Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for April 22, 2019:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Incident on SpaceX pad could delay its first manned flightA mysterious but apparently serious incident occurred Saturday in Cape Canaveral, Florida involving the SpaceX capsule intended to carry American astronauts into space late this year, the private company and NASA announced. |
 | Earth vs. asteroids: humans strike backIncoming asteroids have been scarring our home planet for billions of years. This month humankind left our own mark on an asteroid for the first time: Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft dropped a copper projectile at very high speed in an attempt to form a crater on asteroid Ryugu. A much bigger asteroid impact is planned for the coming decade, involving an international double-spacecraft mission. |
 | SpaceX suffers serious setback with crew capsule accidentSpaceX has suffered a serious setback in its effort to launch NASA astronauts into orbit this year, with the fiery loss of its first crew capsule during testing. |
Technology news
 | An ultra-stretchable triboelectric strip sensor (TSS) to control objects in 3-D spaceNanogenerators, technological tools that can convert mechanical or thermal energy into electricity, come in three key designs: piezoelectric, triboelectric and pyroelectric. While piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators can convert mechanical energy into electricity, pyroelectric ones work by harvesting thermal energy. |
 | Talos reports on new, sophisticated hacking group manipulating DNS systemsA hacking group has gone after government domains—they targeted 40 government and intelligence agencies, telecoms and internet giants in 13 countries for more than two years, said reports. This is a new, sophisticated team of hackers spying on dozens of targets, said Wired. |
 | EpiWear: Students work up wearable to halt allergic reactionsWhat if, in an emergency, you reach for your epinephrine shot and it's not there? It would be if you were wearing it. |
 | New device paves the way to 3-D-printed organs, foodMore than 113,000 people are currently on the national transplant list. And with a shortage of donors, this means that about 20 people will die every day while waiting for an organ, according to the U.S. Department of Health. |
 | A deep learning tool for personalized workout recommendations from fitness tracking dataComputer scientists at the University of California San Diego have developed FitRec, a recommendation tool powered by deep learning, that is able to better estimate runners' heart rates during a workout and predict and recommend routes. The team will present their work at the WWW 19 conference May 13 to 17 in San Francisco. |
 | Ransomware 'hero' pleads guilty to US hacking chargesA British computer security researcher once hailed as a "hero" for helping stem a ransomware outbreak and later accused of creating malware to attack the banking system said Friday he pleaded guilty to US criminal charges. |
 | Panel to review approval of Boeing 737 Max flight controlsA global team of experts next week will begin reviewing how the Boeing 737 Max's flight control system was approved by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. |
 | Costa Rica bets on ending fossil fuel use by 2050Eric Orlich and his wife Gioconda Rojas own two electric vehicles, which they charge at home in the garage thanks to solar panels on their roof. |
 | Tesla wants to cut size of board from 11 directors to 7Tesla plans to cut its board of directors from 11 to seven in a move the electric-car maker says will allow the board to act more nimbly and efficiently. |
Doctor-services firm says private data of patients exposedNationwide physician-staffing company EmCare says a breach exposed personal data for about 31,000 patients, including in some cases their Social Security numbers and clinical information. | |
 | Tesla probes car fire in ShanghaiUS electric auto maker Tesla said Monday it had launched an investigation after a video circulating in China showed one of its cars suddenly burst into flames in a garage in Shanghai. |
 | Tesla gears up for fully self-driving cars amid skepticism (Update)Tesla expects to have full self-driving cars in which humans won't have to touch the steering wheel around the second quarter of next year. |
 | USC prof devises 'smart' building materials that move themselves with no motorAs a licensed architect concerned about the environment, Doris Sung became fed up catering to clients wanting steel and glass buildings with no regard to how such designs draw boatloads of energy, exacerbating global climate change. |
Smart cities: The promises and failures of utopian technological planningTechnology and innovation transform the ways that we interact with governments, purchase products and manage our health and lives. This turmoil affects cities, where the accelerating digitalization of our economy has opened the door for more technologies. It has also created the space to design utopian projects that profile the ways technology can be used to improve the quality of urban life. | |
 | What happens when a big business tries to take over and rename a neighborhoodWhat if Google tried to rename your neighborhood? |
 | Will Netflix eventually monetize its user data?Even in the wake of a recent mixed earning report and volatile stock prices, Netflix remains the media success story of the decade. The company, whose user base has grown rapidly, now boasts almost 150 million global subscribers. |
 | Toshiba's breakthrough algorithm realizes world's fastest, largest-scale combinatorial optimizationToshiba Corporation has realized a major breakthrough in combinatorial optimization—the selection of the best solutions from among an enormous number of combinatorial patterns—with the development of an algorithm that delivers the world's fastest and largest-scale performance, and an approximately 10-fold improvement over current methods. Toshiba's new method can be applied to such daunting but essential tasks as identifying efficient delivery routes, determining the most effective molecular structures to investigate in new drug development, and building portfolios of profitable financial products. |
 | Theory meets application: Machine learning techniques for geothermal explorationWhen Jing Yang, assistant professor of electrical engineering, began looking for practical applications to her machine learning research, partnering with Chris Marone, professor of geosciences, for his work on safe and efficient geothermal exploration and energy production, was a perfect fit. |
 | How artificial intelligence systems could threaten democracyU.S. technology giant Microsoft has teamed up with a Chinese military university to develop artificial intelligence systems that could potentially enhance government surveillance and censorship capabilities. Two U.S. senators publicly condemned the partnership, but what the National Defense Technology University of China wants from Microsoft isn't the only concern. |
Semiconductor firm to buy, expand upstate NY chip plantAn Arizona-based semiconductor supplier will purchase GlobalFoundries' computer chip manufacturing plant in the Hudson Valley, adding 150 new jobs and preserving hundreds of others as part of a $720 million expansion plan, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday. | |
 | Samsung delays launch of folding Galaxy smartphoneSamsung said Monday it was delaying the launch of its folding smartphone after trouble with handsets sent to reviewers. |
 | Five reasons why autonomous cars aren't coming anytime soonIn the world of autonomous vehicles, Pittsburgh, Phoenix and Silicon Valley are bustling hubs of development and testing. But ask those involved in self-driving vehicles when we might actually see them carrying passengers in every city, and you'll get an almost universal answer: Not anytime soon. |
| Tesla eyes 'robotaxis' by 2020 with new self-driving technology (Update)Tesla said Monday it is expecting to deploy self-driving "robotaxis" by 2020 as it unveiled its upgraded technology for driverless vehicles. |
 | Engineering students build treadmill that helps athletes in wheelchairs work outThe eight-time national champion UTA Movin' Mavs might be getting even better soon, thanks to some ingenuity among mechanical engineering students. |
Offshore wind developers to invest $4.5M in Rhode IslandThe developers of a new offshore wind farm said Monday that they're investing $4.5 million in Rhode Island to advance the industry in the state. | |
Medicine & Health news
 | Neuroscientists reverse some behavioral symptoms of Williams syndromeWilliams Syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder that affects about one in 10,000 babies born in the United States, produces a range of symptoms including cognitive impairments, cardiovascular problems, and extreme friendliness, or hypersociability. |
 | New insight into how obesity, insulin resistance can impair cognitionObesity can break down our protective blood brain barrier resulting in problems with learning and memory, scientists report. |
 | Mystery arthritis-linked knee bone three times more common than 100 years agoThe fabella, a small bone in the knee once lost to human evolution, has made a surprising resurgence over the last century. |
 | Artificial intelligence can diagnose PTSD by analyzing voicesA specially designed computer program can help diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans by analyzing their voices, a new study finds. |
 | Permanent daylight savings may cancel out changes to school start timesMoving the clock forward and then back each spring and fall usually draws plenty of complaints and questions about why such a change is necessary. As a result, several states in the U.S., including California, Washington, Florida, and North Carolina, are now considering doing away with the practice by making daylight savings time (DST) permanent. |
 | Overlooked molecular machine in cell nucleus may hold key to treating aggressive leukemiaMany individuals forced to fight an exceptionally aggressive form of the blood cancer acute myeloid leukemia (AML) don't survive more than five years. |
 | Lithium boosts muscle strength in mice with rare muscular dystrophyStanding up from a chair, climbing stairs, brushing one's hair – all can be a struggle for people with a rare form of muscular dystrophy that causes progressive weakness in the shoulders and hips. Over time, many such people lose the ability to walk or to lift their arms above their heads. |
 | Innovative drug delivery improves effectiveness of cancer immunotherapyEven after decades of research, cancer remains difficult to treat, in part because of its ability to evade the body's natural defenses found in the immune system. |
 | Hole-forming protein may suppress tumor growthSometimes cells need to die. The process of cell death is encoded within the genome of all higher organisms to kill off cancerous cells, and as a normal part of development to shape a mass of embryonic cells into the organism it will become. Now Jefferson researchers show a gene called gasdermin E, which is downregulated in many cancers, aids cells in dying in an unexpected way, and may also suppress tumor growth. |
 | Empathy often avoided because of mental effortEven when feeling empathy for others isn't financially costly or emotionally draining, people will still avoid it because they think empathy requires too much mental effort, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. |
 | Blood samples to help select the right early phase clinical trials for cancer patientsScientists could help match cancer patients with no other treatment options to clinical trials with experimental medicines, by analysing the genetic faults in a sample of their blood, according to research published in Nature Medicine today. |
 | Advance in CAR T-cell therapy eliminates severe side effectsAn advance in the breakthrough cancer treatment known as CAR T-cell therapy appears to eliminate its severe side effects, making the treatment safer and potentially available in outpatient settings, a new USC study shows. |
 | Brain regions linked to memory and emotion help humans navigate smellSpecies like dogs and rodents use their sense of smell to navigate toward desirable items and places and away from those they should avoid. But do humans have the same capabilities? It's a question University of Pennsylvania neurobiologist Jay Gottfried has been trying to answer, and by mixing pine and banana scents to create a unique "smellscape," he was able to decipher how the human brain uses such odor information to move through particular two-dimensional environments. |
 | Sugar entering the brain during septic shock causes memory lossThe loss of memory and cognitive function known to afflict survivors of septic shock is the result of a sugar that is released into the blood stream and enters the brain during the life-threatening condition. This finding, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, explains the premature mental aging that follows septic shock and may shed light on memory loss in other diseases. |
 | Microglia, immune cells of the central nervous system, shown to regulate neuroinflammationA research team at Massachusetts Eye and Ear has shown that microglia, the primary immune cells of the central nervous system—including the retina of the eye—serve as "gatekeepers," or biosensors and facilitators, of neuroinflammation in a preclinical model of autoimmune uveitis. Uveitis is one of the leading causes of blindness, accounting for approximately 10% of significant visual impairment worldwide. |
 | Researchers find new novel circulating proteins involved in progression of DKD to ESRDIn a breakthrough study published today in Nature Medicine, researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have identified a group of 17 circulating inflammatory proteins that are consistently associated with the development and progression of diabetic kidney disease. These 17 proteins, called the Kidney Risk Inflammatory Signature (KRIS), could allow doctors to determine the risk of progression to end stage renal disease in a patient with diabetic kidney disease. |
 | Personalizing precision medicine with combination therapies improves outcomes in cancerPrecision oncology often relies on treating patients with a single, molecularly matched therapy that targets one mutation in their tumor. In a report, published online in Nature Medicine on April 22, 2019, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers found that treating patients with personalized, combination therapies improved outcomes in patients with therapy resistant cancers. |
 | Protecting damaged hearts with microRNAsOnce the heart is fully formed, the cells that make up heart muscle, known as cardiomyocytes, have very limited ability to reproduce themselves. After a heart attack, cardiomyocytes die off; unable to make new ones, the heart instead forms scar tissue. Over time, this can set people up for heart failure. |
 | Atrasentan tied to lower risk for kidney events in T2DM with CKD(HealthDay)—Atrasentan is associated with a reduced risk for renal events in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, according to a study published online April 14 in The Lancet to coincide with the International Society of Nephrology World Congress of Nephrology, held from April 12 to 15 in Melbourne, Australia. |
Study provides insights on marijuana and opioid use in people with cancerA new study reveals that many people with cancer use marijuana, and rates of use in the U.S. have increased over time. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study also found that patients with cancer are more likely to use prescription opioids than adults without cancer. | |
 | Blankets, bed-sharing common in accidental baby suffocationsAccidental suffocation is a leading cause of injury deaths in U.S. infants and common scenarios involve blankets, bed-sharing with parents and other unsafe sleep practices, an analysis of government data found. |
 | New pediatric blood pressure guidelines identify more kids at higher risk of premature heart diseaseNew guidelines that classified more children as having elevated blood pressure are better at predicting which kids are likely to develop heart disease when they reach adulthood, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Hypertension. The guidelines were issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2017 and endorsed by the American Heart Association. |
 | Not drinking water may boost kids' consumption of sugary beveragesKids and young adults who drink no water throughout the day may consume twice the amount of calories from sugary drinks than those who drink water, according to Penn State researchers. |
 | Women getting C-sections best judge of own pain medication needsWhen doctors ask, women scheduled for cesarean sections know in advance whether they will need low, medium or high levels of pain medication, and are happier with their pain-management experience if given a choice about it, a Stanford-led study has found. |
 | Biologists design new molecules to help stall lung cancerUniversity of Texas at Dallas scientists have demonstrated that the growth rate of the majority of lung cancer cells relates directly to the availability of a crucial oxygen-metabolizing molecule. |
 | Flaw in many home pregnancy tests can return false negative resultsEach year, women in the U.S. rely on some 20 million home pregnancy tests to learn potentially life-altering news. Despite marketing claims that such tests are 99 percent accurate, research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis over the past decade has shown that up to 5 percent of pregnancy tests return results indicating a woman is not pregnant when, in reality, she is. |
 | Health Check: what causes constipation?Most people have experienced being blocked up from time to time, whether it's while travelling, after taking painkillers, or when you've let your diet go. |
 | Collecting the right quantity of evidence: How the brain makes a difficult decisionNew research conducted in the Cognitive Neuroscience group of SISSA shows that a perceptual decision—recognizing an object and taking the appropriate action—is triggered as soon as the brain's processing networks accumulate a precise quantity of sensory information. Our sensory receptors continuously collect information from the outside world, allowing us to understand what surrounds us and to behave accordingly. Recognizing the identity of an object often seems almost instantaneous. However, sometimes information enters the sensory system more gradually, in fits and starts, and an immediate percept is not possible. How, then, are signals accumulated over time? When does the nervous system decide that "enough is enough: it's time to act"? |
 | Liver illness strikes Latino children like a 'silent tsunami'Saira Diaz uses her fingers to count the establishments selling fast food and sweets near the South Los Angeles home she shares with her parents and 13-year-old son. "There's one, two, three, four, five fast-food restaurants," she says. "And a little mom-and-pop store that sells snacks and sodas and candy." |
 | Can't lose weight? You may have obesity genes to blameSome people who are overweight report that they eat no more than slender friends and exercise just as much, but still can't drop pounds. |
 | Many African Americans are wary of the medical system and don't give blood. One doctor is trying to change thatAngela Scott has heard many reasons why she shouldn't donate blood. |
 | Q&A: Cold sore virus can 'wake up' after remaining dormant for yearsDear Mayo Clinic: I have had a few cold sore flare-ups over the past few months after years without getting any. What causes them to come back, and what's the best way to treat them? |
 | How to fight 'scary' superbugs? Cooperation and a special soapHospitals and nursing homes in California and Illinois are testing a surprisingly simple strategy against the dangerous, antibiotic-resistant superbugs that kill thousands of people each year: washing patients with a special soap. |
 | Here's what you need to know about Candida auris, a superbug that's spreading in the USThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is alerting health care facilities to monitor for Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus that is difficult to diagnose and treat, and often spreads in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care environments. |
 | Virus identified as a cause of paralyzing condition in childrenA virus appears to be the cause behind a rash of poliolike illnesses that struck Minnesota and other states last fall, causing paralyzing symptoms in several children, including one girl who lost all motor function and remains hospitalized. |
 | Measles: What you need to know about vaccines, outbreaks and staying safeOnce considered eliminated, measles is again on the rise with more cases this year already than in all of 2018. |
 | Malawi to pilot groundbreaking malaria vaccineMalawi will on Tuesday spearhead large scale pilot tests for the world's most advanced experimental malaria vaccine in a bid to prevent the disease that kills hundreds of thousands across Africa each year. |
 | How to make your workplace a healthier one(HealthDay)—Even if you love your job, your workspace might not love you back. Because people may spend 40 or more hours on the job, often at a desk, all that exposure to less-than-inspiring surroundings can negatively influence health. |
 | Asparagus: A tasty spring veggie that boosts gut health(HealthDay)—Asparagus is a great spring vegetable that can be a tasty side dish or the starring ingredient in a main course like risotto. And it's more than just delicious—asparagus is great for digestive health, too. |
 | Many teens don't know they are vaping nicotine(HealthDay)—As e-cigarette use soars in high schools across America, new research shows many people don't understand the amount of addictive nicotine they're inhaling with every puff. |
 | When psychiatric medications are abruptly discontinued, withdrawal symptoms may be mistaken for relapseWithdrawal symptoms following the practice of discontinuation, or abruptly "coming off," of psychiatric drugs in randomized clinical trials may be mistaken for relapse and bolster the case for continued use of medication, according to two new studies by UCLA researchers published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. |
 | Researchers are testing ultrasound to treat neuropathic painSteroid injections, nerve stimulators and spinal fusions were no match for the chronic pain in Tammy Durfee's left side—never mind the "searing-hot poker" sensation that would jab her leg without warning. After a decade searching for relief, a four-hour procedure in Baltimore put her pain to rest. |
 | The impact of economic disparities on children's developmentParental engagement is one of the most important factors in a child's development, yet it varies dramatically based on socioeconomic advantage. |
 | For women, Tourette's syndrome means added burdens, and also rewardsSara Henya's art is her music, and her instrument is the harp. She makes playing look easy, effortless. Her fingers move like cascading water: fluid, graceful, sure. |
 | Study suggests overdiagnosis of schizophreniaIn a small study of patients referred to the Johns Hopkins Early Psychosis Intervention Clinic (EPIC), Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report that about half the people referred to the clinic with a schizophrenia diagnosis didn't actually have schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe and disabling disorder marked by disordered thinking, feelings and behavior. People who reported hearing voices or having anxiety were the ones more likely to be misdiagnosed. |
 | Study highlights global burden of emergency diseases and conditionsIn 2015, about half of the world's 28 million human deaths were the result of medical emergencies, with the bulk of the burden borne by poorer nations, according to a statistical analysis of information from nearly 200 countries by a Johns Hopkins Medicine researcher. The analysis, described in April in the journal BMJ Global Health, offered what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind look at the lethal impact of medical emergencies worldwide. |
Survey shows half of all American workplaces offer health and wellness programsWorkplace health promotion programs are increasing in the U.S., according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Gillings School of Global Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and RTI International. Nearly half of all workplaces in the nation offer some level of health promotion or wellness programs and 17% of workplaces with 50 or more employees offer comprehensive workplace health promotion programs. | |
 | Parents using both e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes may be more motivated to quitA study by MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) researchers finds that parents who use both traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes may be more receptive to smoking cessation interventions than parents who only smoke traditional cigarettes. |
 | Asia's diabetes epidemic preferentially kills women, the middle-aged: studyDiabetes has reached epidemic proportions in Asia and has dramatically increased the risk of premature death, especially among women and middle-aged people, a multinational study led by Vanderbilt University researchers has found. |
 | New York outbreaks drive US measles count up to 626Outbreaks in New York state continue to drive up the number of U.S. measles cases, which are approaching levels not seen in 25 years. |
Older adults starting dialysis die at higher rates than previously thoughtOlder adults with end-stage kidney disease who start dialysis—a treatment that keeps their blood free of toxins—appear to die at higher rates than previously thought, according to findings of a new study by researchers at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, among other institutions. | |
 | Team develops new tool to help psychiatrists encourage patients to quit smokingPsychiatrists often disregard their patients' smoking even though tobacco use accounts for 50 percent of deaths among people with mental illness, a Rutgers-led study finds. |
 | Physical activity may offset mortality risk caused by too much sittingFor less active adults, the amount of time spent sitting may be associated with an increased risk of death; however, increasing physical activity to recommended levels may eliminate this association in some, according to a study published today in the annual cardiovascular health promotion issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. |
 | Plant-based diets can be effective in reducing heart failure riskPlant-based diets are associated with a lower risk of heart failure in adults without known heart disease, while Southern diets consisting of more fried and processed foods and sweetened drinks are associated with greater risk, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that looked at the association between five dietary patterns and risk of heart failure. |
 | Skipping breakfast associated with increased risk of cardiovascular deathNew evidence underscores the importance of eating breakfast every day, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that showed skipping breakfast was significantly associated with an increased risk of death from heart disease. |
Intervention in preschool—an opportunity to promote healthy lifestyleChildren may have a better chance of avoiding unhealthy habits linked to obesity and cardiovascular disease later in life if they are taught properly about healthy behaviors in preschool, Mount Sinai researchers have shown in a first-of-its-kind study. | |
 | Nursing, dental, and medical students train together to improve kids' oral healthNursing, medical, and dental students can work as a team to improve their knowledge of pediatric oral health—and how to work with their fellow health professionals, finds new research led by NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. The study appears in the Journal of Dental Education. |
 | J-shaped association seen for BMI, Hodgkin lymphoma(HealthDay)—There is a strong positive association between body mass index (BMI) and incident Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), with the positive association seen at BMIs greater than 24.2 kg/m², according to a study recently published in the British Journal of Cancer. |
 | Evidence grows for an HPV-heart disease connectionHuman papillomavirus, or HPV, is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the country. |
 | FDA approves marketing of first device to treat ADHD(HealthDay)—Marketing has been approved for the first medical device to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday. |
Lessons from Hurricane Maria: Doctors offer tips to better prepare clinics for catastropheIn the wake of Hurricane Maria, a devastating storm that produced the longest blackout in U.S. history, radiation oncologists from the mainland United States and Puerto Rico prepared a set of crisis-planning tips for radiation therapy clinics to minimize gaps in cancer treatment after a catastrophic event. Their emergency preparedness suggestions were published online April 15 in Practical Radiation Oncology, the clinical practice journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). | |
 | A deep-learning model may help predict lung cancer survival and outcomesA deep-learning model developed using serial image scans of tumors from patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) predicted treatment response and survival outcomes better than standard clinical parameters. |
Doctors, materials scientists hope a blood test will encourage more colon cancer screeningsColorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. and a growing problem around the world, but not because it's a particularly difficult cancer to detect and halt. The problem, doctors and researchers believe, is that not enough people are being screened for early signs of the disease, either because they do not know the recommendations or because they are avoiding getting a colonoscopy, which many perceive as an unpleasant procedure. | |
 | One woman's cancer fight: a case study in structural racismDespite the growing body of evidence showing that social forces like income, housing and educational attainment have a greater bearing on health outcomes than behavior or genetics, healthcare leaders remain reluctant to identify racism as a root cause of racial health inequities. In an April 18 article in the New England Journal of Medicine, Rush Medical College student Kristen Pallok with Dr. David Ansell and Dr. Fernando De Maio –– from Chicago's Center for Community Health Equity –– use the experience of a 60-year-old African-American woman's breast cancer fight to illustrate how intuitionally and culturally embedded racial hierarchies prevent people of color from meeting their basic needs. |
 | Rice University device would help fix fractured bonesThreading a needle is hard, but at least you can see it. Think about how challenging it must be to thread a screw through a rod inside a bone in someone's leg. |
 | Researchers study strategies for using nanotechnology to boost cancer therapeuticsUNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers presented innovative new strategies for using tiny particles the size of a DNA molecule or the width of a human hair to boost cancer treatment as part of the Carolina Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence/National Cancer Institute site visit on Tuesday. |
 | Study looks at bisexual mental healthThe largest study of bisexual people in the world to date, led by La Trobe University, has examined why bisexual people experience higher rates of psychological distress than heterosexual and homosexual people. |
 | How blindness shapes sound processingAdults who lost their vision at an early age have more refined auditory cortex responses to simple sounds than sighted individuals, according to new neuroimaging research published in JNeurosci. The study is among the first to investigate the effects of early blindness on this brain region, which may contribute to superior hearing in the blind. |
 | Promise of liquid biopsy in cancer biomarker detection and prenatal screeningThe promise and challenges of liquid biopsy, an emerging, noninvasive method for targeted disease diagnosis and detection of cancer biomarkers to enable improved and personalized therapy, is the focus of a new special issue of Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers. |
No increase in complications with 'tummy tuck' in obese patients"Tummy tuck" surgery (abdominoplasty) can be safely performed in obese patients, with no increase in complications compared to non-obese patients, reports a study in the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). | |
With abdominal etching, plastic surgeons help patients get 'six-pack abs'Even with a good diet and workout routine, some men and women have trouble getting the toned abdominal appearance they want. For these patients, a technique called abdominal etching can help in creating the classic "six-pack abs" physique in men or three-vertical-line abdomen in women, reports a study in the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). | |
 | Metformin may help patients maintain weight loss long-termIn the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) clinical trial and its long-term follow-up study, among the persons who lost at least 5 percent of their body weight during the first year, long-term maintenance of weight loss was more likely if they had been assigned to treatment with metformin than with placebo or lifestyle intervention. Being older and losing a greater amount of weight in the first year were the most consistent predictors of lasting weight loss. Findings from a cohort study are published in Annals of Internal Medicine. |
Biology news
 | Family quarrels in seeds reveal the ways parents and offspring sometimes evolve in conflicting directionsIt's spring, finally—and in the tree branches a battle is brewing. A robin returns to her nest with an earthworm. Her nestlings all beg, but only one will get this meal. And while Mom has an interest in making sure that all of her babies thrive, each little bird is more selfish. So the baby opens his beak again and again: give me more! |
 | Group decisions: When more information isn't necessarily betterIn nature, group decisions are often a matter of life or death. At first glance, the way certain groups of animals like minnows branch off into smaller sub-groups might seem counterproductive to their survival. After all, information about, say, where to find some tasty fish roe or which waters harbor more of their predators, would flow more freely and seem to benefit more minnows if the school of fish behaved as a whole. However, new research published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B sheds light on the complexity of collective decision-making and uncovers new insights into the benefits of the internal structure of animal groups. |
 | 'Longevity gene' responsible for more efficient DNA repairExplorers have dreamt for centuries of a Fountain of Youth, with healing waters that rejuvenate the old and extend life indefinitely. |
 | Island lizards are expert sunbathers, and researchers find it's slowing their evolutionIf you've ever spent some time in the Caribbean, you might have noticed that humans are not the only organisms soaking up the sun. Anoles—diminutive little tree lizards—spend much of their day shuttling in and out of shade. But, according to a new study in Evolution led by assistant professor Martha Muñoz at Virginia Tech and Jhan Salazar at Universidad Icesi, this behavioral "thermoregulation" isn't just affecting their body temperature. Surprisingly, it's also slowing their evolution. |
 | Neonics hinder bees' ability to fend off deadly mites, study revealsA University of Guelph study is the first to uncover the impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on honey bees' ability to groom and rid themselves of deadly mites. |
 | New genomics tool ECCITE-seq expands multimodal single cell analysisA new technique called ECCITE-seq, developed by scientists at the New York Genome Center's (NYGC) Technology Innovation Lab (@NYGCtech), allows researchers to perform high-throughput measurements of multiple modalities of information from single cells. |
 | DNA managed like climbing rope to avoid knotsA process that cells use to unravel knotted strands of DNA – resembling a method used to control climbing ropes – has been uncovered by scientists. |
 | Slime mold absorbs substances to memorize themIn 2016, CNRS scientists demonstrated that the slime mold Physarum polycephalum, a single-cell organism without a nervous system, could learn to no longer fear a harmless but aversive substance and could transmit this knowledge to a fellow slime mold. In a new study, a team from CNRS and the Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier has shown what might support this memory, and in fact, it could be the aversive substance itself. |
 | How does wildlife fare after fires?Fire ecologists and wildlife specialists at La Trobe University have made key discoveries in how wildlife restores itself after bushfires, and what Australian conservationists can do to assist the process. |
 | Mixing grass varieties may reduce insect infestations in lawnsA simple change in the choice of grass varieties for many lawns in the United States could be a key tool for fending off fall armyworm infestations, according to new research. |
 | Sand tiger sharks return to shipwrecks off N.C. coastPhotos taken months, and in some cases years, apart by scuba divers show female sand tiger sharks returning to the same shipwrecks off the North Carolina coast, a new study co-led by scientists at Duke University reveals. |
 | Study shows zoos and aquariums dramatically increase information needed to help save speciesDespite volumes of data currently available on mankind, it is surprising how little we know about other species. A paper published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) confirms that critical information, such as fertility and survival rates, is missing from global data for more than 98 percent of known species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. |
 | Australia orders urgent review after spate of dingo attacksAustralia on Sunday ordered a urgent review into the management of dingoes on a popular tourist island after a spate of attacks by the wild dogs this year. |
 | Ecologist dissects the science of de-extinctionSpoiler alert: It is not possible to clone a wooly mammoth |
 | Scientists identify a novel target for corn straw utilizationPlant cell walls, as repositories of fixed carbon, are an important source of biomass, which is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. However, the complex lignin structure makes it a rather inefficient biomass source. Thorough understanding of lignin biosynthesis will improve the efficiency of biomass conversion into biofuels and increase the quality of forage and silage. |
 | SeaWorld publishes decades of orca data to help wild whalesThe endangered killer whales of the Pacific Northwest live very different lives from orcas in captivity. |
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