assisted tech can be a driving hazard (HealthDay)—The risks of using voice-based technology in your car may be greater than you think.
	FDA says patients can take tainted blood pressure meds until shortages end (HealthDay)—As Americans face shortages of widely used blood pressure drugs due to contamination with potentially cancer-causing impurities, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said patients can safely take the tainted drugs in the short term.
	Does cancer battle bring personal growth? Yes and no, survivors say (HealthDay)—Breast cancer survivor Jessica Sidener is adamant that her illness brought real benefits to her life.
	International group working on hearing device, form of surgery for implant Since the 1980s, the cochlear implant has helped bring hearing to hundreds of thousands of people, but a new international effort aims to develop a new type of implant that will produce a keener, more natural form of hearing.
	T-cell molecule could be the key to more effective virus and cancer treatments Researchers at Cardiff University have discovered that a molecule responsible for guiding virus-killing T-cells to the site of infection is also responsible for rapidly increasing T-cell numbers to fight infection, making it an important new target for the development of more effective drugs to treat both viruses and cancers.
	Research uncovers link between dietary fiber and lung disease Dietary fibre may be a new tool in the prevention of progressive lung disease, thanks to the production of anti-inflammatory short chain fatty acids (SCFA), according to a new study by Australia's Priority Research Centre for Healthy Lungs at University of Newcastle, and the Centre for Inflammation, a partnership between The University of Technology Sydney and Centenary Institute.
	Vaccine wars: Social media battle outbreak of bogus claims Like health officials facing outbreaks of disease, internet companies are trying to contain vaccine-related misinformation they have long helped spread. So far, their efforts at quarantine are falling short.
	TTI heat map shows relationship between traffic-related air pollution and childhood asthma A team of air quality and health researchers led by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) have created a first-of-its-kind, county-by-county interactive heat map and city-by-city table detailing the distribution of childhood asthma due to traffic-related air pollution across the United States. One of the principal findings is that asthma cases attributable to traffic-related air pollution dramatically decreased over a 10-year period.
High-dose stereotactic body radiotherapy well-tolerated by patients with centrally located lung tumors Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT), a high-dose, precisely delivered radiotherapy, is considered the standard treatment for patients with medically inoperable, node-negative, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, this well-tolerated radiation treatment was not previously tested in centrally located NSCLC due to the fact that patients with centrally located lung tumors demonstrate a higher risk for toxicity if treated with high SBRT doses.
	Autism brings qualities which help at home and at work, study shows Autism enhances characteristics such as loyalty and focus which help those with the condition at work and in their relationships with others, experts have found.
Fewer people died from heart disease in states that expanded Medicaid coverage through the Affordable Care Act Counties in states that expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act had fewer deaths annually from heart disease compared to areas that did not expand Medicaid, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2019, a premier global exchange of the latest advances in quality of care and outcomes research in cardiovascular disease and stroke for researchers, healthcare professionals and policymakers.
Dentists underdiagnose when faced with time pressure, research shows Dentists can miss important details on x-rays when put under time pressure, according to new research led by the University of Plymouth.
	Eyes reveal early Alzheimer's disease Reduced blood capillaries in the back of the eye may be a new, noninvasive way to diagnose early cognitive impairment, the precursor to Alzheimer's disease in which individuals become forgetful, reports a newly published Northwestern Medicine study.
Researchers develop tool to estimate genetic diversity and ancestry of cell lines Cancer is a highly varied disease, with genetic differences among different tumor types, individuals and ancestral populations. These genetic differences can impact disease aggressiveness, the type of disease, and the response to therapy. It is important that scientists have proper tools and model systems to study how these variations affect cancer development and devise effective therapies for patients of all genetic backgrounds. In a new paper published in Cancer Research, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers, in collaboration with scientists at Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico, investigated this issue by creating an online tool that can be used by scientists to determine the genetic ancestral origin of more than 1300 different cell lines.
New trauma care pathway reduces delirium and likelihood of returning to the hospital A standardized interdisciplinary clinical pathway to identify and manage frailty in older patients has reduced the rate of one of the most debilitating complications for older patients—delirium—and kept patients from returning to the hospital within 30 days of treatment for traumatic injury. The pathway is being adapted for other surgical services as trauma surgeons from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, focus attention on the specific needs of elderly surgical patients. A study describing the pathway and its effects on outcomes appears as an "article in press" on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website in advance of print publication.
	Study calculates costs associated with smoking by patients with cancer A study released today in JAMA Network Open reported that smoking after a cancer diagnosis is associated with substantial additional costs of cancer treatment.
Racial disparities continue for black women seeking heart health care Despite improvements in heart attack and heart disease care for older women, black women still experience significantly lower rates of treatment when compared with whites or Hispanics, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2019, a premier global exchange of the latest advances in quality of care and outcomes research in cardiovascular disease and stroke for researchers, healthcare professionals and policymakers.
Anti-inflammatory drugs ineffective for prevention of Alzheimer's disease Researchers have known for decades that inflammation accompanies Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain lesions. Several early studies suggested that "super-aspirins" or Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) could help avoid the disease. However, after clinical trials showed that NSAIDs don't help patients who already have AD symptoms, doctors wondered whether these drugs could still be helpful to people who were at risk of developing the disease, but weren't yet showing symptoms.
	Video: Fighting the opioid epidemic with data In an effort to stay a step ahead of the opioid epidemic, UConn Health is part of a collaboration with the state Department of Public Health (DPH) that aims to track crucial data and create an early warning system to alert the public to overdose spikes.
	It can take a village to feed hungry kids in schools One in 6 American children faces hunger and 3 out of 4 teachers report regularly seeing hungry kids in their classrooms. In response, school meals make up a large fraction of federal food assistance.
	Q&A: Functional dyspepsia can significantly affect quality of life Dear Mayo Clinic: I thought I had an ulcer, but my doctor ruled that out and wants to run tests. He said it could be functional dyspepsia. What causes this, and is it treatable?
Experts call for strategies to address public health crisis of opioid, ID epidemics Citing the spread of infections linked to rising rates of opioid use across the country including HIV, viral hepatitis, skin and soft tissue infections, bone and joint infections and endocarditis, an article published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases calls on the federal government to support coordinated and strengthened responses by infectious diseases and substance use specialists. The article, by a team of authors from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases that includes NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, notes that opioid use has climbed since the late 1990s, leading to increased use of injecting drugs. By 2016, the authors note, injecting drug use was linked to 13% of new HIV diagnoses and the majority of new hepatitis C infections.
	Tailoring lactation education to the cultural needs of orthodox Jewish families Breastfeeding is an accepted practice for millions of women worldwide and strongly endorse by the World Health Organization. To provide appropriate counseling about human milk and breastfeeding, it is important to understand cultural beliefs and customs related to the practice.
	New tools and strategies for tuberculosis diagnosis, care, and elimination: A PLOS Medicine special This week, publication of a special issue on tuberculosis (TB) begins in PLOS Medicine, advised by guest editors Richard Chaisson of Johns Hopkins University, Claudia Denkinger of the University of Heidelberg, and Mark Hatherill of the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Institute.

Biology news

	Scientists warn of pandemic endangering amphibians A deadly disease affecting amphibians has descended into a global pandemic that has already wiped out 90 species, a prominent US biologist warned Thursday at the World Organisation for Animal Health Aquatic Conference in Santiago, Chile.
	Scientists develop methods to validate gene regulation networks A team of biologists and computer scientists has mapped out a network of interactions for how plant genes coordinate their response to nitrogen, a crucial nutrient and the main component of fertilizer. The work, published in the journal Nature Communications, offers a potential framework and more efficient methods that can be used to investigate a wide-range of vital pathways in any organism.
	A peptide against cannibalism A worm whose favorite dish is – of all things—worm larvae has to take great care not to accidentally devour its own progeny. How these tiny worms of merely a millimeter in length manage to distinguish their own offspring from that of other worms and avoid cannibalism has recently been discovered by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen. They found that Pristionchus recognizes its offspring by means of a complex mechanism. The worms carry a small, highly variable protein on their surfaces, which seems to be detected by the worm nose. The variable part of the protein likely functions as a self-recognition code and the change of even one amino acid leads to cannibalism.
	Compound that kills drug-resistant fungi is isolated from ant microbiota Antimicrobial and antifungal resistance, which describe the ability of bacteria and other pathogens to resist the effects of drugs to which they were once sensitive, is a major public health problem worldwide. A study published recently in the journal Nature Communications suggests that the solution may come from the tiny bodies of insects, or more accurately, from the microbiota that they host.
	Social insecurity also stresses chimpanzees An international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, conducted behavioral observations and collected urine samples for cortisol analysis of male chimpanzees of the Taï National Park, Ivory Coast, during periods of intense male-male competition. They showed that all males had higher stress levels during periods of increased male-male competition while aggression rates were actually lower during this time. This may indicate that in times of social instability animals refrain from aggressive actions to avoid escalation of conflicts and to promote group cohesion.
	Study explains why some of our famous flightless birds can't fly University of Otago researchers in association with colleagues from Harvard University have discovered new evidence of what made some of New Zealand's iconic birds such as the kiwi and extinct moa flightless.
	Screw-shaped bird sperm swim faster—but it comes at a cost A study by Ph.D. student Hanna Nyborg Støstad has investigated the peculiar spiral shape of songbird sperm. Støstad compared sperm cells of 36 bird species including house sparrows and tree swallows, and found that species whose sperm had a particularly distinct spiral or corkscrew shape also had sperm with high average swimming speed. However, those species also tended to have high rates of abnormal or damaged sperm.
	Study shows human-built offshore structures can benefit seabirds A team of researchers from several institutions in the U.K. has found evidence that suggests some seabirds may benefit from the existence of human-built offshore structures. In their paper published in the journal Communications Biology, the group describes their study of foraging seabirds in a tidal channel near Northern Ireland and what they learned.
	Evolutionary changes played a crucial role in industrialization, study finds A recent study of centuries-old French-Canadian genealogical data by a Brown University economist revealed evidence that supports his own 17-year-old theory that natural selection played a pivotal role in the emergence of economic growth and industrialization.
	Rusted root: Weedy rice repeatedly evolves 'cheater' root traits Weedy rice is neither wild rice nor crop rice, but rice gone rogue that has shed some traits important to people. It also is an incredibly aggressive, potentially detrimental weed that pops up almost everywhere rice is grown, and it can reduce crop yields by more than 80 percent if it invades a field.
	These molecules could trap viruses inside a cell Viruses are often used as vehicles for delivery in gene therapy because they're engineered not to damage the cell once they get there, but neglecting to consider how the virus will exit the cell could have consequences.
	Tidying up: A new way to direct trash to autophagy Marie Kondo herself couldn't do it any better.
	Unjamming the genome after DNA damage: A gene regulatory multi-tool has yet another function A protein complex that is involved in nearly every step in the regulatory control of gene expression in cells has now been shown also to play a key role in clearing potential traffic jams in the production of RNA.
	Compass orientation of a migratory bat species depends on sunset direction Millions of mammals navigate over thousands of kilometres each year. How they navigate during migration remains remarkably understudied compared to birds or sea turtles, however. A team of scientists led by the Leibniz-IZW in Berlin has now combined a mirror experiment simulating a different direction of the setting sun and a new test procedure to measure orientation behaviour in bats to understand the role of the sun's position in the animal navigation. The results demonstrate for the first time that a migratory mammal species uses the sunset direction to calibrate their compass system. Furthermore the experiment, which is published in Current Biology, indicates that this capacity is not inherited, and first-time migrating young bats need to learn the importance of the solar disc at dusk for nightly orientation.
	The holm oak transcriptome rebuilt: A key step towards understanding its biology Holm oaks are some of the most emblematic trees in Mediterranean forests and the most abundant ones on the Iberian Peninsula. Holm oaks have provided countless applications throughout their hundreds of thousands of years of history, and currently are one of the main resources for livestock farmers in the dehesa, a vital ecosystem in southern Spain. The AGR-164 research group at the University of Cordoba, headed by Professor Jesús V. Jorrín Novo, has sequenced the transcriptome of this emblematic forest species, which is an important starting point to understanding its reactions to stress, as well as other aspects of its biology.
	Cell lesson: better coordinated than isolated A new study led by Juana Díez, principal investigator of the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences (DCEXS) at UPF, has found a new system in cells that makes them more robust against possible alterations in the expression of genes. The work was published yesterday, 21 March, in Nature Communications.
	Plants grow less in hotter temperatures Plants have developed a robust system that stops their cell cycle in hostile environments such as abnormally hot temperatures. In response, they direct their energy to survival rather than growth. A new study led by scientists at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) reports in eLife that two transcription factors, ANAC044 and ANAC085, are critical for this response in the flowering plant Arabidopsis. The findings give clues on ways to modulate the growth of crops and other agriculture products.
	Trapdoor spider species that stay local put themselves at risk Several new species of trapdoor spiders found in Queensland are finally described in an article published this month in Invertebrate Systematics.
	A new protein structure that helps viruses with lipid membranes enter cells discovered Many viruses, including that perennial winter affliction, the influenza virus, are protected by a lipid membrane on loan from the host cell. The fusion proteins on the surface of the membrane are tasked with merging the lipid membrane of the virus with that of the cell. After this, the virus is able to slip inside the cell, turning it into a virus factory.
	Manatees face new challenge in Florida from harassing, non-native armored catfish Watching manatees gather in the crystalline waters of Blue Spring is one of Central Florida's outdoor treasures.
	Scientists discover, climb and describe the world's tallest tropical tree Scientists in the U.K. and Malaysia have discovered the world's tallest tropical tree, and possibly the tallest flowering plant, measuring over 100 metres high—laid down, it would extend beyond both goals on a football pitch.
	Australian Murray River habitat restoration increases native fish populations Dubbed the 'honeypot effect'—a team of scientists from around Australia have shown that providing woody habitat, or 'snags', for native fish in the Murray River increases their population size.
	Russia plans to free almost 100 captured whales Russian officials have invited a French ocean explorer to offer advice on how to safely release nearly 100 illegally captured whales, voicing hope that the animals could be let into the wild during summer.
	Science-based guidelines for building a bee-friendly landscape Bees are critical members of the ecosystem: 75% of leading food crops have some level of dependency on pollinators. However, native bee populations are struggling because of loss of habitat and food, often caused by urban and suburban development. The good news is that a single tree or shrub can produce thousands of flowers with high-quality pollen and nectar, providing bees with the protein and carbohydrates they need to thrive.

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