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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for April 18, 2019:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Research provides insights into molecular gas in the massive spiral galaxy NGC 5908In a recently published research, which is part of a broader observational campaign focused on studying massive spiral galaxies, astronomers have investigated molecular lines of carbon monoxide and its isotopologues in NGC 5908. The study, detailed in a paper published April 10 on arXiv.org, sheds more light on properties of molecular gas in this galaxy, what could be helpful to better understand the evolution of such massive objects. |
 | Five planets revealed after 20 years of observationOver 4000 exoplanets have been discovered since the first one in 1995, but the vast majority of them orbit their stars with relatively short periods of revolution. Indeed, to confirm the presence of a planet, it is necessary to wait until it has made one or more revolutions around its star. This can take from a few days for the closest to the star to decades for the furthest away: Jupiter for example takes 11 years to go around the sun. Only a telescope dedicated to the search for exoplanets can carry out such measurements over such long periods of time, which is the case of the EULER telescope of the Geneva University (UNIGE), Switzerland, located at the Silla Observatory in Chile. These planets with long periods of revolution are of particular interest to astronomers because they are part of a poorly known but unavoidable population to explain the formation and evolution of planets. An article published by the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. |
 | Planck reveals link between active galaxies and their dark matter environmentScientists have used the tiny distortions imprinted on the cosmic microwave background by the gravity of matter throughout the universe, recorded by ESA's Planck satellite, to uncover the connection between the luminosity of quasars – the bright cores of active galaxies – and the mass of the much larger 'halos' of dark matter in which they sit. The result is an important confirmation for our understanding of how galaxies evolve across cosmic history. |
 | Hubble celebrates its 29th birthday with unrivaled view of the Southern Crab NebulaThis incredible image of the hourglass-shaped Southern Crab Nebula was taken to mark the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's 29th anniversary in space. The nebula, created by a binary star system, is one of the many objects that Hubble has demystified throughout its productive life. This new image adds to our understanding of the nebula and demonstrates the telescope's continued capabilities. |
 | Israeli team investigating 'chain of events' in lunar crashThe Israeli start-up behind last week's failed lunar landing said Thursday that it is still investigating a malfunction that caused the spacecraft to plummet to the moon's surface. |
 | China to launch asteroid probe, calls for partnersChina plans to launch an ambitious asteroid exploration mission and has invited collaborators to put their experiments on the probes, space agency officials said Thursday. |
 | Microcavity experiment heads to ISSThe second Swinburne Haileybury International Space Station Experiment (SHINE) launched from Wallops Island, Virginia in the US aboard an Antares rocket at 6.46am (AEST), to make its way to the International Space Station (ISS). |
 | OSIRIS Image Viewer makes available all images of Rosetta's comet 67PBetween 2014 and 2016, the scientific camera system OSIRIS onboard ESA's Rosetta spacecraft captured almost 70000 images of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. They not only document the most extensive and demanding comet mission to date, but also show the duck-shaped body in all its facets. In a joint project with the Department of Information and Communication at Flensburg University of Applied Sciences, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), head of the OSIRIS team, has now published all of these images. The OSIRIS Image Viewer is suited to the needs of both laymen and expert and offers quick and easy access to one of the greatest scientific treasures of recent years. |
 | Lithium detected in an ancient star gives new clues for Big Bang nucleosynthesisResearchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (Spain) and the University of Cambridge (UK) have detected lithium (Li) in the ancient star J0023+0307, a main-sequence extremely iron-poor dwarf star about 9,450 light years away in the galactic halo. |
 | Four questions: Here there be monstersOn April 10, the world got to see the first image taken of a black hole in space, taken by the Event Horizon Telescope, a worldwide collaboration of astronomers and astrophysicists including a substantial team at the University of Arizona. |
 | NASA's 1st female astronaut candidate, Jerrie Cobb, diesNASA's first female astronaut candidate, pilot Jerrie Cobb, has died. |
Technology news
 | A neurorobotics approach for building robots with communication skillsResearchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology have recently proposed a neurorobotics approach that could aid the development of robots with advanced communication capabilities. Their approach, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, is based on two key features: stochastic neural dynamics and prediction error minimization (PEM). |
 | Researchers use physics of airflows to locate gaseous leaks more quickly in complex scenariosEngineers at Duke University are developing a smart robotic system for sniffing out pollution hotspots and sources of toxic leaks. Their approach enables a robot to incorporate calculations made on the fly to account for the complex airflows of confined spaces rather than simply 'following its nose.' |
 | Apple may sweeten macOS 10.15 with iPad external display supportApple watchers are talking about what one might expect to see as new features in Apple's operating systems. Guilherme Rambo, a Brazil-based Mac and iOS developer, has delivered reports about new features in the wings. |
 | A neural network can read scientific papers and render a plain-English summaryThe work of a science writer, including this one, includes reading journal papers filled with specialized technical terminology, and figuring out how to explain their contents in language that readers without a scientific background can understand. |
 | Adding human touch to unchatty chatbots may lead to bigger letdownSorry, Siri, but just giving a chatbot a human name or adding humanlike features to its avatar might not be enough to win over a user if the device fails to maintain a conversational back-and-forth with that person, according to researchers. In fact, those humanlike features might create a backlash against less responsive humanlike chatbots. |
 | Researchers use 3-D printer to print glassFor the first time, researchers have successfully 3-D printed chalcogenide glass, a unique material used to make optical components that operate at mid-infrared wavelengths. The ability to 3-D print this glass could make it possible to manufacture complex glass components and optical fibers for new types of low-cost sensors, telecommunications components and biomedical devices. |
 | Project Sidewalk helps users map accessibility around Seattle and other citiesAbout 3.6 million adults in the United States use a wheelchair to get around, according to census data. |
 | Amazon to pull plug on China retail operations: reportAmazon plans to close down its online retail operations that cater to consumers in China in an apparent admission of defeat to local e-commerce rivals such as Alibaba and JD.com, a report said on Thursday. |
 | Pinterest prices IPO at $19 to begin trading ThursdayPinterest on Wednesday announced it would price its initial public offering at $19 a share to begin trading on Wall Street the following day. |
 | Samsung to inspect Galaxy Fold phones after reviewer complaintsSamsung announced Thursday it will inspect units of its highly anticipated folding smartphone after some reviewers reported screen damage. |
 | Boeing conducts final test flight of 737 MAX with software fixBoeing has conducted a final test flight of a 737 MAX model with an updated anti-stall system prior to its certification by aviation authorities, the aerospace manufacturer said Wednesday. |
 | Japan's Suzuki in domestic recall of 2 mln vehiclesJapanese small car manufacturer Suzuki announced Thursday it was recalling two million vehicles shipped domestically, citing improper inspections and a series of other faults including false fuel efficiency data. |
 | Why language technology can't handle Game of Thrones (yet)Researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Dutch Royal Academy's Humanities Cluster evaluated four state-of-the-art tools for recognising names in text, to assess and improve their performance on popular fiction. They find solutions to boost the tools' capability to recognise names in one novel from an accuracy of 7% to 90%. |
 | New research exposes extent of mineral demand for renewable energy technologiesThe growing demand for minerals and metals to build the electric vehicles, solar arrays, wind turbines and other renewable energy infrastructure necessary to meet the ambitious goals of the Paris Climate Agreement could outstrip current production rates for key metals by as early as 2022, according to new research by the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures. |
 | Video manipulation technology poses danger to future electionsA video on social media shows a high-ranking U.S. legislator declaring his support for an overwhelming tax increase. You react accordingly because the video looks like him and sounds like him, so certainly it has be him. |
 | Building a better turbineImagine a world in which half of our electricity is generated renewably by offshore wind farms. Now imagine a powerful hurricane hitting the coast where that farm is located. If developers, engineers and policy makers haven't prepared for this event the coast could face major consequences such as blackouts and brownouts. This is a scenario that Sanjay R. Arwade, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UMass Amherst, is working to guard against as offshore wind becomes more prominent in the U.S. market. |
 | Toyota hybrids drive over 60% of the time in zero emissions mode, study findsA new study carried out by University College Dublin (UCD) academics, published today, has revealed that in typical Irish commuting conditions, Toyota's hybrid powertrain system drives in zero emissions mode (ZEV) for significantly more than half (62 percent) of the time and over 40 percent of the distance covered. |
 | Tiny, fast, accurate technology on the radarA tiny, portable radar device could allow visually impaired people, or unmanned moving devices to detect objects in real time. |
 | Google offers Android users choice to satisfy EUGoogle on Thursday said users of its hugely popular Android devices would be offered a choice of five browsers and search engines as part of the company's effort to meet EU competition concerns. |
 | Explainer: What is quantum machine learning and how can it help us?Artificial intelligence refers, among other things, to machines' capacity to demonstrate some degree of what humans consider "intelligence". This process is being driven by the rapid advancement of machine learning: getting machines to think for themselves rather than pre-programming them with an absolute concept. |
 | As governments adopt artificial intelligence, there's little oversight and lots of dangerArtificial intelligence systems can – if properly used – help make government more effective and responsive, improving the lives of citizens. Improperly used, however, the dystopian visions of George Orwell's "1984" become more realistic. |
 | Future hypersonics could be artificially intelligentA test launch for a hypersonic weapon—a long-range missile that flies a mile per second and faster—takes weeks of planning. So, while the U.S. and other states are racing to deploy hypersonic technologies, it remains uncertain how useful the systems will be against urgent, mobile or evolving threats. |
 | Amazon, Google agree to allow each other's streaming appsAmazon and Google announced Thursday they had agreed to allow each other's streaming media applications to work on their platforms, ending a spat over video between the tech giants. |
 | Netflix unveils plans for New York production hubNetflix announced plans Thursday to create a New York City production center for its original programs that could lead to thousands of new jobs. |
 | Facebook says more Instagram passwords exposed than thoughtMillions more Instagram users were affected by a password security lapse than parent company Facebook acknowledged nearly four weeks ago. |
 | Facebook shareholders are getting fed up with Zuckerberg but can't do anything about himJudging from the proxy statement issued by Facebook last week in advance of its May 30 annual meeting, the company's shareholders are starting to get fed up with its leadership by co-founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. |
 | Jet shares nosedive after flights grounded, lenders 'hopeful'Jet Airways shares plunged more than 32 percent on Thursday, hours after the Indian carrier's final flight landed following a decision to ground its entire fleet. |
 | Facebook bans UK far-right groupsSocial media giant Facebook on Thursday banned various far-right British groups including the English Defence League from its network for promoting hate and violence. |
 | Training data for autonomous drivingAutonomous cars must perceive their environment true to reality. The corresponding algorithms are trained using a large number of image and video recordings. For the algorithm to recognize single image elements, such as a tree, a pedestrian or a road sign, these are labeled. Labeling is improved and accelerated by understand.ai, a startup established by computer scientist Philip Kessler, who studied at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and his co-founder Marc Mengler. |
 | IPO mania: Zoom zooms, Pinterest pins down Wall StreetThere's some tech jubilance in the air on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley as a pair of newly public companies—Zoom and Pinterest—are seeing their stocks soar on their first trading day. |
 | Tech startups Pinterest, Zoom soar in Wall Street debutPinterest got off to a flying start on Wall Street Thursday in the market debut for the San Francisco-based visual discovery service, a positive sign for the wave of Silicon Valley firms planning stock listings. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Late dinner and no breakfast is a killer combinationPeople who skip breakfast and eat dinner near bedtime have worse outcomes after a heart attack. That's the finding of research published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). |
 | Blood pressure drug shows promise for treating Parkinson's and dementia in animal studyA prescribed drug to treat high blood pressure has shown promise against conditions such as Parkinson's, Huntington's and forms of dementia in studies carried out in mice and zebrafish at the University of Cambridge. |
 | Researchers use genetic profiles to predict obesity risk at birthResearchers have come up with a scoring system based on genetic markers that predicts an individual's inborn risk for obesity. Using data from the largest existing genome-wide study of obesity, they applied new algorithms to integrate information from more than two million genetic variants affecting body mass index (BMI). The resulting score accurately predicted BMI and obesity in more than 300,000 individuals spanning birth to middle age. The work appears April 18 in the journal Cell. |
 | Genetic variants that protect against obesity could aid new weight loss medicinesAround four million people in the UK carry genetic variants that protect them from obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge. The team say the discovery could lead to the development of new drugs that help people lose weight. |
 | Two studies explore whether time of day can affect the body's response to exerciseTwo papers appearing April 18 in the journal Cell Metabolism confirm that the circadian clock is an important factor in how the body responds to physical exertion. The studies focused on different components of exercise, thereby complementing each other. Based on this work alone, it's too early to say when the best time is for you to go for a jog. But at least in the lab, exercise in the evening seems to be more productive, although human lifestyles are much more complicated and so this area of research is only just beginning. |
 | RNA sequencing used to discover novel genes and pathways in celiac diseaseResearchers at the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center at MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) have discovered novel genes and pathways related to early stages in the development of celiac disease and the ongoing inflammation and comorbidities associated with the condition. The findings, published in PLOS One, include analyses of RNA sequences in duodenal biopsies from individuals with and without celiac disease and are consistent with many previously described pathways in the development of celiac disease. |
 | A possible blood test for early-stage Alzheimer's diseaseA large team of researchers affiliated with a host of institutions across South Korea has developed a possible blood test to detect the early stages of Alzheimer's disease in patients who have yet to exhibit symptoms. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their research and the technique they developed for detecting the disorder. |
 | Researchers find number of mutations in human B lymphocytes increases with ageA team of researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine has found that the number of somatic mutations in human B lymphocytes increases with age. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their study, which involved sequencing cells from people ranging from newborn babies to people in their 100s and what they found. |
 | Researchers develop method to predict salmonella outbreaksUniversity of Sydney researchers have developed a model that can predict outbreaks several months in advance, and its results come as a warning ahead of the Easter long weekend. |
 | Pig experiment raises ethical questions around brain damageThe brain is more resilient than previously thought. In a groundbreaking experiment published in this week's issue of Nature, neuroscientists created an artificial circulation system that successfully restored some functions and structures in donated pig brains—up to four hours after the pigs were butchered at a USDA food processing facility. Though there was no evidence of restored consciousness, brains from the pigs were without oxygen for hours, yet could still support key functions provided by the artificial system. The result challenges the notion that mammalian brains are fully and irreversibly damaged by a lack of oxygen. |
 | The brain's imperfect execution of mathematically optimal perceptionHuman perception is based on mathematically optimal principles, but the brain implements those principles imperfectly, suggests new research by Elina Stengård and Ronald van den Berg of the University of Uppsala, Sweden. They present their findings in PLOS Computational Biology. |
 | General anesthesia hijacks sleep circuitry to knock you outThe discovery of general anesthesia 170 years ago was a medical miracle, enabling millions of patients to undergo invasive, life-saving surgeries without pain. Yet despite decades of research, scientists still don't understand why general anesthesia works. |
Preschoolers with chronic constipation tend to be picky eatersIn the first study of its kind in the U.S., researchers found that normally developing preschool children with chronic constipation have underlying sensory issues that contribute to their difficulties with toileting behaviors. These children are often picky eaters who might be overly sensitive to food textures, tastes, or odors. They also might have an exaggerated response to noises, bright lights, or other sensory stimuli. Findings were published in the Journal of Pediatrics. | |
Alerting patients to their risk of gum disease improves inflammation and dental hygieneIn a new study published today in the Journal of Periodontology researchers found that using psychological techniques to communicate the risk of developing periodontal disease to patients improved dental hygiene over a three month period. It was further associated with reduced scores for gum inflammation as well. | |
 | Tick, tick, tick: Alaska braces for invading parasitesHealth and wildlife officials are taking steps to prepare for potentially dangerous parasites that could gain a foothold because of Alaska's warming climate. |
 | Experimental antiplatelet compound for acute stroke shows promiseAn experimental antiplatelet compound inhibited clot formation without increasing bleeding, a common and potentially dangerous side effect of current anticlotting therapies, according to new phase I research in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, an American Heart Association journal. |
 | New CRISPR tool executes multiple edits simultaneously, leading to unique partnership to deliver cancer treatmentsScientists at Christiana Care Health System's Gene Editing Institute and NovellusDx, an Israeli biotechnology company, have deployed a breakthrough CRISPR gene-editing tool to successfully engineer multiple edits simultaneously to fragments of DNA extracted from a human cell, according to a new study published today in The CRISPR Journal. The tool can rapidly reproduce, in a human DNA sample, the unique and complex genetic features of an individual patient's cancer tumor. |
 | Rare genetic change provides clues to pancreas developmentResearchers have discovered a key clue into the development of the pancreas and brain by studying rare patients born without a pancreas. The study from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Exeter and collaborators also identified a previously unexpected pathway involved in the development of the human pancreas, and confirmed this in mice. Understanding how the human pancreas forms could help researchers develop replacement cells to treat patients with type 1 diabetes in the future. |
 | Microbiomes of diabetic foot ulcers are associated with clinical outcomesNew research suggests that the microbial communities associated with chronic wounds common in diabetic patients affect whether those wounds heal or lead to amputations. Work led by University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Professor of Medical Microbiology and Immunology Lindsay Kalan and her colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania found that particular strains of the common pathogen Staphylococcus aureus exclusively infected diabetic foot ulcers that never healed, indicating these strains may delay healing. |
 | New immune pathway involved in resistance to parasite worms found in undercooked porkScientists from Lancaster University in the UK have discovered that immune responses originally found to prevent fungal infections are also important in eliminating Trichinella spiralis, a round worm and the causative agent of Trichinosis.People acquire trichinellosis by consuming raw or undercooked meat infected with the Trichinella parasite, particularly wild game meat or pork. Consumption of contaminated meat contains "nurse cells" of the parasite. Once in the stomach the "nurse cells" hatch releasing infective larvae which then bury themselves within the lining of the small intestine. |
 | How the hepatitis B virus establishes persistent infectionNew research sheds light on how a hepatitis B viral protein stimulates the expansion of immune cells that impair antiviral responses, according to a study published April 18 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Haitao Guo of the Indiana University School of Medicine, Bin Wang and Jiming Zhang of Fudan University, and colleagues. The findings potentially explain how the hepatitis B virus (HBV) establishes and maintains chronic infection, and could lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies. |
 | Sniffles and sneezes: A Q&A about allergies with Dr. Ryan SteeleWith allergy season upon us, YaleNews spoke to Dr. Ryan Steele, instructor of clinical medicine at Yale School of Medicine, about the current season, prevention, treatments, and other facts allergy sufferers need to know. When he's not treating patients at Yale Health or the Yale New Haven Health Interventional Immunology Center, Steele teaches allergy and immunology research and practice to fellows, residents, and medical students. He also recently launched the Contact Dermatitis Clinic, where he and his colleagues evaluate patients with allergic skin conditions and offer a range of diagnostic and therapeutic options. The following conversation has been edited. |
 | Cervical cancer is more aggressive when human papillomavirus is not detectedCervical cancer negative for the human papilloma virus (HPV) is rare but more aggressive. It is more frequently diagnosed at advanced stages, with more metastasis and reduced survival. These are the conclusions of a study co-led by ISGlobal, an institution supported by "la Caixa," the Hospital Clinic and the University of Barcelona. |
Malaria infections may be masking the extent of the emerging chikungunya epidemicChikungunya virus is rapidly spreading around the world and encroaching into areas already plagued by malaria, which means that more people are falling ill with cases of both mosquito-borne infections. That might sound dire, but according to a new study by A*STAR scientists, prior exposure to malaria may help protect against complications of chikungunya. | |
Common anti–inflammatory could protect baby brainsAdministering ibuprofen immediately after birth may reduce brain damage in tiny growth-restricted babies, University of Queensland researchers have found. | |
 | Eight hours of interval sprinting can reverse negative effects of menopauseA study in menopausal women found that participating in interval sprinting three times a week over two months resulted in significant health benefits. |
 | Can India lead the way in managing cardiovascular disease?There are more than 55 million people in India with cardiovascular disease. As India considers a national Essential Diagnostics List, University of Michigan researchers Lee Schroeder and Ahmad Abdul-Aziz take a deep dive on how this list might provide much-needed help for tackling the burden of cardiovascular diseases in India. |
 | Harmonization of resting-state functional MRI data across multiple imaging sitesIt has become increasingly apparent that the low reproducibility of results is a ubiquitous problem across many scientific fields such as biomedical science and psychology. This problem is particularly serious in biomedical studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. An increasing number of studies have reported success in constructing machine-learning algorithms (artificial intelligence) that use fMRI data to classify subjects as either healthy or suffering from a psychiatric disorder. However, it has been suggested that if these classifiers were constructed from a small number of samples (e.g., tens of participants) from a single site, it might not be possible to generalize their application to the data acquired from other imaging sites. A solution to this low generalization capability is to collect big data across many sites, but the considerable site-related differences in fMRI data is a formidable obstacle to the feasibility of this solution. |
 | Ethicists propose harnessing participant engagement to address trustworthiness in medical data sharingIn order to advance and ultimately achieve precision medicine in healthcare, the National Academies has suggested that genomic and other health-related data must be shared through a medical "information commons." Released online today in a special issue of the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, scientists and ethicists look to address and propose solutions to many of the questions that surround the development and operation of such a resource. |
 | DNA repair gene linked to male infertilityA key DNA repair gene known as X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1, or XRCC1, plays a vital role in maintaining genomic stability and is highly expressed in the early stages of sperm cell development (also known as spermatogenesis). To date, however, the exact mechanisms of XRCC1 have been unclear. |
 | Appetite-regulating hormone levels in breast milk vary by mother's weightNearly 20 percent of children and adolescents and 14 percent of toddlers in the United States are obese. One contributing factor, among many possibilities, may be what a baby eats during their critical first six months of life and how it affects their continued growth. Ideally, breast milk is their only food during this critical stage. |
 | New study finds Montmorency cherries can aid fight against cardio-metabolic diseaseA groundbreaking study by a researcher at the University of Hertfordshire has found that drinking the juice of Montmorency cherries can help to prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes. |
 | The IKEA effect: How we value the fruits of our labour over instant gratificationThere are some anecdotes just so good that almost every story about a particular economic principle begins the same. So too this article begins with cake mix. |
 | Why exercise is the best tennis elbow treatment—and how to do it rightThe cure for the repetitive motion injury of the tendons that join the forearm muscles on the outside of the elbow, colloquially known as tennis or golfer's elbow, is more use. |
 | Most diabetes phone apps lack education, support functions(HealthDay)—Most diabetes apps miss opportunities to improve care and health outcomes by not providing real-time decision support or situation-specific education on blood glucose self-management, according to a research letter published in the April 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. |
 | More than half of internal medicine graduates choosing primary care(HealthDay)—More than half of internal medicine graduates in 2016 and 2017 pursued a career in primary care, according to a study published online April 8 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. |
 | Can't work out during the week? 'Weekend warriors' still benefit(HealthDay)—Daily exercise may be the ideal, but even weekend workouts might prolong your life, a new study suggests. |
 | Brain scans help shed light on the PTSD brain, but they cannot diagnose PTSDCelebrities and public figures have recently been more open about mental health conditions they deal with. This is a positive sign of shrinking stigma around mental illness, and it also helps in reducing it. The most recent in this line was Ariana Grande's mention of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD … and a brain scan. |
 | Study shows promise in repairing damaged myelinA scientific breakthrough provides new hope for millions of people living with multiple sclerosis. Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have developed a compound that stimulates repair of the protective sheath that covers nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. |
Breakthrough for children with serious epileptic seizuresEmergency medicine doctors now have a better way to treat severe epileptic seizures in children, thanks to a New Zealand-Australian study. | |
 | In rare cases, immune system fails despite HIV suppressionAntiretroviral therapy (ART) is usually very effective at suppressing HIV in the body, allowing a person's immune system to recover by preventing the virus from destroying CD4+ T cells. Scientists have now identified a rare, paradoxical response to ART known as extreme immune decline, or EXID. Five individuals evaluated at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, experienced a significant decline in CD4+ T cell levels despite suppression of HIV below detectable levels for more than three years, according to a report published online today in JCI Insight. The research team was led by Irini Sereti, M.D., chief of the HIV Pathogenesis Section in NIAID's Laboratory of Immunoregulation, and Andrea Lisco, M.D., Ph.D. |
Early intervention programs for mood and anxiety disorders improve patient outcomes and provide access to careIn a series of studies from Lawson Health Research Institute, Western University and ICES, researchers examined the impact of Canada's only early intervention program for youth with mood and anxiety disorders. Results suggest that treatment at the First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program (FEMAP) at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) leads to improvements in patients' symptoms and functioning, access to psychiatric care in the most appropriate settings and fewer visits to the emergency department (ED). | |
 | Young children judge others based on facial features as much as adults doJust like adults, children by the age of 5 make rapid and consistent character judgements of others based on facial features, such as the tilt of the mouth or the distance between the eyes. Those facial features also shape how children behave toward others, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. |
Investigators incorporate randomized trial within dialysis care deliveryA recent clinical trial fully embedded into the routine delivery of care at dialysis facilities sought to determine if hemodialysis sessions that are longer than many patients in the United States currently receive can improve patients' health. Although the trial accomplished most of its objectives, uptake of the intervention was insufficient to determine whether longer sessions are beneficial. The findings, which appear in an upcoming issue of JASN, indicate that embedding trials into dialysis care will require more effective strategies for engaging clinicians and patients. | |
Cutting-edge discovery points to potential treatment for NEC in preemiesCutting-edge discovery in the lab of Catherine Hunter, MD, from Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago offers a new direction toward treatment of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) - a devastating intestinal emergency that occurs in up to 10 percent of premature infants. NEC is a leading cause of overall infant mortality in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). | |
 | Researchers map sound, response and reward anticipation in mouse brainUniversity of Oregon neuroscientists report that two areas of the mouse brain combine representations of what is heard and anticipated, guiding behavior that leads mice to the best reward. |
 | Intentions attributed to other people change how we see their actionsHave you ever noticed how easily people can see the meaning in other's behaviour? We seem to intuitively know why our child drags us towards the shop window, why our friend steers clear of the spider, or why our partner hands us a drink after a workout. |
 | Decline in measles vaccination is causing a preventable global resurgence of the diseaseIn 2000, measles was declared to be eliminated in the United States, when no sustained transmission of the virus was seen in this country for more than 12 months. Today, however, the United States and many other countries that had also eliminated the disease are experiencing concerning outbreaks of measles because of declines in measles vaccine coverage. Without renewed focus on measles vaccination efforts, the disease may rebound in full force, according to a new commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine by infectious diseases experts at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Penn State University College of Medicine's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. |
Making digital tissue imaging betterThere's a low-tech problem troubling the high-tech world of digital pathology imaging. | |
 | Listeria outbreak linked to deli meats, cheeses in four states(HealthDay)—A listeria outbreak that has sickened eight, including one death, has now been linked to deli meats and cheeses sold at stores in four states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. |
 | Scared to exercise after a heart attack? It's probably scarier if you don'tExercise is good for you. But for people who have had a heart attack, starting or resuming a workout routine may sound scary, exhausting, complicated—in short, the last thing they'd want to do. Instead, it probably should be one of the first. |
 | Digital replantation seems better than revision amputation(HealthDay)—For patients with a distal single finger or three or more digits amputated, patient-reported outcomes (PROs) seem better with replantation versus revision amputation, according to a study published online April 17 in JAMA Surgery. |
 | Machine learning IDs risk for familial hypercholesterolemia(HealthDay)—A machine learning classifier can effectively identify patients at risk for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), according to a study published online April 11 in npj Digital Medicine. |
Researchers discover that diabetes drug may reverse heart failureResearchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have demonstrated that the recently developed antidiabetic drug empagliflozin can treat and reverse the progression of heart failure in non-diabetic animal models. Their study also shows that this drug can make the heart produce more energy and function more efficiently. The results were published in the April 23 issue of the Journal of American College of Cardiology. | |
 | Asian nations in early tobacco epidemic: studyAsian countries are in the early stages of a tobacco smoking epidemic with habits mirroring those of the United States from past decades, setting the stage for a spike in future deaths from smoking-related diseases. |
 | Busting barriers to dental care—Pasifika adolescents hold the answersSitting at the forefront of inequalities in oral health care, Pasifika youth are well placed to provide solutions to the problem, a unique University of Otago study has found. |
 | Researchers set new bases to develop therapies against colorectal cancerResearchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ProCURE program) have published the bases for new therapies against colorectal cancer in Clinical Cancer Research. |
 | Real-time WhatsApp advice aids surgery in rural MalawiIn remote, rural corners of Malawi, hospitals are often faced with life-and-death decisions. Women in need of emergency caesarean sections, older people with hernias, and children with appendicitis need surgery. But should they be rushed to the operating theatre or transferred to specialists in city hospitals? |
 | Anxiety traits are visible in the brainQuestionnaires or concentration tasks can be used to screen for anxiety, but so too can EEG recordings – at least indirectly. The frequent mind wandering of anxious people can also be seen on MRI scans. These are just some of the findings of clinical neuropsychologist Dana van Son. Ph.D. defence on 24 April. |
 | Mental health care is a deep challenge after mass shootingsAlex Rozenblat can still hear the cries of a wounded boy calling for help as she hid from the gunfire that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last year. |
 | CDC: Raw tuna linked to Salmonella outbreak in seven states(HealthDay)—A Salmonella outbreak linked to frozen, raw ground tuna from Jensen Tuna has sickened 13 people in seven states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. The illnesses began between Jan. 8 and March 20 of this year. Two people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. |
 | Food allergies can strike at any age(HealthDay)—You might be surprised to learn that food allergies can start in adulthood and involve a food you've eaten without a problem for your entire life. |
 | When to create and update a will(HealthDay)—Making a will is essential so that the court system isn't deciding who will inherit your possessions or serve as guardians for young children if something happens to you. But don't think of your will as static. It should evolve as your life does. |
Female medical students report higher rates of feeling intimidated in surgical attachmentsA greater number of female medical students have experienced intimidation in their training than their male counterparts, according to a new research study published by researchers at RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland). | |
Timing of steroid shots before rotator cuff surgery affects infection riskFor patients undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, previous steroid injections into the shoulder don't increase the risk of surgical-site infection—unless the injection is administered within one month before surgery, reports a study in the April 17, 2019 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. | |
 | Estimating the efficacy and cost of curative gene therapy for beta-thalassemiaGene therapy offers the promise of a cure for beta-thalassemia and a new study has shown that it is associated with fewer complications and hospital admissions over 2 years than treatment by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The study, which analyzes and compares the effectiveness and cost of gene therapy versus (HSCT) in patients with major beta-thalassemia is published in Human Gene Therapy. |
 | McConnell proposes national minimum age of 21 for tobaccoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he plans to introduce legislation to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21 nationally. |
US awards $350M in research funds to fight opioid epidemicU.S. health officials are giving $350 million to researchers in four states hit hardest by the deadly opioid epidemic. | |
Biology news
 | Bioengineers add cooperative molecules to their toolkit for programming signal processingElaborate molecular networks inside living cells enable them to sense and process many signals from the environment to perform desired cellular functions. Synthetic biologists have been able to reconstruct and mimic simpler forms of this cellular signal processing. But now, a new toolset powered by self-assembling molecules and predictive modeling will allow researchers to construct the complex computation and signal processing found in eukaryotic organisms, including human cells. |
 | Glowing millipede genitalia help scientists tell species apartSometimes, it's really easy for scientists to tell species of animals apart—they'll be obviously different shapes or colors. Other times, different species will look nearly identical to the naked eye. In those cases, scientists need to turn to techniques like DNA analysis to tell them apart. Or, like researchers at the Field Museum discovered when studying some near-identical millipedes, you can sometimes just shine a blacklight on them, and under the ultraviolet light, parts of the different species' genitals will glow different colors. |
 | Studies identify mechanism key to removal of protein aggregates from cellsMassachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have discovered the mechanism by which cells sense dysfunction of the proteasome—a cellular component that degrades unneeded or defective proteins—and respond in a previously undescribed manner, by editing the amino acid sequence of a key sensing protein. Proteasome dysfunction can lead to the type of buildup of aberrant proteins that characterizes neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and is also seen in normal aging. The report is being published in the journal Cell. |
 | Flies smell through a Gore-Tex systemA research group led by a scientist of the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) has gained important insights into the nanopores that allow the fruit fly to detect chemicals in the air, and has identified the gene responsible for their development. |
 | Ginkgo seed extracts show antibacterial activity on skin pathogensExtracts from the seeds of the Ginkgo biloba tree show antibacterial activity on pathogens that can cause skin infections such as acne, psoriasis, dermatitis and eczema, a study at Emory University finds. Frontiers in Microbiology is publishing the results of laboratory experiments showing that the extracts inhibit the growth of Cutibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. |
 | Study: Infamous 'death roll' almost universal among crocodile speciesThe iconic "death roll" of alligators and crocodiles may be more common among species than previously believed, according to a new study published in Ethology, Ecology & Evolution and coauthored by a researcher at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. |
 | Cell-killing proteins suppress listeria without killing cellsNew North Carolina State University research shows that key proteins known for their ability to prevent viral infections by inducing cell death can also block certain bacterial infections without triggering the death of the host cells. |
 | Kakapow! Rare world's fattest parrot has record breeding seasonThe world's fattest parrot, the critically endangered kakapo, has enjoyed a record breaking breeding season, New Zealand scientists said Thursday, with climate change possibly aiding the species' unique mating spree. |
 | Wild bee species critical to pollination on the declineMore than a dozen wild bee species critical to pollinating everything from blueberries to apples in New England are on the decline, according to a new study. |
 | Amazonian soils mapped using indicator speciesUnderstanding the ecology and distributions of species in Amazonia is hampered by lack of information about environmental conditions, such as soils. Plant occurrence data are typically more abundant than soil samples in poorly known areas, and researchers from Finland and Brazil have now developed a method that uses both plant and soil data to produce a map of soil properties. |
 | The Cerrado once connected the Andes with the Atlantic RainforestThe tropical forests of the Andes and Brazil's Atlantic Rainforest biome are separated by almost 1,000 km of drier areas with open vegetation in the Chaco, Cerrado (Brazilian savanna), and Caatinga (Brazilian semiarid) biomes. Today, these tropical forests are not connected, but the fact that they share closely related species and lineages suggests that these biomes were connected in the past. For example, 23 rainforest bird species have been found in both the Andean and Atlantic tropical forests. |
 | Going to the beach this Easter? Here are four ways we're not being properly protected from jellyfishThe Easter long weekend marks the last opportunity this year for many Australians to go to the beach as the weather cools down. And for some, particularly in Queensland, it means dodging bluebottle tentacles on the sand. |
 | Turning an old enemy into a helpful friendHalf our genome is basically foreign, derived from viruses. Obviously, the invasion of such foreign elements can deregulate critical biological processes, and lead to disease. This is why animals, including humans have evolved a large family of proteins called the KRAB domain-containing zinc finger proteins (KZFPs). But despite their importance, KZFPs are still largely uncharacterized. |
 | The quest to save the banana from extinctionPanama disease, an infection that ravages banana plants, has been sweeping across Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Africa. The impact has been devastating. In the Philippines alone, losses have totalled US$400m. And the disease threatens not only the livelihoods of everyone in this US$44 billion industry but also the 400m people in developing countries who depend on bananas for a substantial proportion of their calorie intake. |
 | Antimicrobial paints have a blind spotAntimicrobial paints offer the promise of extra protection against bacteria. But Northwestern University researchers caution that these paints might be doing more harm than good. |
Disappearing bumblebee species under threat of extinctionThe American Bumblebee—a species once more commonly seen buzzing around Southern Ontario—is critically endangered, according to a new study led by York University. | |
 | Bee-wildering! Hives of Notre-Dame in miraculous survivalSome 200,000 bees inhabiting hives in Notre-Dame cathedral survived the inferno that engulfed the heritage landmark in a miraculous escape, their beekeeper said Thursday. |
 | Giant tortoises migrate unpredictably in the face of climate changeGalapagos giant tortoises, sometimes called Gardeners of the Galapagos, are creatures of habit. In the cool dry season, the highlands of the volcano slopes are engulfed in cloud which allows the vegetation to grow despite the lack of rain. On the lower slopes, however, there is no thick fog layer, and vegetation is not available year round. Adult tortoises thus spend the dry season in the higher regions, and trek back to the lower, relatively warmer zones where there is abundant, nutritious vegetation when the rainy season begins. |
 | Preliminary study suggests mercury not a risk in dog foodsResearchers at the University of California, Davis, recently investigated levels of methylmercury in a small sampling of commercial dog foods and found good news for dog owners. Of the 24 diets tested, only three were positive for low concentrations of total mercury, and only one of those contained detectable methylmercury. The study was published in Topics in Companion Animal Medicine. |
 | Fish under threat release chemicals to warn others of dangerFish warn each other about danger by releasing chemicals into the water as a signal, research by the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has found. |
 | Genome analysis shows common origin of Pskov, Novgorod and Yakutia populationsScientists have for the first time compared complete genome data of different ethnic groups in Russia. Using a special algorithm, they traced the genetic history for some groups. In the future, such data can be used in other important studies. For example, it can help to identify genetic risk factors in various populations of Russian people. The results are published in Genomics. |
 | Living room conservation: Gaming and virtual reality for insect and ecosystem conservationGaming and virtual reality (VR) could bridge the gap between urban societies and nature, thereby paving the way to insect conservation by the means of education, curiosity and life-like participation. |
 | Weak honey bee colonies may fail from cold exposure during shippingCold temperatures inside honey bee colonies may cause colony losses during and after long-distance hauling, according to a preliminary study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. |
 | New variety of zebra chip disease threatens potato production in southwestern OregonNamed after the dark stripes that form inside potatoes after they are cut and fried, zebra chip disease is a potentially devastating affliction that can result in yield losses up to 100% for farmers. |
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