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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for June 24, 2019:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Model suggests how early dark energy could resolve the Hubble tensionThe universe is continuously expanding, yet the exact rate at which it does so remains unclear, and has so far only been approximated using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and other similar instruments. Moreover, in recent years, astronomers using the Hubble telescope have unveiled a discrepancy between the two primary techniques used for estimating the universe's expansion rate. |
 | Astronomers detect 130 short period variable starsBy conducting photometric observations of the open cluster Stock 8 and its surrounding region, astronomers have identified 130 short-period variable stars, classifying 51 of them as members of the cluster. A paper detailing the findings appeared June 18 on the arXiv pre-print repository. |
 | Curiosity Rover finds high levels of methane on MarsA team working with NASA to study data the Mars Curiosity Rover has found high levels of methane at a site on the Red Planet. The existence of methane is, of course, a possible sign of life, since it is produced in abundance by microorganisms here on Earth. |
 | The low density of some exoplanets is confirmedThe Kepler mission and its extension, called K2, discovered thousands of exoplanets. It detected them using the transit technique, measuring the dip in light intensity whenever an orbiting planet moved across the face of its host star as viewed from Earth. Transits can not only measure the orbital period, they often can determine the size of the exoplanet from the detailed depth and shape of its transit curve and the host star's properties. The transit method, however, does not measure the mass of the planet. The radial velocity method, by contrast, which measures the wobble of a host star under the gravitational pull of an orbiting exoplanet, allows for the measurement of its mass. Knowing a planet's radius and mass allows for the determination of its average density, and hence clues to its composition. |
 | Subaru Telescope identifies the outermost edge of the Milky Way systemA team of researchers identified the outermost edge of the Milky Way galaxy. Using the Subaru Telescope, the researchers examined the boundary of the stellar system that makes up the galaxy. The ultimate size of the galaxy is 520,000 light years in radius, 20 times larger than the distance between the galactic center and our solar system (26,000 light years) (Figure 1). Stars that reach these outermost regions of the galaxy during their orbital motions are ancient stellar populations with ages as old as 12 billion years. The spatial extent in which these ancient stars wander is, therefore, important for understanding the Milky Way's formation. |
 | 'Bathtub rings' around Titan's lakes might be made of alien crystalsThe frigid lakeshores of Saturn's moon Titan might be encrusted with strange, unearthly minerals, according to new research being presented here. |
 | Smash and grab: A heavyweight stellar champion for dying starsDying stars that cast off their outer envelopes to form the beautiful yet enigmatic "planetary nebulae" (PNe) have a new heavy-weight champion, the innocuously named PNe BMP1613-5406. Massive stars live fast and die young, exploding as powerful supernovae after only a few million years. However, the vast majority of stars, including our own sun, have much lower mass and may live for many billions of years before going through a short lived but glorious PNe phase. PNe form when only a tiny fraction of unburnt hydrogen remains in the stellar core. Radiation pressure expels much of this material and the hot stellar core can shine through. This ionizes the previously ejected shroud creating a PNe and providing a visible and valuable fossil record of the stellar mass loss process (PNe have nothing to do with planets but acquired this name because their glowing spheres of ionized gas around their hot central stars resembled planets to early observers). |
 | Galaxy clusters caught in a first kissFor the first time, astronomers have found two giant clusters of galaxies that are just about to collide. This observation can be seen as a missing 'piece of the puzzle' in our understanding of the formation of structure in the universe, since large-scale structures—such as galaxies and clusters of galaxies—are thought to grow by collisions and mergers. The result was published in Nature Astronomy. |
 | Space physicists send instrument to target cometsSpace physicists at UmeƄ University, Sweden, develop measuring instruments for the spaceship Comet Interceptor. The vessel has been selected to be part of the European Space Agency's ESA program to target comets that have just entered our solar system. The launch will take place in 2028. |
Elon Musk on Twitter: 'Accelerating Starship development to build the Martian Technocracy'While Buzz Lightyear goes to infinity and beyond, Elon Musk will have to settle for Mars for now. | |
Technology news
 | Cyprus racers show budget solar cars have a sunny futureVenetia Chrysostomide fastened her helmet and rolled her solar-powered car into the sunny streets of Cypriot capital Nicosia for a race to showcase such vehicles' eco-friendly potential, even on a budget. |
 | Trulifi leveraging light waves for send-receive of office dataSome companies need your time when they explain properly what their technology is all about and in turn brochures, white papers and video talks are in order. Signify is lucky. Two words wrap it up for them. Light connects. |
 | Teaching robots what humans wantTold to optimize for speed while racing down a track in a computer game, a car pushes the pedal to the metal … and proceeds to spin in a tight little circle. Nothing in the instructions told the car to drive straight, and so it improvised. |
 | Phones and wearables combine to assess worker performanceUsing smartphones, fitness bracelets and a custom app, researchers have created a mobile-sensing system that judges employee performance. |
 | Hate speech on Twitter predicts frequency of real-life hate crimesAccording to a first-of-its-kind study, cities with a higher incidence of a certain kind of racist tweets reported more actual hate crimes related to race, ethnicity, and national origin. |
 | Researchers create multi-junction solar cells from off-the-shelf componentsMulti-junction solar cells are both the most efficient type of solar cell on the market today and the most expensive type of solar cell to produce. In a proof-of-concept paper, researchers from North Carolina State University detail a new approach for creating multi-junction solar cells using off-the-shelf components, resulting in lower cost, high-efficiency solar cells for use in multiple applications. |
 | Daimler recalls more cars over emissions cheating: reportGerman auto giant Daimler has been ordered to recall a further 60,000 diesel cars believed to have been equipped with emissions-cheating software, the mass-circulation daily Bild reported on Saturday. |
 | Paris aims to beat Olympic traffic with flying taxisParis aims to give visitors to the 2024 Paris Olympics a flying start by offering airborne taxis to tournament sites straight from the airport. |
 | Aussie watchdog readies clampdown on Google, FacebookAustralia's competition watchdog is poised to call for far-reaching new regulations on Facebook, Google and other tech giants which could have global ramifications for how they make money and choose the content people consume. |
 | GPS, special maps and the wild: Tech helps searchers zero inYesenia D'Alessandro loaded a GPS tracking app on her cellphone and trudged into a remote Hawaii forest, joining more than 100 other volunteers looking for a missing hiker. |
 | Governments must regulate social networks: Facebook's CleggGovernments, not companies, must regulate social networks, Facebook's head of global affairs and former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, said Monday. |
 | Green Propellant Infusion Mission spacecraft to test green propellant on orbitNASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, along with co-investigators, including the Air Force Research Laboratory, Ball Aerospace, SpaceX, the Space and Missile Systems Center, and Aerojet, are scheduled to launch Ball's Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) spacecraft, enabling the first ever on-orbit demonstration of the AFRL developed ASCENT (Advanced Spacecraft Energetic Non-toxic Propellant) green propellant on orbit. |
 | Clean energy from local producersIs it possible to boost sales of locally produced solar energy by allowing households to trade it through a peer-to-peer platform? The year-long Quartierstrom research project in Walenstadt is investigating how energy markets might operate in the future. |
 | People who spread deepfakes think their lies reveal a deeper truthThe recent viral "deepfake" video of Mark Zuckerberg declaring, "whoever controls the data controls the world" was not a particularly convincing imitation of the Facebook CEO, but it was spectacularly successful at focusing attention on the threat of digital media manipulation. |
 | Robots may care for you in old age—and your children will teach themIt's likely that before too long, robots will be in the home to care for older people and help them live independently. To do that, they'll need to learn how to do all the little jobs that we might be able to do without thinking. Many modern AI systems are trained to perform specific tasks by analysing thousands of annotated images of the action being performed. While these techniques are helping to solve increasingly complex problems, they still focus on very specific tasks and require lots of time and processing power to train. |
 | Amazon wins '.amazon' domain name, aggravating South American region and undermining digital commonsAmazon has a new means of dominating the market—one that threatens the economic interests of the people who call the original Amazon home. In May 2019, the online megastore secured the general top-level domain name ".amazon." Anyone with the internet will recognize these domain types even if they don't know the term. They're the endings to website addresses, like ".com," ".org," and ".ac.uk." |
 | Play games with no latencyOne of the most challenging issues for game players looks to be resolved soon with the introduction of a zero-latency gaming environment. A KAIST team developed a technology that helps game players maintain zero-latency performance. The new technology transforms the shapes of game design according to the amount of latency. |
 | Sandia's crawling robots, drones detect damage to save wind bladesDrones and crawling robots outfitted with special scanning technology could help wind blades stay in service longer, which may help lower the cost of wind energy at a time when blades are getting bigger, pricier and harder to transport, Sandia National Laboratories researchers say. |
 | Study investigates lack of disclaimers on Facebook and Google's political advertisingA cloak of mystery often shrouds the inner workings of technological giants, but sometimes clarity is in plain sight. A Virginia Tech research team recently uncovered conclusive details about the roles Facebook, Google, and the Federal Election Commission played in digital advertising around the U.S. presidential election of 2016. |
 | Why YouTube's kid issues are so seriousTo understand just how severe YouTube's kids problem is, take a look at the popularity charts. |
 | A wearable vibration sensor for accurate voice recognitionA voice-recognition feature can be easily found on mobile phones these days. Oftentimes, we experience an incident where a speech recognition application is activated in the middle of a meeting or a conversation in the office. Sometimes, it is not activated at all regardless of numbers of times we call out the application. It is because a mobile phone uses a microphone which detects sound pressure to recognize voice, and it is easily affected by surrounding noise and other obstacles. |
 | Querying big data just got universalTo solve one of the key obstacles in big-data science, KAUST researchers have created a framework for searching very large datasets that runs easily on different computing architectures. Their achievement allows researchers to concentrate on advancing the search engine, or query engine, itself rather than on painstakingly coding for specific computing platforms. |
 | Trump 5G push could hamper forecasting of deadly stormsAs atmospheric rivers dumped record volumes of rain on California this spring, emergency responders used the federal government's satellites to warn people about where the storms were likely to hit hardest. |
 | Dutch telephone outage takes out nation's emergency numberA major telephone outage took down the Dutch emergency number for more than three hours Monday, forcing police and other first responders to scramble to set up alternatives. |
 | What's your data worth to Big Tech? Bill would compel answerAs Congress bears down on big tech companies, two senators want to force giants like Google, Facebook and Amazon to tell users what data they're collecting from them and how much it's worth. |
 | Microsoft missed mobile dominance by 'tiny' margin: GatesMicrosoft missed its chance to be the dominant firm in mobile technology because it was "distracted" during a lengthy antitrust battle with US authorities, company co-founder Bill Gates said Monday. |
 | Check your settings if you don't want Google tracking every moveI stepped out of the car and took a visit to a local hotel here right off the main road. It was so easy to find, I didn't have to use Google Maps to get there. |
 | US blocks more Chinese tech firms on national security concernsThe US Commerce Department blacklisted five Chinese tech entities Friday in a new move against Beijing's supercomputing industry likely to raise tensions ahead of a meeting between President Trump and Xi Jinping next week. |
 | Fingerprint spectroscopy within a millisecondTo guarantee high quality pharmaceuticals, manufacturers need not only to control the purity and concentration of their own products, but also those of their suppliers. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF have developed a measuring system capable of identifying a wide variety of chemical and pharmaceutical substances remotely and in real time. It is perfect for the use in the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industry. |
 | Slurpees incoming! 7-Eleven begins delivery in public spacesCraving a Slurpee but lacking the motivation to get off a park bench? |
 | Bitcoin surges above $11,000 thanks to Facebook's currency plansBitcoin surged to a near 16-month high above $11,000 Monday, overshadowing showings across stock, foreign exchange and commodity markets, with investors looking ahead to the week's G20 summit. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Performance-enhancing bacteria found in the microbiomes of elite athletesNew research has identified a type of bacteria found in the microbiomes of elite athletes that contributes to improved capacity for exercise. These bacteria, members of the genus Veillonella, are not found in the guts of sedentary people. |
 | Culture shapes how we learn to reason?If you made any plans for next week, congratulations! You've demonstrated a key feature of being human: being able to think beyond the here and now—or, think abstractly. But when babies learn different kinds of abstract thought, and how, is still hotly debated by psychologists. Now new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that cultural environment may play a role. |
 | Hydrogel offers double punch against orthopedic bone infectionsSurgery prompted by automobile accidents, combat wounds, cancer treatment and other conditions can lead to bone infections that are difficult to treat and can delay healing until they are resolved. Now, researchers have a developed a double-duty hydrogel that both attacks the bacteria and encourages bone regrowth with a single application containing two active components. |
 | New hypothesis links habitat loss and the global emergence of infectious diseasesAuburn University researchers have published a new hypothesis that could provide the foundation for new scientific studies looking into the association of habitat loss and the global emergence of infectious diseases. |
 | Could coffee be the secret to fighting obesity?Scientists from the University of Nottingham have discovered that drinking a cup of coffee can stimulate 'brown fat', the body's own fat-fighting defenses, which could be the key to tackling obesity and diabetes. |
 | Commonly prescribed drugs could increase the risk of dementia, says a new studyThe study, carried out by experts from the University of Nottingham and funded by the NIHR School for Primary Care Research, found that there was nearly a 50% increased risk of dementia among patients aged 55 and over who had used strong anticholinergic medication daily for three years or more. |
 | Music students score better in math, science, English than non-musical peersHigh schoolers who take music courses score significantly better on exams in certain other subjects, including math and science, than their non-musical peers, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association. |
 | New therapy targets gut bacteria to prevent and reverse food allergiesEvery three minutes, a food-related allergic reaction sends someone to the emergency room in the U.S. Currently, the only way to prevent a reaction is for people with food allergies to completely avoid the food to which they are allergic. Researchers are actively seeking new treatments to prevent or reverse food allergies in patients. Recent insights about the microbiome—the complex ecosystem of microorganisms that live in the gut and other body sites—have suggested that an altered gut microbiome may play a pivotal role in the development of food allergies. A new study, led by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Boston Children's Hospital, identifies the species of bacteria in the human infant gut that protect against food allergies, finding changes associated with the development of food allergies and an altered immune response. In preclinical studies in a mouse model of food allergy, the team found that giving an enriched oral formulation of five or six species of bacteria found in the human gut protected against food allergies and reversed established disease by reinforcing tolerance of food allergens. The team's results are published in Nature Medicine. |
 | Settling the debate on serotonin's role in sleepSerotonin is a multipurpose molecule found throughout the brain, playing a role in memory, cognition, and feelings of happiness and other emotions. In particular, researchers have long debated serotonin's role in sleep: Does serotonin promote sleep, or its opposite, wakefulness? |
 | Non-invasive, more precise preimplantation genetic test under development for IVF embryosSelecting the best possible embryo to implant in a woman undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) is a complicated task. As success rates for IVF have improved, many clinics now implant a single embryo during an IVF cycle—with the goal of avoiding a multiple pregnancy—and the responsibility of selecting the embryo falls to the embryologist. To determine the quality and viability of an embryo, embryologists typically examine specific features of the embryos using a light microscope. In addition, specialists can use data from preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A), a test of whether cells from the embryo at the blastocyst stage have a normal or abnormal number of chromosomes. However, this crucial test carries the risk of false positives (which could lead to discarding a normal embryo) and false negatives (which could lead to transferring an embryo with a chromosomal abnormality). |
 | Solving the cochlea: First complete virtual model of ear's speech sensorUntil now, the part of the ear that processes speech was poorly reflected in computer models, but University of Michigan researchers have figured out the math that describes how it works—which could help improve hearing tests and devices that restore some hearing to the deaf. |
 | Study identifies critical regulator of tumor-specific T cell differentiationImmune checkpoint therapy has revolutionized cancer therapy, leading to long-term remission for patients with advanced cancer. However, most cancer patients either do not respond or have only short-term responses to checkpoint therapy, which targets inhibitory receptors on T cells. |
 | An 'awe-full' state of mind can set you freeAn induced feeling of awe, or state of wonder, may be the best strategy yet for alleviating the discomfort that comes from uncertain waiting. |
 | Gene networks reveal transition from healthy to failing heartScientists investigating heart failure have been limited to studying diseased heart tissue in the lab—understandably, as people don't tend to pluck out a healthy heart for the sake of research. But now, scientists with access to unusable, yet still healthy, donor hearts have been able to investigate the genomic pillars behind the transition from healthy hearts to heart failure. |
 | Mood neurons mature during adolescenceResearchers have discovered a mysterious group of neurons in the amygdala—a key center for emotional processing in the brain—that stay in an immature, prenatal developmental state throughout childhood. Most of these cells mature rapidly during adolescence, suggesting a key role in the brain's emotional development, but some stay immature throughout life, suggesting new ideas about how the brain keeps its emotional responses flexible throughout life. |
 | Helping the body's ability to grow boneFor the first time, scientists have been able to study how well synthetic bone grafts stand up to the rigors and 'strains' of life, and how quickly they help bone re-grow and repair. |
 | Alzheimer's missing link ID'd, answering what tips brain's declineYears before symptoms of Alzheimer's disease appear, two kinds of damaging proteins silently collect in the brain: amyloid beta and tau. Clumps of amyloid accumulate first, but tau is particularly noxious. Wherever tangles of the tau protein appear, brain tissue dies, triggering the confusion and memory loss that are hallmarks of Alzheimer's. |
 | New therapy promotes vascular repair following strokeFollowing a stroke, antibodies that inhibit the signaling molecule Nogo-A can help repair blood vessels in the affected brain regions. This also promotes the regaining of motor functions, researchers at the University of Zurich have shown in a mouse model. The study opens up new avenues for treatment. |
 | Screams contain a 'calling card' for the vocalizer's identityHuman screams convey a level of individual identity that may help explain their evolutionary origins, finds a study by scientists at Emory University. |
 | Certain cells secrete a substance in the brain that protects neuronsUSC researchers have discovered a secret sauce in the brain's vascular system that preserves the neurons needed to keep dementia and other diseases at bay. |
 | Combination of drugs may combat deadly drug-resistant fungusAs health officials in New Jersey, Illinois and New York State scramble to contain the spread of a highly infectious and deadly fungus, microbiologists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have shown that a combination of anti-fungal and anti-bacterial medications may be an effective weapon against the recently discovered multidrug resistant, Candida auris (C. auris). |
 | Plant-based diet leads to Crohn's disease remission, according to case studyEating a plant-based diet may be an effective treatment for Crohn's disease, according to a case study published in the journal Nutrients. |
Physician, heal thyself: how depression affects cancer caregiversAshley Sumrall was an early career brain oncologist when she got a case that would stay with her for the rest of her career. | |
Oral steroids put patients with inflammatory disease at high risk of infectionOral steroid use in patients with the inflammatory diseases polymyalgia rheumatica and/or giant cell arteritis significantly increased the risk of infection, and the risk increased with higher doses, found a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). | |
| Understanding C. auris transmission with the healthcare environmentResearchers have now shown that patients who are heavily colonized with Candida auris on their skin can shed the fungus and contaminate their surroundings. This finding provides an explanation for the extensive contamination that often occurs in healthcare facilities with C. auris outbreaks. These results can help inform infection control efforts. The research is presented at ASM Microbe, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. |
Prolonged transmission of a resistant bacterial strain in a Northern California hospitalResearchers have used whole genome sequencing (WGS) to demonstrate transmission of a single bacterial strain that possessed a carbapenem-resistance gene in a northern California hospital. The gene armed the bacteria with resistance to carbapenems, a type of antimicrobial drug reserved as a last-line treatment for serious infections. The research is presented on Sunday, June 23rd at ASM Microbe, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. | |
 | Cannabidiol is a powerful new antibioticNew research has found that Cannnabidiol is active against Gram-positive bacteria, including those responsible for many serious infections (such as Staphyloccocus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae), with potency similar to that of established antibiotics such as vancomycin or daptomycin. The research is presented at ASM Microbe, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. |
 | Frozen sperm retains its viability in outer space conditionsZillionaires like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos who see the 'colonisation' of space as an answer to the Earth's ever threatened resources will be reassured to learn that human sperm retains its complete viability within the different gravitational conditions found in outer space. |
 | Suicide, accidents, and hepatitis: The leading causes of death for Veterans in their first year of PTSD treatmentAccording to a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, United States Veterans seeking treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at increased risk of death compared with the general population. Veterans with PTSD are twice as likely to die from suicide, accidental injury, and viral hepatitis than the general population. Veterans with PTSD are also more likely to die from diabetes and chronic liver disease than the general population. |
 | Small shops, heavy advertisers less likely to ID for tobaccoYoung people are less likely to be carded for cigarettes in certain types of shops, particularly in those that heavily advertise tobacco, a new study has found. |
 | Study finds micronutrient deficiencies common at time of celiac disease diagnosisMicronutrient deficiencies, including vitamins B12 and D, as well as folate, iron, zinc and copper, are common in adults at the time of diagnosis with celiac disease. These deficiencies should be addressed at that time, according to a study by Mayo Clinic researchers. |
 | New reports provide guidance for obesity careAdvocates for obesity prevention and treatment have designed two new resources for medical educators, healthcare providers and community programs that will enhance the level of care for patients, according to two new studies published online today in Obesity, the flagship journal of The Obesity Society. The resources include the first set of competencies for how to care for patients with obesity for undergraduate and graduate medical education, and a proposed standard of care for people with obesity. |
Large cohort study confirms small added obstetric risk from transfer of longer developed embryosThe transfer of embryos cultured for five or six days (instead of two or three) after fertilisation in IVF and ICSI has become routine in many fertility clinics. Many (but not all) studies show that transferring these longer and better developed embryos—known as blastocysts—will increase the chance of pregnancy and live birth. | |
 | Long duration of sperm freezing makes no difference to live birth rates in large sperm bank studyDespite a time limit imposed in many countries on the freeze-storage of sperm, a new study from China has found that the long-term cryopreservation of semen in a sperm bank does not affect future clinical outcomes. Results of the study are presented today in Vienna at the 35th Annual Meeting of ESHRE by Dr. Chuan Huang of the Changsa-Hunan Sperm Bank in China. |
 | AMA Internal Medicine commentary highlights opportunity to discover modifiable risk factor for dementiaIn a commentary published in JAMA Internal Medicine, three Regenstrief Institute research scientists write that while they and other researchers have identified a strong and consistent link between anticholinergic drugs and cognitive impairment from observational studies, randomized clinical trials represent the only rigorous method to definitively establish a causal relationship between these frequently used drugs and various dementias. |
 | Deportation worries fuel anxiety, poor sleep, among US-born Latinx youthThe rise of anti-immigration rhetoric and policies in the United States following the 2016 presidential election may be taking its toll on the health of California's Latinx youth, including those who are U.S. citizens, suggests a new study led by University of California, Berkeley, researchers. |
 | More women in US receive 3-D mammography but disparities remainUse of 3-D mammography, an advanced form of breast cancer screening, has risen rapidly in recent years, according to Yale researchers in a new study. But adoption of the technology varies widely, reflecting emerging disparities in care, they said. |
Healthcare guidelines should be updated for patients with certain adrenal tumorsGlobal guidelines on managing the care of patients diagnosed with common types of adrenal tumours should be updated, say researchers following a study carried out by an international collaboration. | |
 | Young women who smoke face highest risk of major heart attackSmoking increases both men's and women's risk of a major heart attack at all ages, but women smokers have a significantly higher increased risk compared to men, especially women under 50 years old, according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Despite the increased risk, smokers can reduce their risk to that of a never smoker in as little as a month after quitting. |
 | Chronic conditions—not infectious diseases—are top five causes of early death in ChinaChronic diseases, such as stroke, ischemic heart disease, and lung cancer, now represent the leading causes of premature death in China, according to a new scientific study. |
 | Deaths from cardiovascular diseases attributable to heat and cold down 38% in SpainTemperature-related mortality has been decreasing in Spain over the past four decades, according to a new study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a research centre supported by la Caixa. The study analysed the Spanish population's vulnerability to hot and cold temperatures in the context of global warming. |
 | Are you sure it's burning mouth syndrome?Not all burning mouths are the result of a medical condition known as "burning mouth syndrome" (BMS) and physicians and researchers need better standards for an appropriate diagnosis, according to new research at the School of Dental Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. |
 | Microbiome links diet to healthThe composition of the human microbiome, a complex ecosystem of microorganisms, plays a crucial role in lifelong health. Little is known, however, about the detailed molecular mechanisms linking health status to the microbiome of the gut, for example. |
 | Potential probe for early ovarian cancerOvarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women and one of the most difficult malignancies to detect at an early stage. |
 | Study explores role of metabolism in immune cell behaviorWhat makes healthy cells change and become dysfunctional to the point of causing disease? In addition to a disruption in genes that regulate cells, there is another factor in cell misbehavior that involves metabolism, say Yale researchers. |
 | Vaccine investigators use bacterium's own protein against itA team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and university scientists is investigating a new "ingredient" for use in vaccinating cattle against Johne's disease, a chronic wasting affliction that costs the U.S. dairy industry more than $200 million per year. |
 | Virtual reality takes a leap into tasteA fly hasn't eaten for an entire day, and it's starving. It finds a pile of edible gelatinous goo and begins eating, when a green light appears, and the food, which was far from delicious a moment ago, becomes irresistibly sweet. The fly, excited by the sudden improvement, eats with increased vigor. But its enthusiasm quickly wanes when the green light disappears and the flavour of the food reverts to its original blandness. |
 | Too much sodium, not enough vitamins and minerals in diets of pregnant womenA new study suggests that many pregnant women are not getting the proper amounts of some vitamins and minerals, even with supplements, while many are getting potentially excessive amounts of sodium. |
 | For women's sake, let's screen for depression as part of the new heart health checksThe latest government statistics, released last week, show that from 2001-2016, the rate of cardiac events (heart attacks or unstable angina) fell by more than half among Australian women. |
 | Discrimination of minorities associated with increased risk of psychosisDiscrimination of minority groups is likely to be associated with an increased risk of psychosis, according to a systematic review by University of Manchester and Lancaster psychologists. |
 | Shedding light on rhodopsin dynamics in the retinaPhotoreceptor cells in our eyes can adjust to both weak and strong light levels, but we still don't know exactly how they do it. Emeritus Professor Fumio Hayashi of Kobe University and his colleagues revealed that the photoreceptor protein rhodopsin forms transient clusters within the disc membranes in retina. These clusters are concentrated in the center of disc membranes, and act as platforms in the process of light to chemical signal conversion. The findings were published as a highlighted paper in Communications Biologyon June 14. |
 | Researchers develop new blood test for faster, cheaper and more accurate detection of Alzheimer's diseaseDoctors may one day be able to diagnose Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of severe dementia, and monitor a patient's response to treatment by doing a simple blood test. This is made possible using the APEX (Amplified Plasmonic EXosome) system invented by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS). |
 | Language barriers affect parents' participation in neonatal careA warm smile and a caring hand on the shoulder are not enough to overcome the language barriers that can arise between parents and healthcare professionals in neonatal care when the parents have not mastered the Swedish language. A new thesis raises the questions of when and how to get the assistance of an interpreter. |
 | Successful support for parents of anorexia patientsIn a pilot projected at the University Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of MedUni Wien and AKH Wien, parents of anorexia patients were familiarised with the illness in the form of workshops and an online intervention and introduced to skills for the interaction with their children in order to promote healing. The scientific evaluation showed the clear and lasting reduction of the psychological stress within the family affected by the eating disorder. The results are now presented during the largest European Child Psychiatry Congress (30 June to 2 July) in Vienna. |
 | The trust trap: Why older Australians are more trusting, and what that means for themPopulations around the world are ageing rapidly. Almost one in four people will be aged 60 or more by 2050. This growing cohort of older adults is often portrayed as too trusting—why should this be so? |
 | E. coli in milk won't necessarily make you sick—but it signals risks from other bacteriaLast Thursday, dairy company Lactalis Australia recalled eight varieties of milk over concerns the products could be contaminated with the bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli). |
 | Exercise after surgery is important for lung cancer surgery recoveryLung cancer patients who exercised after the surgery to remove their tumour experienced better fitness levels and strength in their leg muscles as well as less shortness of breath compared to those who did not, new research led by Curtin University has found. |
 | Virtual rehab: How 'gamification' can help stroke recoveryResearchers at the University of East Anglia are pioneering virtual reality (VR) rehabilitation for stroke survivors, using low cost videogame technology. |
 | Non-invasive view into the heartThe non-invasive measurement of blood flow to the heart using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is on par with cardiac catheterization. This was the result of an international study published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine and headed by researchers from Goethe University. |
 | Clinical trials beginning for possible preeclampsia treatmentFor over 20 years, a team of researchers at Lund University has worked on developing a drug against preeclampsia—a serious disorder which annually affects around 9 million pregnant women worldwide and is one of the main causes of death in both mothers and unborn babies. |
 | The role of family doctors in advanced therapiesA recent study conducted jointly by the Tissue Engineering Research Group of the Department of Histology and the family medicine Unit of the University of Granada (UGR) has highlighted the conceptual, attitudinal and procedural profile of resident hospital doctors specialising in family medicine in relation to advanced therapies. |
 | Suicide rates are rising significantly among African American teensA large-scale study from The University of Toledo of young African Americans who have attempted or died by suicide suggests there is a greater need for mental health services in urban school districts, and that we need to do a better job in convincing parents and caregivers to safely secure firearms and ammunition in the home. Taking those measures, Dr. James Price said, could save lives. |
 | Study ties poor sleep to reduced memory performance in older adultsA new study has found that variability in night-to-night sleep time and reduced sleep quality adversely affect the ability of older adults to recall information about past events. The study also found unexpected racial differences in the type of sleep patterns tied to lower memory performance across both younger and older African American research participants. |
 | Death toll in Indian encephalitis outbreak rises to 152India's Supreme Court on Monday directed state and national authorities to file reports to the court on an encephalitis outbreak in the eastern state of Bihar this month in which 152 children have died. |
 | Immunotherapy and HDAC inhibition are anti-cancer bestiesImmunotherapies have revolutionized the care of many cancers, teaching the body's own immune cells to recognize and attack tumor cells. Leading the way are drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors, which block a kind of "white flag" that tumors wave as a peace signal to T cells that would very much like to kill them. Really, this white flag is a protein called PD-L1—many tumors coat themselves in it. When PD-L1 on the surface of a cancer cell sees its partner, PD1, on T cells, these T cells are tricked into letting the cancer cell live. To counteract this dirty trick, checkpoint inhibitor drugs block the functions of PD-L1 on tumor cells (e.g. atezolizumab) or PD1 on T cells (e.g. pembrolizumab), allowing T cells to go about their cancer-killing business. |
 | Physical evidence in the brain for types of schizophreniaIn a study using brain tissue from deceased human donors, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they found new evidence that schizophrenia can be marked by the buildup of abnormal proteins similar to those found in the brains of people with such neurodegenerative disorders as Alzheimer's or Huntington's diseases. |
 | Seeing the doctor? Relax, you'll remember moreSome patients feel shame, anxiety or fear immediately before seeing their doctor, making them tense. But if they can relax and become calm, patients will likely pay attention to and better comprehend health messages, suggests a new University of Michigan study. |
 | Does stimulation of the brain's dorsal anterior insula trigger ecstasy?The epileptic "aura" is a subjective phenomenon that sometimes precedes the visible clinical features of a seizure. Investigators tested three epileptic patients prior to potential surgery to try to determine where their seizures originate. They observed that these patients reported an ecstatic aura only when the dorsal anterior insula of the brain was stimulated. Their findings in the journal Brain Stimulation, published by Elsevier, provide additional support of a major role played by the dorsal anterior insula in ecstatic experiences. |
 | 45% of American adults doubt vaccine safety, according to surveyA recent online survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association, revealed that more than two in five American adults (45%) say something has caused them to doubt vaccine safety. |
 | Seniors who develop cancer have better memory, slower decline(HealthDay)—Older individuals who develop cancer have better memory and slower memory decline than those who remain cancer-free, according to a study published online June 21 in JAMA Network Open. |
 | Geographic patterns of COPD similar for smokers, nonsmokers(HealthDay)—Geographic patterns of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) prevalence are similar among current smokers, former smokers, and adults who have never smoked, according to research published in the June 21 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. |
 | Study reveals lower predictive ability for renal cancer models(HealthDay)—Prospective validation of existing renal cell carcinoma (RCC) prediction models demonstrates a decrease in their predictive ability, according to a study published online June 19 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. |
 | First states to expand medicaid had largest bump in cancer screening(HealthDay)—The first states to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act saw the largest increases in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening from 2012 to 2016, according to a study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. |
 | FDA expands cystic fibrosis treatment approval to children ages 6 to 12(HealthDay)—The indication for a cystic fibrosis treatment, Symdeko (tezacaftor/ivacaftor) tablets, has been expanded to treat children ages 6 years and older with cystic fibrosis and certain genetic mutations, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today. |
 | 2018 busiest year ever for U.S. national domestic violence hotline(HealthDay)—The U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline had its busiest year ever in 2018, receiving 573,670 calls, texts, and online chats, a 36 percent increase from 2017. |
 | Seafood offers vital nutrient for expectant moms and babies(HealthDay)—Omega-3 fatty acids, found in foods including fatty fish and flaxseed, may be best known for their link to heart health, but they're also vital for pregnant women and their babies. |
 | Just how harmful is TV for your health?(HealthDay)—Cautions about TV viewing are as old as television itself, but how bad is it really? |
 | Is green tea a fad or a real health boost?(HealthDay)—Green tea is a popular health trend, with many people sipping in hopes of deriving benefits from the brew. |
 | What influences how parents and their gay adolescent sons discuss sexual health at home?Parent-child discussions about sexual health and sexual identity are complicated, particularly with a male teen who identifies as gay, bisexual, or queer (GBQ). New research from the University of Pennsylvania shows that even as parents become savvier in these conversations, departing from gender stereotypes and embracing more accepting attitudes, factors beyond the home will still affect the message parents convey and their child hears. |
Close-range blast exposure and neurodegenerative processes among those with genetic risk for Alzheimer's diseaseA new study raises the possibility that close-range blast exposure among veterans with a genetically higher risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD), may make them more susceptible to degradation of their white matter, the part of the brain made of fiber connections called axons that connect nerve cells. | |
 | Sexual hormone oestradiol protects female brain in mid-lifeRecent research suggests that increased visceral fat—that is body fat surrounding a number of important internal organs such as the liver, pancreas and intestines—carries the risk of cognitive impairment in later life. "Our goal was to investigate whether excess organ fat is associated with a reduction in the structural networks and storage capacity of our brain throughout its lifetime. We also wanted to find out whether this interaction can be influenced by oestradiol," said Rachel Zsido. |
 | Anxiety with type 2 diabetes tied to high-cost health care use(HealthDay)—Anxiety is independently associated with high-cost resource use among individuals with type 2 diabetes, according to a study published online June 18 in Diabetes Care. |
 | Transfusion dose density affects myelodysplastic syndrome survival(HealthDay)—Transfusion dose density is an independent prognostic factor for progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes treated with red blood cell transfusions (RBCTs), according to a study published online June 6 in Haematologica. |
 | Text-mining analysis of Amazon customer reviews suggests foods are over-sweetenedNew research from the Monell Center analyzed nearly 400,000 food reviews posted by Amazon customers to gain real-world insight into the food choices that people make. The findings reveal that many people find the foods in today's marketplace to be too sweet. |
 | 'Secret shopper' study shows how easily teens can buy e-cigs(HealthDay)—Despite federal and state age restrictions on the sale of tobacco and vaping products, a new "secret shopper" study found that IDs were checked only about half the time. |
 | Half of U.S. adults should monitor blood pressure at home, study saysSome people go to the doctor and find the intake so nerve-wracking their blood pressure spikes. Others find the routine relaxing, as they're asked to rest for a moment and breathe easy before a blood pressure cuff is wrapped around their arm. |
 | Drug combo slows progression in advanced breast cancer(HealthDay)—Treatment with a combination of alpelisib and fulvestrant prolongs progression-free survival among patients with PIK3CA-mutated, hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced breast cancer, according to a phase 3 study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. |
 | Greater long-term decline in stroke seen among older adults(HealthDay)—The decline in midlife ischemic strokes over time is less pronounced than the decline among older adults, according to a study published in the June issue of Stroke. |
 | Antacid use in first year of life tied to later fracture risk(HealthDay)—Infants who are given acid suppression therapy (AST) in their first year of life are more likely to subsequently break a bone, according to a study published online June 7 in Pediatrics. |
 | Pathogen engineered to self-destruct underlies cancer vaccine platformA team of investigators has developed a cancer vaccine technology using live, attenuated pathogens as vectors. A feature of the vaccine causes these bacteria to self-destruct once they've done their job, making it safe for use in humans. The research is published in Infection and Immunity, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. |
 | Alzheimer's disease: Sex affects tau accumulation in the brainThe strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease is the apolipoprotein E type 4 allele (ApoE Īµ4). Research presented by Manish Paranjpe at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) used positron emission tomography (PET) to show that women who are ApoE Īµ4 carriers and already experiencing mild cognitive impairment are more susceptible than men to tau accumulation in the brain. |
 | Earlier diagnosis and treatment assessment of tuberculosis achieved with pet/ctResearch presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2019 Annual Meeting shows that molecular imaging with 18F-FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) can evaluate tuberculosis at the molecular level, effectively identifying diseased areas and guiding treatment for patients. |
 | Interim scan during prostate cancer therapy helps guide treatmentNew prostate cancer research shows that adding an interim scan during therapy can help guide a patient's treatment. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after two cycles of lutetium-177 (177Lu)-PSMA radioligand therapy has shown a significant predictive value for patient survival. The research was presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). |
 | PET/CT detects cardiovascular disease risk factors in obstructive sleep apnea patientsResearch presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2019 Annual Meeting draws a strong link between severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and impaired coronary flow reserve, which is an early sign of the heart disease atherosclerosis. Using 13N-ammonia positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), researchers were able to noninvasively evaluate coronary microvascular function in OSA patients and use their findings to predict cardiovascular disease risk. |
 | Understanding brain activity when you name what you seeYou see an object, you think of its name and then you say it. This apparently simple activity engages a set of brain regions that must interact with each other to produce the behavior quickly and accurately. A report published in eNeuro shows that a reliable sequence of neural interactions occurs in the human brain that corresponds to the visual processing stage, the language state when we think of the name, and finally the articulation state when we say the name. The study reveals that the neural processing does not involve just a sequence of different brain regions, but instead it engages a sequence of changing interactions between those brain regions. |
Autoimmunity and chair-side risk assessment of temporomandibular disordersAt 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), many oral and poster presentations centered around temporomandibular disorders, or TMD. 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. | |
Gender-specific differences in the salivary microbiome of caries-active childrenAt 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), | |
Metabolomic profiling of antibody response to periodontal pathogensAt 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), Jaakko Leskela, University of Helsinki, Finland, gave an oral presentation on "Metabolomic Profiling of Antibody Response to Periodontal Pathogens." 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. | |
Indigenous oral health inequalities begin in childhood: A multi-country studyAt 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), Dandara Haag, University of Adelaide, Australia, gave an oral presentation on "Indigenous Oral Health Inequalities Begin in Childhood: A Multi-country Study." 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. | |
Anger over re-introduction of tampon tax in TanzaniaA decision by Tanzania's government to reintroduce a tax on sanitary pads and tampons has angered women in the country, with one activist on Sunday saying it would have "heavy consequences" for women. | |
Survivors of childhood brain tumors experience lasting cognitive and socioeconomic burdensSurvivors of childhood brain tumors who received radiotherapy and were very young at the time of diagnosis may experience cognitive and socioeconomic burdens decades after treatment, according to a study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Interventions such as cognitive therapies and educational and occupational services may be needed to mitigate such long-term effects. | |
 | Researchers identify new hunger pathway in the brainA newly identified hunger pathway in the brain can quickly modify food intake in the presence of food, according to a study of mice published in JNeurosci. This pathway could be a future target for the treatment of eating disorders. |
 | Ebola death toll breaks 1,500 mark in DRCMore than 1,500 people have died in a nearly 10-month-old outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the health ministry said Monday. |
Bangladesh 'Tree Man' wants hands amputated to relieve painA Bangladeshi known as the "Tree Man" because of bark-like growths on his body said Monday he wanted his hands amputated to relieve him of unbearable pain. | |
 | Saving children's teeth in Sudan – without anaesthetic or drillsTooth decay is the most common chronic dental disease in the world. It affects 60-90% of children around the world, according to the World Dental Federation. It is 20 times more common than diabetes and five times more common than asthma. If left untreated, it can cause pain and abscesses and may require root treatment or even extraction. This can traumatise children for life. |
 | Novel noninvasive molecular imaging for monitoring rheumatoid arthritisA first-in-human Phase 1/Phase II study demonstrates that intravenous administration of the radiopharmaceutical imaging agent technetium-99m (99mTc) tilmanocept promises to be a safe, well-tolerated, noninvasive means of monitoring rheumatoid arthritis disease activity. At present, there is no reliable noninvasive way to directly monitor inflammation in joints of RA patients. The study was presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). |
 | Early biomarker found for degenerative neurologic diseaseResearchers have discovered a novel radioligand that can effectively differentiate progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) from similar brain disorders, allowing for earlier and more reliable diagnosis of the disease. Presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2019 Annual Meeting, these findings bring physicians a step closer to being able to definitively diagnose PSP with imaging rather than waiting for confirmation upon autopsy. |
EU says no proof of "east-west" split in food qualityEuropean Union scientists have found no evidence of an "east-west divide" in the bloc's food quality, EU officials said Monday after eastern countries charged their consumers were short changed. | |
'Brain fever' death toll passes 150 in Indian stateThe death toll from a brain disease that has stricken children in India's Bihar state rose above 150 on Monday as a court ordered an investigation into the crisis. | |
Popular strategy for raising pregnancy rates in IVF fails to deliver improvement in large trialThe increasingly popular trend for fertility clinics to freeze all IVF embryos for later transfer has been shown in a large multicentre randomised trial to offer no improvement in delivery rates over traditional 'fresh' embryo transfers. "Our findings give no support to a general freeze-all strategy in normally menstruating women," said investigator Dr. Sacha Stormlund from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, who presents the results today at the 35th Annual Meeting of ESHRE. | |
 | Fingolimod: Advantages for some children and adolescents with highly active RRMSSince 2018, the immunosuppressant drug fingolimod has also been approved for children and adolescents aged 10 years and older whose relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is highly active or severe and rapidly evolving. In an early benefit assessment conducted in the beginning of 2019, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) had investigated whether the drug has an added benefit for these patients. No added benefit was proven for three of four patient groups; a hint of a non-quantifiable added benefit was found for the fourth group. |
 | Trump order seeks disclosure of hospital pricesPresident Donald Trump will sign an executive order Monday that calls for upfront disclosure by hospitals of actual prices for common tests and procedures to help keep costs down, administration officials said. |
Combatting the world's deadliest infections using groundbreaking human-mimetic toolsA new article published today in the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology shows that research built around human-mimetic tools are more likely to succeed in the search for effective treatments for and prevention of flavivirus infection as compared to research using monkeys or other animals as laboratory models. The study, led by Dr. David Pamies at the University of Lausanne, with researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Vaccines Research Center in the United States, includes a comprehensive review of the models used to study deadly mosquito-borne flaviviruses (MBF) such as dengue fever and the Zika virus, known to cause neurological disease in humans. | |
 | Suit: Generic drug makers used code to fix price increasesA lawsuit says representatives of some of the nation's largest generic drug manufacturers used code words to collude with competitors to divvy up market share and coordinate price increases. |
Biology news
 | Chemists discover structure of glucagon fibrilsPatients with type 1 diabetes have to regularly inject themselves with insulin, a hormone that helps their cells absorb glucose from the bloodstream. Another hormone called glucagon, which has the opposite effect, is given to diabetic patients to revive them if they become unconscious due to severe hypoglycemia. |
 | Improved single-cell ATAC-seq method scales up research into how genes are controlledScientists at Harvard University, collaborating with researchers at Bio-Rad Laboratories, have developed a new platform for rapid single-cell sequencing. The approach combines microfluidics and novel software to scale up single-cell ATAC-seq, which identifies parts of the genome that are open and accessible to regulatory proteins. |
 | Widely available antibiotics could be used in the treatment of 'superbug' MRSASome MRSA infections could be tackled using widely-available antibiotics, suggests new research from an international collaboration led by scientists at the University of Cambridge and the Wellcome Sanger Institute. |
 | Monarch butterflies bred in captivity may lose the ability to migrate, study findsMonarch butterflies purchased from a commercial breeder did not fly in a southward direction, even in offspring raised outdoors, in a new study conducted by scientists at the University of Chicago. Wild-caught monarchs bred indoors under simulated outdoor conditions also did not orient south, suggesting that captive breeding disrupts the monarch's famous annual migratory behavior. |
 | Scientists hit pay dirt with new microbial research techniqueLong ago, during the European Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci wrote that we humans "know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot." Five hundred years and innumerable technological and scientific advances later, his sentiment still holds true. |
 | Molecular scissors stabilize the cell's cytoskeletonResearchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI in Villigen, Switzerland, have for the first time elucidated the structure of important enzymes in human cells that alter essential building blocks of the cellular cytoskeleton. This reveals the missing part of a cycle that regulates the build-up or breakdown of supporting elements of the cell. The enzymes investigated work as molecular scissors and can be involved in the development of diseases, for example, cancer and diseases of the nervous system. Their structural elucidation provides approaches for the development of specific inhibitors and perhaps new therapies. The researchers gained detailed insights into the structure of the enzymes with the help of the Swiss Light Source SLS. They have now published their results in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. |
 | Scientists develop climate-ready wheat that can survive drought conditionsWheat plants engineered to have fewer microscopic pores—called stomata—on their leaves are better able to survive drought conditions associated with climate breakdown, according to a new study. |
 | Scientists capture first-ever video of giant squid in U.S. watersFIU marine scientists Heather Bracken-Grissom and Lori Schweikert were among a team of researchers gathered around a monitor when the tentacle first came into view. It floated in and out of the darkness offering no hint of what was on the other end. Then, in an elegant explosion of arms and tentacles, the creature revealed itself—the phantom of the deep, known simply as the giant squid. |
 | Protein quality control and mitochondriaProtein aggregates are toxic for mitochondrial function, and thus disrupt the supply of chemical energy to their host cells. An LMU team has characterized a protein complex that prevents the build-up of such deposits in the organelles. |
 | Scientists discover new antiviral roles for olfactory neurons in fishThere are thousands upon thousands of viruses in our various environments affecting our everyday life in a variety of ways. Many of those viruses infect humans by entering and exploiting the nasal route. Scientists at The University of New Mexico are conducting research to decipher how the immune system and the olfactory neurons present in the nose work together to quickly stop viral entry into other critical organs of the body. |
 | Plants may be transmitting superbugs to peopleAntibiotic-resistant infections are a threat to global public health, food safety and an economic burden. To prevent these infections, it is critical to understand how antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their genes are transmitted from both meat and plant-foods. Researchers have now shown how plant-foods serve as vehicles for transmitting antibiotic resistance to the gut microbiome. The research is presented at ASM Microbe, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. |
 | Ocean swimming alters skin microbiome, increasing vulnerability to infectionSwimming in the ocean alters the skin microbiome and may increase the likelihood of infection, according to research presented at ASM Microbe 2019, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. |
 | The solution to antibiotic resistance could be in your kitchen spongeResearchers from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) have discovered bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, living in their kitchen sponges. As the threat of antibiotic resistance increases, bacteriophages, or phages for short, may prove useful in fighting bacteria that cannot be killed by antibiotics alone. The research is presented at ASM Microbe, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. |
 | Be prepared: Prioritising invasive species for strategic prevention (Durban, South Africa)While exploring the way alien species invade cities around the world, South African Ph.D. student Ashlyn L. Padayachee (University of KwaZulu-Natal, UKZN) and her supervisors, Serban Proches (UKZN) and John Wilson (SANBI and Stellenbosch University) remember suddenly being stricken. |
 | Why plants don't die from cancerChernobyl has become a byword for catastrophe. The 1986 nuclear disaster, recently brought back into the public eye by the hugely popular TV show of the same name, caused thousands of cancers, turned a once populous area into a ghost city, and resulted in the setting up of an exclusion zone 2600km² in size. |
 | Would you eat meat grown from cells in a laboratory? Here's how it worksFor many of us, eating a meal containing meat is a normal part of daily life. But if we dig deeper, some sobering issues emerge. |
 | Measuring human impact on coastal ecosystemsLush seagrass beds that support marine life, store carbon and prevent coastal erosion are on the decline due to such things as farming, aquaculture and coastal development. |
 | Destructive insect outbreaks and cod collapseWhen fundamental changes started to happen in three ecosystems in North America, people reacted: They completely stopped pollution, forestry and fishing. But these measures were futile; it was impossible to bring the ecosystems back to their original state. Why didn't the management efforts have any effect? |
Additions, deletions and changes to the official list of North American birdsThe latest supplement to the American Ornithological Society's checklist of North and Middle American birds is being published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, and it includes several major updates to the organization of the continent's bird species. The official authority on the names and classification of the region's birds, the checklist is consulted by birdwatchers and professional scientists alike and has been published since 1886. | |
 | Ruminants' genes are a treasure troveA new large-scaled research project has mapped the genome of 44 ruminant species - a group of animals that have intrigued researchers for years because of their biological diversity and their huge importance as domestic animals. The project gives valuable new insights on how genetic adjustments through evolution have rendered the ruminants one of the most successful groups of animals on the planet. The results have recently been published in three articles in the acknowledged scientific journal Science. |
 | Zimbabwe wants ivory ban lifted so it can sell $600-mln stockpileZimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa opened a UN wildlife summit on Monday with a call to lift the global ivory trade ban so that the country can sell $600 million of stockpiled tusks. |
 | A solarium for hens? How to increase the vitamin D content of eggsMany people suffer from a vitamin D deficiency. This can result in brittle bones and an increased risk of respiratory diseases. Chicken eggs are a natural source of vitamin D and one way to, at least partially, compensate for this deficiency. A team of nutritionists and agricultural scientists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) has found a new way to further increase the vitamin D content of eggs: by exposing chickens to UV light. As the team writes in the scientific journal Poultry Science, the method can be put into practice in henhouses straight away. |
 | Broad Institute researchers use novel field-ready CRISPR platform to detect plant genesSHERLOCK technology is a new CRISPR-based platform that is rapid and portable and enables detection and quantitation of plant genes to support a variety of agricultural applications. Additional advantages, including the ability to process crude plant extracts with minimal nucleic acid sample preparation required are described in a research article published in The CRISPR Journal. |
 | Five rhinos resettled in Rwanda from Czech zooFive critically endangered eastern black rhinos were on Monday successfully relocated to Rwanda's Akagera National Park after a long journey from the Czech Republic, park officials said. |
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