Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for June 21, 2019:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Mars 2020 rover gets its wheelsIn this image, taken on June 13, 2019, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, install the starboard legs and wheels—otherwise known as the mobility suspension—on the Mars 2020 rover. They installed the port suspension later that day. |
 | Hubble captures elusive, irregular galaxyThis image shows an irregular galaxy named IC 10, a member of the Local Group—a collection of over 50 galaxies in our cosmic neighborhood that includes the Milky Way. |
 | Small satellite concept finalists target moon, Mars and beyondNASA has selected three finalists among a dozen concepts for future small satellites. The finalists include a 2022 robotic mission to study two asteroid systems, twin spacecraft to study the effects of energetic particles around Mars, and a lunar orbiter managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, to study water on the moon. At least one of these missions is expected to move to final selection and flight. |
 | Spaceship ConcordiaScience for the benefit of space exploration does not only happen off planet. While some studies require the weightless isolation of the International Space Station, another location provides the right conditions for investigating the consequences of spaceflight, and it is right here on Earth. |
 | Ariane 5's second launch of 2019An Ariane 5 has delivered the T-16 and Eutelsat-7C telecom satellites into their planned orbits. |
 | The SPECULOOS telescopes and searching for red worlds in the northern skiesWith a new telescope situated on a scenic plateau in Tenerife, Spain, MIT planetary scientists now have an added way to search for Earth-sized exoplanets. Artemis, the first ground-based telescope of the SPECULOOS Northern Observatory (SNO), joins a network of 1-meter-class robotic telescopes as part of the SPECULOOS project (Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars), which is led by Michael Gillon at the University of Liège in Belgium and carried out in collaboration with MIT and several other institutions and financial supporters. Artemis is the latest product of a collaboration with MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS). The other network telescopes that make up the SPECULOOS Southern Observatory—named Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto after the four Galilean moons of Jupiter—are up and running at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, busily scanning the skies for exoplanets in the Southern Hemisphere. |
 | Kelly Latimer flies at the cutting edge of aviation—and soon, spaceKelly Latimer, 54, is a test pilot for Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit—two commercial space companies owned by British billionaire Richard Branson. For space tourism company Virgin Galactic, Latimer flies the giant, twin-fuselage aircraft known as WhiteKnightTwo, which carries a smaller spaceship at its belly to an altitude of up to 50,000 feet before the spaceship detaches and blasts off toward suborbital space. Latimer is also chief test pilot for Virgin Orbit, where she flies a modified 747 plane called Cosmic Girl. The plane carries a rocket under its left wing up to about 35,000 feet in the air, after which the rocket is released and falls for about four or five seconds before igniting and launching toward its intended orbit. Latimer is the only female test pilot out of a total of seven between the two companies. |
 | NASA selects PUNCH mission to image beyond the Sun's outer coronaNASA has selected Southwest Research Institute to lead the "Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere" (PUNCH) mission, a landmark Small Explorers Program mission that will image beyond the Sun's outer corona. |
 | PSI imaging helps with rocket launchesRockets from the European Space Agency (ESA) fly into space with support from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Imaging carried out at PSI in cooperation with Dassault Aviation ensures the quality of certain components of the Ariane 5 and Vega launch vehicles. With the help of the neutrons generated at the neutron source SINQ, PSI researchers are screening so-called pyrotechnic components that are installed in the ESA rockets. These components, which act like fuse cords and igniters, ensure, among other things, that the booster rockets are dropped at the right hundredth of a second. The Ariane launch on 20 June took place with components that had been examined at PSI. |
Technology news
 | Enhancing face recognition tools with generative face completionResearchers at the USC Information Sciences Institute (ISI) in California have recently carried out a study investigating whether completing obstructed faces using artificial neural networks (ANN) can improve the accuracy of face recognition tools. Their study originated from the IARPA Odin research project, which is aimed at identifying true and false faces in images, ultimately to enhance the performance of biometric authentication tools. |
 | National emergency alerts potentially vulnerable to attackOn October 3, 2018, cell phones across the United States received a text message labeled "Presidential Alert." The message read: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed." |
 | Google rolled out fix for Nest cam look-throughFinders, weepers. That seemed to be a suitable tweak to the old saying, when the news hit that a former owner of a used Nest Indoor Cam could access the new owner's video feed. |
 | Next-gen solar cells spin in new direction: Phosphorene shows efficiency promiseA nanomaterial made from phosphorus, known as phosphorene, is shaping up as a key ingredient for more sustainable and efficient next-generation perovskite solar cells (PSCs). |
 | Artificial intelligence learns to recognize nerve cells by their appearanceIs it possible to understand the brain? Science is still far from answering this question. However, since researchers have started training artificial intelligence on neurobiological analyses, it seems at least possible to reconstruct the cellular structure of a brain. New artificial neural networks developed by the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology and Google AI can now even recognize and classify nerve cells independently based on their appearance. |
 | Apple says US tariffs on China would backfireApple is warning the US administration that proposed tariffs on Chinese imports would be counterproductive, saying they would hurt the iPhone maker's competitiveness and "tilt the playing field" to non-American rivals. |
 | Virtual Facebook currency faces real-world resistanceIf Facebook's new cryptocurrency should resonate anywhere it should be India, where the social media giant has more than 300 million followers. |
 | Pressure mounts on YouTube to better protect young usersMillions of children regularly use YouTube to watch video game tutorials, television shows and even to watch random people unbox new toys. |
 | Apple voluntarily recalling batteries on MacBook Pro notebooks due to safety risk. What to doApple announced a voluntary recall on certain 15-inch MacBook Pro models sold primarily between September 2015 and February 2017. |
 | Hydrogen-natural gas hydrates harvested by natural gasA hydrogen-natural gas blend (HNGB) can be a game changer only if it can be stored safely and used as a sustainable clean energy resource. A recent study has suggested a new strategy for stably storing hydrogen, using natural gas as a stabilizer. The research proposed a practical gas phase modulator based synthesis of HNGB without generating chemical waste after dissociation for the immediate service. |
 | Keeping children safe in the 'Internet of Things' ageChildren need protection when using programmable Internet computing devices—and Lancaster University scientists have drawn up new guidelines to help designers build in safeguards. |
 | Voice-activiated Monopoly tells players: 'You're bankrupt!'What fictional financial wisdom might the mustachioed, top-hat-wearing billionaire Mr Monopoly dole out to a regular board-game player? |
 | How 5G could democratise the telecoms industryA new, digital revolution might be about to hit us. Autonomous cars are driving our way, cities and companies are rapidly ramping up the use of sensors—also called the Internet of Things (IoT) – and virtual and augmented reality are making rapid strides. |
 | Foxconn chairman Terry Gou says he is stepping downTerry Gou, chairman of Foxconn, the world's largest contract assembler of consumer electronics for companies such as Apple, said Friday he was stepping down amid speculation he could be planning a presidential run next year. |
 | Philippine telco to roll out Huawei-backed 5G serviceThe Philippines' Globe Telecom said Friday it will launch Southeast Asia's first 5G broadband service next month using Huawei technology, despite US blacklisting of the Chinese giant over cybersecurity concerns. |
 | Neural networks taught to recognize similar objects on videos without accuracy degradationAndrey Savchenko, Professor at the Higher School of Economics (HSE University), has developed a method that can help to enhance image identification on videos. In his project, a network was taught by a new algorithm and can now make decisions on image recognition and classification at a rate 10 times faster than before. This research was presented in the paper "Sequential three-way decisions in multi-category image recognition with deep features based on distance factor" published in Information Sciences. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Rare recessive mutations pry open new windows on autismOver the past decade, autism spectrum disorder has been linked to mutations in a variety of genes, explaining up to 30 percent of all cases to date. Most of these variants are de novo mutations, which are not inherited, affect just one copy of a gene, and are relatively easy to find. The lab of Timothy Yu, MD, Ph.D., at Boston Children's Hospital chose a road less travelled, tracking rare recessive mutations in which a child inherits two "bad" copies of a gene. |
 | Phenols in cocoa bean shells may reverse obesity-related problems in mouse cellsScientists may have discovered more reasons to love chocolate. |
 | Neuroscience research questions current alcohol limitNew research by neuroscientists from the University of Sussex shows that drinking only one pint of beer or a large glass of wine is enough to significantly compromise a person's sense of agency. |
 | Researchers report the origin and immunoregulatory function of monocytesNon-classical monocytes were long thought to play a purely surveillance role in the immune system. With the aid of a novel marker (PD-L1), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) researchers in Munich have now shown that they are directly involved in the regulation of immune response. |
 | Newly discovered immune cells at the frontline of HIV infectionResearchers at The Westmead Institute for Medical Research have discovered brand new immune cells that are at the frontline of HIV infection. Known as CD11c+ dendritic cells, these new cells are more susceptible to HIV infection and can then transmit the virus to other cells. |
 | Embryonic microRNA fuels heart cell regeneration, researchers showBy adulthood, the heart is no longer able to replenish injured or diseased cells. As a result, heart disease or an event like a heart attack can be disastrous, leading to massive cell death and permanent declines in function. A new study by scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM), however, shows that it may be possible to reverse this damage and restore heart function, even after a severe heart attack. |
 | Researchers find new mutation in the leptin geneThe global obesity epidemic is so far-reaching it now has an overarching name: globesity. Texas Biomed Staff Scientist Raul Bastarrachea, M.D., is part of a team that discovered a new mutation in the gene that regulates the key hormone suppressing hunger called leptin. This new mutation could help researchers understand why people develop excess of body fat. Dr. Bastarrachea's research is aimed at helping tackle metabolic disorders like cardiovascular disease and diabetes which are fueled by obesity and impact millions of people around the world. |
 | Your brain activity can be used to measure how well you understand a conceptAs students learn a new concept, measuring how well they grasp it has often depended on traditional paper and pencil tests. Dartmouth researchers have developed a machine learning algorithm, which can be used to measure how well a student understands a concept based on his or her brain activity patterns. The findings are published in Nature Communications. |
 | A new drug target for chemically induced Parkinson's diseaseMore than three decades ago, scientists discovered that a chemical found in a synthetic opioid, MPTP, induced the onset of a form of Parkinson's disease. In a new study led by scientists from the School of Veterinary Medicine, researchers found that an enzyme in the body can metabolize compounds formed in the brain from alkaloids present in certain foods and tobacco into MPTP-like chemicals, triggering a neurodegenerative condition in mice. |
 | Home stretch: India leads the way on International Yoga DayIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the way for International Yoga Day on Friday, performing sun salutations and other flexible feats in a mass session with an estimated 30,000 other devotees of the discipline. |
 | Burnout: Sleepless firefighters at risk of exhaustion and mental health conditionsSleep disturbances and mental health challenges are putting close to half of America's firefighters at high risk of emotional fatigue and exhaustion, new research shows. |
 | Do women regret embryo testing before IVF?The most effective way to increase the odds that an embryo will successfully implant during in vitro fertilization (IVF) is genetic testing to see if the embryo is normal. |
 | Americans still eat too much processed meat and too little fishA new study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that the amount of processed meat consumed by Americans has remained unchanged in the past 18 years, nor has their intake of fish/shellfish increased. In addition, one quarter of US adults are still eating more unprocessed red meat than the recommended level, and less than 15 percent meet the guidelines for fish/shellfish consumption. On a positive note, Americans are eating less beef and more chicken than they did 18 years ago, and in fact, for the first time, consumption of poultry exceeds that of unprocessed red meat. |
 | Largest study of CTE finds it in 6% of subjectsNearly 6% of athletes and non-athletes were found to have the neurodegenerative disorder chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the largest, and broadest, study conducted of the disease to date. The findings were published June 14 in the international journal Brain Pathology. |
 | Tailor-made prosthetic liners could help more amputees walk againResearchers at the University of Bath have developed a new way of designing and manufacturing bespoke prosthetic liners, in less than a day. |
 | Many elderly patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma benefit from targeted therapiesMany elderly patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC)—who are often underrepresented in clinical trials to treat the kidney cancer—are seeing overall survival benefits from treatment with targeted therapies, according to a new study from Penn Medicine researchers published this month in JAMA Network Open. Analyzing 13 years of data on Medicare patients, the study found that the patients who received targeted therapies were more medically complex than those who received the older, more toxic treatments that were available earlier in the study period, indicating that newer treatments are offering hope to more people. |
 | Chronic hepatitis B infections in Europe on the rise since 2008In 2017, the majority (58 percent) of the almost 27,000 newly reported hepatitis B cases in the European Union and European Economic Area were classified as chronic infections. This follows a consistent upward trend in reported chronic hepatitis B cases since 2008. |
 | Smartphone app tackles mental health and issues of data consentThe MINDtick app was developed in South Australia by Flinders University and mental health technology developer goAct to assist with the early and accurate diagnosis and management of mental illness by allowing access to a person's smartphone data. |
 | Hospital insects harbour drug-resistant bacteriaMore than 50 percent of bacteria recovered from flying insects in a group of English hospitals were resistant to one or more antibiotics, posing a potential infection risk to patients, according to a new study. |
 | Testing newborn saliva for virus linked to hearing lossVictorian newborns who do not pass their routine hearing screening tests are being invited to join a pilot program screening for the most common viral cause of disability. |
 | How you feel about your home is more important than the sizeAlthough home environments affect the way many feel which, in turn, has the potential to influence family relationships, researchers at BYU recently found that how individuals perceive the space (too crowded or too spread out) in their homes has more of an effect on family functioning than actual characteristics, such as the size of the house or number of bedrooms. |
 | Locking up kids damages their mental health and leads to more disadvantage. Is this what we want?Reports this week of an Indigenous boy with a disability held naked for days in a Brisbane police cell have once again raised the issue of how best to treat our most vulnerable young offenders, and the impact of their incarceration. |
 | Majority of people return lost wallets – here's the psychology and which countries are the most honestHonesty is one of the traits we value most in others. We often assume it is a rather rare quality, making it important for us to find out who we can actually trust in this selfish world. But according to new research, there's no need to be so cynical—it turns out most people in the world are honourable enough to return a lost wallet, especially if it contains a lot of cash. |
 | Gen Z teenagers are leaving sex until later, and it could help them lead healthier livesThe teenage years are a time for experimenting and for pushing boundaries—particularly when it comes to intimate relationships. Such experimentation is a natural part of growing up. But there are potential risks, too—particularly if these early experiences aren't positive ones. That's why my colleagues and I investigated what kinds of intimate behaviour 14 year olds engage in, and how this insight can help to ensure young people are well prepared for healthy and happy adult relationships. |
 | Expert discusses the deeper complexities of cancerGeeta Mehta studies cancer not simply as masses of cells but as structured organs with multiple cell types that communicate with each other and interact with the body—much like your lungs or liver. |
 | A clear vision for cancer diagnosisWhile reading an article about Sen. John McCain's glioblastoma diagnosis, Kavya Kopparapu was shocked to learn that the prognosis for this aggressive brain cancer has not improved over the past 30 years. With standard treatment, glioblastoma patients typically survive for only about 11 months after diagnosis, according to the American Brain Tumor Association. |
 | Obesity has become the new normal but it's still a health riskNike's London store recently introduced a plus-sized mannequin to display its active clothing range which goes up to a size 32. |
 | Women more likely to face long-term impairment after childhood brain tumor radiationYoung women who undergo radiation therapy to treat pediatric brain tumors are more likely to suffer from long-term cognitive impairment than male survivors, according to a study by Georgia State University researchers. |
Women who declined medical care during hospital births report poor treatment overallA new study involving University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH) researchers surveyed mothers nationwide and found many who declined care for themselves or their newborn babies during hospital births were more likely to report experiencing discrimination and other forms of poor treatment. | |
 | Possible signal pathway in the fight against obesity-related fatty liver disease identifiedA research group from the Medical University of Vienna reports how the hormone leptin stimulates the liver to export lipids and reduce the fat production in the liver. This occurs due to the activation of neurons in the brain stem. These findings provide new approaches for the fight against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which often occurs in connection with obesity. The results were just published in Nature Communications. |
 | Detecting problems of the anti-bleeding system in 60 minutesVarious diseases can cause hemorrhages or thromboses, sometimes fatal, resulting in particular from complications during surgery. This may take the form of a dysfunction of the platelets (hemostasis), the blood cells that plug the holes in the damaged blood vessels. Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the University of Franche-Comté (UFC) and the Etablissement français du Sang (Bourgogne Franche Comté), have developed a device called BlooDe to study the plugging capacity of platelets. |
 | 2018 to 2019 influenza season in U.S. was longest in 10 yearsIn the United States, the 2018 to 2019 influenza season was of moderate severity and lasted 21 weeks, according to research published in the June 21 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. |
 | In nationwide first, UC Davis doctors can peek into your whole body with one scan by 3-D deviceStarting this summer, physicians at UC Davis Health will be able to use a powerful new scanner that can render detailed, 3-D images of the inner workings of the entire human body in as little as one minute, the creators of the device announced recently. |
 | Bacteria live on our eyeballs—and understanding their role could help treat common eye diseasesYou may be familiar with the idea that your gut and skin are home to a collection of microbes—fungi, bacteria and viruses—that are vital for keeping you healthy. But did you know that your eyes also host a unique menagerie of microbes? Together, they're called the eye microbiome. When these microbes are out of balance—too many or too few of certain types—eye diseases may emerge. |
 | Major HIV drug requires vigilance, study saysA study lead by researchers at the Institute of HIV Research, Medical Faculty of UDE and University Hospital Essen reports a potential toxicity of integrase inhibitors. Integrase inhibitors (INSTI) are a preferred drug for inclusion in anti-retroviral therapy regimens given its tolerability, efficacy and high resistance barrier. INSTI have been found to improve and prolong lives of millions of people living with HIV who suffer side-effects and resistance to treatment. However, recent laboratory data suggest that INSTI may not be as safe as suggested. |
 | Moral lessons in children's television programs may require extra explanationChildren's television programming often contains moral lessons and examples of inclusiveness, but children may struggle to comprehend and transfer the situations presented on an animated production to their own lives, University of California, Davis, research suggests. |
 | How working out in anger can put you at risk(HealthDay)—Research points to a very long list of benefits from exercise, from improving your overall health to easing stress and enhancing mental well-being. But a landmark study in the journal Circulation highlights a negative, yet specific, concern. |
 | How does your diet stack up?(HealthDay)—Ever wonder how your diet habits—good or bad—compare to others? |
 | The FDA may soon give women more options for boosting their libidosMore than two decades after Viagra revolutionized the treatment of men's sexual health, women looking for a pharmaceutical boost in the bedroom are having another kind of Me Too moment. |
 | Advanced computational modeling of the gut for biodefenseThe Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML) has developed a high-resolution model of the gut immune system by using advanced computational systems. The new high-performance computing (HPC)-driven model of the gut predicts new emerging behaviors and responses to biological threats. The gut ecosystem includes trillions of interactions between host epithelial and immune cells, molecules (cytokines, chemokines and metabolites) and microbes is a massively and dynamically interacting network, similar to a multidimensional jigsaw puzzle with pieces that are constantly changing shape. These interactions with cooperativity and feedback lead to nonlinear dynamics and unforeseen emergent behaviors across spatiotemporal scales. The NIMML model of the gut facilitates discovering new knowledge within this complex system for biodefense applications. |
 | Structural development of the brainIn a recent study published in The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers reveal how the basic structure of the brain is formed. |
 | Pressure difference and vortex flow of blood in heart chambers may signal heart dysfunctionJapanese scientists at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), Teikyo University of Science, and Juntendo University have found—in animal studies—a close relationship between vortex flow and pressure differences in the ventricles, or lower chambers, of the heart. The new information could inform the development of new markers for cardiovascular dysfunction that can lead to heart failure. |
 | Discovery of the cell fate switch from neurons to astrocytes in the developing brainDuring mammalian brain development, neural precursor cells first generate neurons and later astrocytes. This cell fate change is a key process generating proper numbers of neurons and astrocytes. Here we discovered that FGF regulates the cell fate switch from neurons to astrocytes in the developing cerebral cortex using mice. FGF is a critical extracellular regulator of the cell fate switch, necessary and sufficient, in the mammalian cerebral cortex. |
 | Exposure to others' suffering even worse than being shot atWe usually think that trauma from war is related to the fact that soldiers have been under constant threat of death. New research shows a slightly different picture. |
 | Ageism reduced by education, intergenerational contactResearchers at Cornell University have shown for the first time that it is possible to reduce ageist attitudes, prejudices and stereotypes through education and intergenerational contact. |
 | Dissemination of pathogenic bacteria by university student's cell phonesNew research has demonstrated the presence of S. aureus in 40% of the cell phones of students sampled at a university. S. aureus is a common cause of hospital and community-based infections and is currently considered an important pathogen because of its level of antibiotic resistance. The research, conducted at the Western University of São Paulo, Brazil, is presented at ASM Microbe, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. |
 | Reforming pharmacy benefit manager practices may lead to drug cost savingsEfforts to control health care costs in the United States often focus on the listed prescription drug prices, but a perspective published by the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that unregulated pharmacy benefit manager practices also may contribute to escalating expenses. |
Poverty, not lychees, the real culprit in Indian 'brain fever' outbreakFrom lychees to heat, the factors behind almost 120 children dying in eastern India this month are many, but there are two underlying and preventable root causes: poverty and bad governance. | |
Assembly of the human oral microbiome age 1 to 12At the 97th General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), held in conjunction with the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) and the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), Ann Griffen, Ohio State University, Columbus, gave an oral presentation on "Assembly of the Human Oral Microbiome Age 1 to 12." The IADR/AADR/CADR General Session & Exhibition is held at the Vancouver Convention Centre West Building in Vancouver, BC, Canada from June 19-22, 2019. | |
 | There are infinite ways to have sex, and there's nothing unnatural about any of themHumans have discovered an almost infinite amount of ways to have sex —and things to have sex with. The famous sex researcher Alfred Kinsey said: "The only unnatural sex act is that which can't be performed." |
 | California launches anti-illegal pot campaignMarijuana shoppers are going to be getting a message from California regulators: Go legal. |
Cytotoxicity and physical properties of glass ionomer cement containing flavonoidsAt the 97th General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), held in conjunction with the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) and the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), Aline de Castilho, University of Campinas, Brazil, presented a poster on "Cytotoxicity and Physical Properties of Glass Ionomer Cement Containing Flavonoids." The IADR/AADR/CADR General Session & Exhibition is held at the Vancouver Convention Centre West Building in Vancouver, BC, Canada from June 19-22, 2019. | |
Biology news
 | Skin bacteria could save frogs from virusBacteria living on the skin of frogs could save them from a deadly virus, new research suggests. |
 | Cities are key to saving monarch butterfliesIt's easy to think of cities as being the enemy of nature. When we talk about escaping the skyscrapers and car horns, we have visions of breathing in fresh mountain air while hiking through forests in mind. But for Monarch butterflies, the busy cities we know could be key to their survival. |
 | Color change and behavior enable multi-colored chameleon prawns to surviveChameleon prawns change colour to camouflage themselves as the seaweed around them changes seasonally, new research shows. |
 | The key to unlock bacterial fusionMost people know Chlamydia as the venereal disease that can cause infertility if left untreated. But for researchers studying the causative agent, Chlamydia trachomatis, it's a bacteria with intriguing properties. Rather than grow and replicate in the blood or other bodily fluids, C. trachomatis get inside cells where they multiply. In most people, this trait keeps the bacterium from being detected by the immune system, and helps the disease fly under the radar; not everyone infected with Chlamydia will show symptoms of the disease. But managing to stay alive inside an infected cell is no small feat for bacteria. |
 | Mammals and their relatives thrived, diversified during so-called 'Age of Dinosaurs'Paleontologists are trying to dispel a myth about what life was like when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. The false narrative has wormed its way into books, lectures and even scientific papers about this long-ago era. |
 | Microbial growth and carbon uptake are driven mainly by nature, not nurtureFor soil microorganisms, how much of their life's work is driven by evolution (nature) versus their current environmental (nurture)? |
 | The Ruminant Genome Project reveals the secret lives of deerThree teams of researchers working independently have conducted three specific studies of ruminants—a class of mammals that obtains nutrients from plants by fermenting it in chambered stomachs. The work was part of an overall project called, quite naturally, the Ruminant Genome Project. All three teams were made up of members from several institutions in China and a few other countries. All three groups have published their findings in the journal Science. Also, Dai Fei Elmer Ker and Yunzhi Peter Yang with the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Stanford University, respectively, have published a Perspective piece outlining the work by the three teams in the same journal issue. |
 | Dental microwear provides clues to dietary habits of lepidosauriaHigh-resolution microscopic images of the surface of dental enamel of lepidosauria, which is a subclass of reptile including monitor lizards, iguanas, lizards and tuatara, allow scientists to determine their dietary habits. The enamel wear patterns reveal significant differences between carnivores and herbivores, but also allow finer distinctions, such as between algae-, fruit-, and mollusk-eating species. These findings are the result of research by a team led by scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). They point out that it has hitherto been difficult to make such fine distinctions between dietary behavior on the basis of dental or skeletal remains alone, particularly in the case of extinct species, because in many reptiles the teeth are of similar shape. |
 | UK study shows seal singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'Researchers in Scotland say gray seals can copy the sounds of human words and songs including "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." |
 | Restaurants could be first to get genetically modified salmonInside an Indiana aquafarming complex, thousands of salmon eggs genetically modified to grow faster than normal are hatching into tiny fish. After growing to roughly 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) in indoor tanks, they could be served in restaurants by late next year. |
 | Algae: Here, there, and everywhereOn a clear and cold February morning in 2015, Ruth Kassinger slipped on an insulated down coat and donned knee-high waterproof boots. Stepping aboard a long fishing boat in South Korea's Hoedong Harbor, she gingerly navigated her way around a 3-foot-deep blue bin that covered the deck side to side and end to end. The bin would hold the day's harvest of Porphyra, a seaweed cultivated in the bay's expansive waters. The captain motored the boat out to a vast network of floating nets, from which hung "limp, wet streamers" of seaweed, as Kassinger describes them. As workers guided the nets across the boat's deck, a machine with rotating blades sheared off the pieces of seaweed, which fell into the bin. The work was cold and wet and physically demanding, and by 10:30 that morning, the boat and its crew returned to dock carrying their bounty. |
 | The extreme tactic of self-amputation means survival in the animal kingdomImagine yourself in the grips of a deadly predator. You see your life flash before your eyes: this looks like the end of the road. But wait! With a quick yank, your limb pops off in the predator's mouth and you make a break for freedom. You've escaped certain death through a grisly trade. |
 | Curious cases of chemical cross-kingdom communicationAll living things are divided into six kingdoms: plants, animals, fungi, protists (protozoa and some algae), and two types of bacteria—eubacteria and archaebacteria. |
 | Bee populations in trouble following EPA pesticide decisionJust a few weeks ago, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it was pulling 12 products off the market that contained pesticides that were harmful to the honeybee. This week, the agency made an emergency exception for nearly a dozen states to use a pesticide called sulfoxaflor on certain crops. Environmental advocates worry about the chemical's harmful impact on bees. |
 | B chromosome first—mechanisms behind the drive of B chromosomes uncoveredThe specific number of chromosomes is one of the defining characteristics of a species. Whilst the common fruit fly carries 8 chromosomes, the genome of bread wheat counts 42 chromosomes. In comparison, the human genome is made out of a total of 46 chromosomes. However, about 15% of all eukaryotic species additionally carry supernumerary chromosomes referred to as "B chromosomes". Other than the essential chromosomes of the genome, B chromosomes are expendable and often preferentially inherited. This leads to a transmission advantage for B chromosomes called "chromosome drive". To date, little knowledge exists about the mechanisms behind this phenomenon. Researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Gatersleben have now been able to decipher the mechanisms behind the drive of B chromosomes in the goatgrass Aegilops speltoides. The novel insights in the workings of chromosome drive were recently published in New Phytologist. |
 | Experiments with salt-tolerant bacteria in brine have implications for life on MarsSalt-tolerant bacteria grown in brine were able to revive after the brine was put through a cycle of drying and rewetting. The research has implications for the possibility of life on Mars, as well as for the danger of contaminating Mars and other planetary bodies with terrestrial microbes. The research is presented at ASM Microbe 2019, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. |
 | Antibiotic resistance in spore-forming probiotic bacteriaNew research has found that six probiotic Bacillus strains are resistant to several antibiotics. Genetic analysis of other Bacillus strains has shown genes that contribute to antibiotic resistance towards various types of drugs and methods in which they can still grow in their presence. The research is presented at ASM Microbe, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. |
 | From sheep and cattle to giraffes, genome study reveals evolution of ruminantsA team of researchers has carried out a detailed study of the genomes of ruminants, giving new insight into their evolution and success. |
 | Scientists seek beaches where dead whales can rot in peaceSo many gray whales are dying off the U.S. West Coast that scientists and volunteers dealing with the putrid carcasses have an urgent request for coastal residents: Lend us your private beaches so these ocean giants can rot in peace. |
 | Six amazing facts you need to know about antsHave you have seen ants this year? In Britain, they were probably black garden ants, known as Lasius niger—Europe's most common ant. One of somewhere between 12,000 and 20,000 species, they are the scourge of gardeners—but also fascinating. |
 | Whales freed from Russia 'jail' head to sea in trucksWhales captured to perform in aquariums and held in cramped pens in far eastern Russia on Friday were journeying in trucks back to their home waters after President Vladimir Putin backed their release. |
 | Emaciated polar bear found in Russia taken for treatmentAn emaciated polar bear seen roaming around an industrial city in Russia far south of its normal sea ice hunting grounds is being transported to a zoo for examination and treatment. |
This email is a free service of Science X Network
You received this email because you subscribed to our list.
If you do not wish to receive such emails in the future, please unsubscribe here.
You are subscribed as jmabs1@gmail.com. You may manage your subscription options from your Science X profile
No comments:
Post a Comment