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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for June 11, 2019:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Rare 'superflares' could one day threaten EarthAstronomers probing the edges of the Milky Way have in recent years observed some of the most brilliant pyrotechnic displays in the galaxy: superflares. |
 | Study of mesosiderite zircons suggests Vesta was struck by a very large rockA team of researchers from Australia, Switzerland and Japan has found evidence suggesting that the asteroid Vesta was stuck by a very large rock approximately 4.5 billion years ago. In their paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, the group describes their study of the asteroid and what they believe is material from it. |
 | Gravitational data from Dawn suggests dome on Ceres is made of volcanic mudAn international team of researchers has found evidence that suggests the large dome found on the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres is made of slurry—a mix of salty brine and solid particles. In their paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, the group describes their study of data from the Dawn spacecraft and what it revealed. |
 | Citizen scientists re-tune Hubble's galaxy classificationHundreds of thousands of volunteers have helped to overturn almost a century of galaxy classification, in a new study using data from the longstanding Galaxy Zoo project. The new investigation, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, uses classifications of over 6000 galaxies to reveal that "well known" correlations between different features are not found in this large and complete sample. |
 | How NASA prepares spacecraft for the harsh radiation of spaceIn a small, square room walled by four feet of concrete, the air smells as if a lightning storm just passed through—crisp and acrid, like cleaning supplies. Outside, that's the smell of lightning ripping apart oxygen in the air, which readily reshuffles into ozone. But belowground in one of the rooms at NASA's Radiation Effects Facility, the smell of ozone lingers after high-energy radiation tests. The radiation that engineers use to test electronics for spaceflight is so powerful it shreds the oxygen in the room. |
 | Asteroid mining not a million miles awayWork by a team of University of Adelaide scientists to perfect metal and mineral extraction processes is bringing the possibility of mining the wealth contained within asteroids closer to reality. But science fiction won't become fact until asteroid mining becomes economically as well as technically viable. |
 | Shape memory alloy technology leads to energy-efficient CubeSatA team of University of North Texas College of Engineering seniors have created an energy efficient system for controlling solar panels on CubeSats using a nickel-titanium shape memory alloy. |
 | The atmosphere of a new ultra hot Jupiter is analyzedThe combination of observations made with the CARMENES spectrograph on the 3.5m telescope at Calar Alto Observatory (Almería), and the HARPS-N spectrograph on the National Galileo Telescope (TNG) at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (Garafía, La Palma) has enabled a team from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) to reveal new details about this extrasolar planet, which has a surface temperature of around 2000 K. |
 | NASA's SET mission to study satellite protection is ready for launchNASA's Space Environment Testbeds, or SET, will launch in June 2019 on its mission to study how to better protect satellites in space. SET will get a ride to space on a U.S. Air Force Research Lab spacecraft aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. |
 | Twin NASA satellites to study signal disruption from spaceNASA's twin E-TBEx CubeSats—short for Enhanced Tandem Beacon Experiment—are scheduled to launch in June 2019 aboard the Department of Defense's Space Test Program-2 launch. The launch includes a total of 24 satellites from government and research institutions. They will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. |
 | Saturn's moon Mimas, a snowplow in the planet's ringsThe Solar System's second largest planet both in mass and size, Saturn is best known for its rings. These are divided by a wide band, the Cassini Division, whose formation was poorly understood until very recently. Now, researchers from the CNRS, the Paris Observatory—PSL and the University of Franche-Comté have shown that Mimas, one of Saturn's moons, acted as a kind of remote snowplough, pushing apart the ice particles that make up the rings. The findings are the result of two studies supported by the International Space Science Institute and CNES, the French space agency, published simultaneously in June 2019 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. |
 | NASA and space tourists might be in our future but first we need to decide who can launch from AustraliaIn a sign the Australian Space Agency is already opening up new doors for Australian industry, NASA says it will be launching rockets from Arnhem Space Centre, in Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory, in 2020. |
Technology news
 | A new approach for unsupervised paraphrasing without translationIn recent years, researchers have been trying to develop methods for automatic paraphrasing, which essentially entails the automated abstraction of semantic content from text. So far, approaches that rely on machine translation (MT) techniques have proved particularly popular due to the lack of available labeled datasets of paraphrased pairs. |
 | Head-turning Cassie Cal makes campus moves on hovershoesA bipedal robot called Cassie Cal is in the news, thanks to a video from its home at the Hybrid Robotics group at University of California Berkeley. |
 | New energy-efficient algorithm keeps UAV swarms helping longerA new energy-efficient data routing algorithm developed by an international team could keep unmanned aerial vehicle swarms flying—and helping—longer, report an international team of researchers this month in the journal Chaos. |
 | Holistic view of planning energy self-sufficient communitiesSustainable communities supplied by local renewable energy production are beginning to be established in the U.S. By using energy-efficient buildings and distributing means of energy generation, such as solar panels, throughout buildings in these districts, the communities manage to produce enough energy for their local needs—achieving a yearly net zero energy (NZE) balance. |
 | Algorithm tells robots where nearby humans are headedIn 2018, researchers at MIT and the auto manufacturer BMW were testing ways in which humans and robots might work in close proximity to assemble car parts. In a replica of a factory floor setting, the team rigged up a robot on rails, designed to deliver parts between work stations. Meanwhile, human workers crossed its path every so often to work at nearby stations. |
 | Behind the magic: Making moving photos a realityPeople moving in and out of photographs used to be reserved for the world of Harry Potter. But now computer scientists at the University of Washington have brought that magic to real life. |
 | Ubisoft plays into streaming trend at E3 video game eventFrench video game titan Ubisoft on Monday unveiled a new subscription service and a Brexit-tinged title as it taps into the industry trend toward streaming games. |
 | Facebook invests in renewables with Texas solar projectFacebook is building a massive solar farm in West Texas that's believed to be one of the largest solar projects in the nation and the social media giant's first direct investment in renewable energy. |
China telecom giant Huawei hints US pressure hurting salesChinese tech giant Huawei said Tuesday it would have become the world's number one smartphone maker by year's end if it were not for "unexpected" circumstances—a hint that pressure from the U.S. may be hurting its sales. | |
 | Amazon dethrones Google as top global brand: surveyUS retail giant Amazon has moved past hi-tech titans Apple and Google to become the world's most valuable brand, a key survey showed Tuesday. |
Tech on trial: House panel begins review of market powerBig Tech is about to become big politics in Washington. | |
 | EU publishes Europe-wide rules on drone operationThe European Union has published EU-wide rules on drones to provide a clear framework for what is and isn't allowed, improve safety and make it easier for drone users to operate their craft in another European country. |
 | Why people will beat machines in recognizing speech for a long timeImagine a world in which Siri always understands you, Google Translate works perfectly, and the two of them create something akin to a Doctor Who style translation circuit. Imagine being able to communicate freely wherever you go (not having to mutter in school French to your Parisian waiter). It's an attractive, but still distant prospect. One of the bottlenecks in moving this reality forward is variation in language, especially spoken language. Technology cannot quite cope with it. |
 | A platform for Africa's mobile innovatorsSam Gikandi '05 SM '06 and Eston Kimani '05 have always believed in the potential of Africa's entrepreneurial community. Their years at MIT, beginning in 2001 when they left their home country of Kenya, only reinforced that belief. |
 | Driverless cars are going to disrupt the airline industryAs driverless cars become more capable and more common, they will change people's travel habits not only around their own communities but across much larger distances. Our research has revealed just how much people's travel preferences could shift, and found a new potential challenge to the airline industry. |
 | Artificial intelligence-enhanced journalism offers a glimpse of the future of the knowledge economyMuch as robots have transformed entire swaths of the manufacturing economy, artificial intelligence and automation are now changing information work, letting humans offload cognitive labor to computers. In journalism, for instance, data mining systems alert reporters to potential news stories, while newsbots offer new ways for audiences to explore information. Automated writing systems generate financial, sports and elections coverage. |
 | Preparing scientific applications for exascale computingExascale computers are soon expected to debut, including Frontier at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF) and Aurora at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF), both DOE Office of Science User Facilities, in 2021. These next-generation computing systems are projected to surpass the speed of today's most powerful supercomputers by five to 10 times. This performance boost will enable scientists to tackle problems that are otherwise unsolvable in terms of their complexity and computation time. |
 | Novel denoising method generates sharper photorealistic images fasterMonte Carlo computational methods are behind many of the realistic images in games and movies. They automate the complexities in simulating the physics of lights and cameras to generate high-quality renderings from samples of diverse image features and scenes. But the process of Monte Carlo rendering is slow and can take hours—or even days—to produce a single image, and oftentimes the results are still pixelated, or "noisy." |
 | States sue to stop $26.5 billion Sprint-T-Mobile dealA group of state attorneys general led by New York and California filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday to block T-Mobile's $26.5 billion bid for Sprint, citing consumer harm. |
 | Innovative robot fingers hold promise for assistive living, prostheticsThere's nothing quite like the comforting squeeze of your partner's hand. But a robot's hand? That's perhaps a bit different. |
 | Uber will test unmanned aircraft at Fort Worth Alliance Airport's new technology zoneUber and other companies have a new place to test their driverless—and pilotless—technology in Fort Worth. |
 | American Airlines cancels 737 MAX flights through September 3American Airlines has canceled all scheduled flights with Boeing 737 MAX jets through September 3, extending the grounding of its fleet after two crashes involving the same aircraft model killed 346 people. |
 | Uber rival Bolt relaunches in London after quick 2017 exitEstonian ride-hailing service Bolt has launched service in London two years after a short-lived attempt to expand in the British capital. |
 | Uber hurt by political 'market swirl' after IPO, CEO saysUber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said Tuesday the company's slump following its share offering last month was due to a "market swirl" over tariffs that won't affect its long-term performance. |
 | Ryanair buys Malta Air startup to target African marketsIrish no-frills airline Ryanair said Tuesday that it will buy Maltese startup Malta Air, forming a new division that reaches more markets in north Africa from the Mediterranean island. |
 | New technology will significantly enhance energy harvest from PV modulesThe world is inevitably moving towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Sustainability of the environment requires changes in the current way of life and introduction of new, more sustainable solutions in our everyday consumption. |
Medicine & Health news
 | In fluke experiment, espresso quells rare genetic diseaseA lot of people say they cannot live without coffee, but for one 11-year-old boy living in France, that may be literally true. |
 | A 'one-two punch' to wipe out cancerous ovarian cellsResearchers from the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) have developed a two-step combination therapy to destroy cancer cells. In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, they show the superior therapeutic effectiveness of the "one-two punch" on cells of ovarian cancer patients, based on manipulation of the state of cellular aging. |
 | Cause of hardening of the arteries—and potential treatment—identifiedA team of UK scientists have identified the mechanism behind hardening of the arteries, and shown in animal studies that a generic medication normally used to treat acne could be an effective treatment for the condition. |
 | Genetics influence how protective childhood vaccines are for individual infantsA genome-wide search in thousands of children in the UK and Netherlands has revealed genetic variants associated with differing levels of protective antibodies produced after routine childhood immunizations. The findings, appearing June 11 in the journal Cell Reports, may inform the development of new vaccine strategies and could lead to personalized vaccination schedules to maximize vaccine effectiveness. |
 | Red blood cell donor pregnancy history not tied to mortality after transfusionA new study has found that the sex or pregnancy history of red blood cell donors does not influence the risk of death among patients who receive their blood. The study adds to a growing body of literature examining whether blood donor characteristics such as sex, age, and pregnancy history affect the survival of transfused patients. |
 | Novel agent reactivates an immune call by LIF blockadeResults from a study spearhead by researchers at the Vall d´Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), show that the blockade of the multi-functional cytokine LIF induces tumor-infiltrating T cells to target and eliminate cancer. Reported today in Nature Communications, this research was led by corresponding and co-first author Joan Seoane, co-program director of preclinical and translational research at VHIO and ICREA research professor, and has now culminated in a Phase I clinical trial currently assessing the safety and efficacy of LIF inhibitors in patients across three sites: the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital (HUVH), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC—New York, USA), and the Princess Margaret Cancer Center (Toronto, Canada). |
 | Promising treatment option for complex regional pain syndromeA study, published today in PNAS, has found a potential treatment for patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). |
 | Study reveals a microbe's molecular role in Crohn's diseaseChanges in the gut microbiome have long been linked with Crohn's disease and other forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the biology behind those links has remained murky. Researchers at the Broad Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Harvard Medical School (HMS) have now found that one bacterium, Ruminococcus gnavus, which is associated with Crohn's disease, releases a certain type of polysaccharide (or a chain of sugar molecules) that triggers an immune response. |
 | Researchers developing new treatment that could help protect people with cardiovascular diseaseNew University of Alberta research is paving the way for the first medical treatment to help protect people from cardiovascular disease by boosting the body's natural defenses. |
 | Breakthrough in chronic wasting disease research reveals distinct deer, elk prion strainsInfectious proteins called prions cause a group of related, fatal and incurable neurodegenerative disorders, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy or Mad Cow disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, both of which affect humans. |
 | Drug to treat malaria could mitigate hereditary hearing lossThe ability to hear depends on proteins to reach the outer membrane of sensory cells in the inner ear. But in certain types of hereditary hearing loss, mutations in the protein prevent it from reaching these membranes. Using a zebrafish model, researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have found that an anti-malarial drug called artemisinin may help prevent hearing loss associated with this genetic disorder. |
 | Almost 400 medical practices found ineffective in analysis of 3,000 studiesScientists have identified nearly 400 established medical practices that have been found to be ineffective by clinical studies published across three top medical journals. |
 | Education, intelligence may protect cognition, but don't prevent Alzheimer's diseaseIn a search for clues to what may delay or prevent Alzheimer's disease, Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists report that smarter, more educated people aren't protected from the disease, but do get a cognitive "head start" that may keep their minds functioning better temporarily. |
 | Researchers reveal key role of pressure-sensing protein in lung edemaResearchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago describe for the first time the role of a unique, pressure-sensing protein in the development of lung edema—a condition in which chronic high vascular pressure in the lungs causes fluid from the bloodstream to enter the air spaces of the lungs. |
 | Researchers find physical activity in preschool years can affect future heart healthPhysical activity in early childhood may have an impact on cardiovascular health later in life, according to new research from McMaster University, where scientists followed the activity levels of hundreds of preschoolers over a period of years. |
 | Marijuana health claims lure patients as science catches upMarijuana has been shown to help ease pain and a few other health problems, yet two-thirds of U.S. states have decided pot should be legal to treat many other conditions with little scientific backing. |
 | Curbing your enthusiasm for overeatingSignals between our gut and brain control how and when we eat food. But how the molecular mechanisms involved in this signaling are affected when we eat a high-energy diet and how they contribute to obesity are not well understood. |
Study finds iron may not improve fertilityA new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researchers finds that there is no consistent association between consuming iron and becoming pregnant. The study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, finds that heme iron, which mostly comes from meat, has no effect on how long it takes a woman to conceive, while non-heme iron, which is found mainly in vegetables and dietary supplements, has a modest effect only for women who are more likely to be iron-deficient because of heavy menses or having previously given birth. | |
 | SIRT1 plays key role in chronic myeloid leukemia to aid persistence of leukemic stem cellsPatients with chronic myeloid leukemia can be treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. While these effective drugs lead to deep remission and prolonged survival, primitive leukemia stem cells resist elimination during the remission and persist as a major barrier to cure. |
 | Preventive drug therapy may increase right-sided heart failure risk in patients who receive heart devicesPatients with left-sided heart failure who get implanted devices to improve the pumping of their hearts may be more likely to develop heart failure on the opposite side of their hearts if they are pre-treated with off-label selective vasodilator drugs, according to new research published in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal. |
 | Big picture genetic scoring approach reliably predicts heart diseaseSpecialized risk scores derived from testing that calculates the cumulative effect of an individual's entire DNA sequence, the genome, may reliably predict heart disease in people who have not yet had a heart attack, according to new research in Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine, an American Heart Association journal. |
 | Heart valve procedure safe for patients with common heart defectA new analysis conducted by investigators at the Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute shows for the first time that patients with a common heart defect who undergo catheter-based valve replacement procedures have the same survival and complication rates as patients without the defect who undergo the same procedure. |
 | Protein shows promise in treating Parkinson's diseaseThe true cause of Parkinson's disease is still a mystery to researchers, although they do know that in many patients, a protein called alpha-synuclein (aSyn) tends to aggregate in brain cells. But a different protein could help stop that aggregation, according to a new study in the Journal of Molecular Biology. |
 | Stem-cell based therapy for type 2 diabetes and obesityAn article published in Experimental Biology and Medicine details a new therapeutic strategy for obesity and type 2 diabetes. The study, led by Dr. Bing Wang, Professor in the Department of General Surgery at Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China, reports that transplantation of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells improves metabolic balance and reduces inflammation in an animal model. |
 | One in four U.K. children have a mother with mental illnessOne in four U.K. children between the ages of 0 and 16 have a mother with a mental illness, according to a team of University of Manchester researchers |
 | A precise look at Alzheimer's proteinsA substance known as amyloid beta protein gets a lot of attention from scientists. Beta amyloid, as it's also called, is a normal brain protein found in everyone, but for an unknown reason it gunks up in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, forming deposits that are the classic hallmark of the disease. |
 | Cost a barrier for life-saving asthma treatments, new study findsOut-of-pocket costs are preventing many people from taking vital asthma medication, the new study says. |
 | Pediatrician discusses the importance of vaccinesWith vaccinations a major topic of continuing interest in mainstream news, we asked Dr. Jody Terranova, a pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at UConn Health, to provide some insight, exploring several different angles of the ongoing discussions. |
Three parent factors that heighten the prevalence of childhood physical abuseAdults who had parents who struggled with addiction, intimate partner violence and mental illness are more than 30 times more likely to have been victims of childhood physical abuse than those whose parents did not have these problems, once age and race were taken into account. | |
 | How can governments fight antimicrobial resistance with policy?Governments have a wide variety of policy options at their disposal to respond to the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, but many of these approaches have not been rigorously evaluated, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine by Susan Rogers Van Katwyk of the University of Ottawa, Canada, and colleagues. |
 | Women with obesity prior to conception are more likely to have children with obesityA systematic review and meta-analysis identified significantly increased odds of child obesity when mothers have obesity before conception, according to a study published June 11 in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Nicola Heslehurst of Newcastle University in the UK, and colleagues. |
 | Higher protein intake may curb age-related inflammationWe often hear that consuming protein may benefit people hoping to lose weight or build muscle mass. Now Tufts researchers have found that protein intake may also be associated with slower progression of age-related inflammation. |
 | Understanding the high suicide rate in the building sectorMore support for mental health interventions and education initiatives aimed at suicide prevention in the building industry is needed, says Andy Walmsley, a clinical psychology doctoral student based in Massey's School of Psychology in Wellington. |
 | Vitamin D and colorectal cancer survivalVitamin D, the "sunshine vitamin," may be helpful for people diagnosed with colon cancer, says Charles Fuchs, MD, MPH, director of Yale Cancer Center. |
 | More awareness needed about lead exposure from firearms, researchers sayResearchers are warning that lead-based ammunition is posing a risk to firearms' users and their families, with a culture of denial about the issue among the firearms community. |
 | Researchers find triple as many Legionnaires' cases as previously reportedThe first New Zealand-wide study of the burden of Legionnaires' disease has found triple the number of cases of this form of pneumonia than previously reported. |
 | Immunotherapy and diabetes—a game of hide and seek?Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are an emerging type of cancer immunotherapy that uses the immune system to attack cancer cells. However, in some patients they cause the immune system to attack healthy cells, leading to autoimmune diseases. When pancreatic beta cells are attacked, this can lead to type 1 diabetes. In a case report published in Diabetes Care, researchers from Osaka University provide insight into this unintended consequence of ICIs. |
 | 'Treat All' policies for HIV in Africa lead to major improvements in rapid uptake of treatmentA new study published in PLoS Medicine found that the adoption of the World Health Organization's 2015 "Treat All" recommendation was followed by large increases in rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in six African countries. |
 | Deterrence-based audit policies reduce excess costs in health care, study findsSkyrocketing spending and excess costs in the health care industry are reduced by innovative auditing methods that focus on increasing overall deterrence of waste and abuse in the long run. |
 | Promoting cardiac self-healing after heart attackLudwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) researchers led by Oliver Söhnlein have shown that a protein which stimulates the resolution of inflammatory reactions enhances cardiac repair following heart attack in both mice and pigs. |
 | Researchers uncover new sarcoma geneA team of WA researchers has uncovered new genes that could play an important role in the development of sarcoma, a group of rare bone, muscle and connective tissue cancers. |
 | Around half of 17-year-olds have had sex and they're more responsible than you thinkJust under half of year 10 to 12 students have had sex, according to research released today. |
 | Communication key to reducing stillbirth in migrant and refugee populationsUnderstanding what matters to women and communities new to Australia is fundamental to health care reform to end preventable stillbirth in migrant and refugee populations, according to the authors of a Perspective published online today by the Medical Journal of Australia. |
 | How to get the nutrients you need without eating as much red meatIf you're a red meat-eater, there's a good chance you're eating more of it than you should. At last count, Australians ate an average of 81 grams of red meat per day. |
 | Genetic link discovered in life-threatening reaction to common antibioticA gene has been found by researchers to increase the risk for a severe and potentially life-threatening reaction to a commonly prescribed antibiotic—vancomycin. |
 | Could playing computer games improve your peripheral vision?Playing computer games could help improve people's peripheral vision, new research reveals. |
 | E-cig companies use cartoon characters as logos, and new study shows it worksElectronic cigarette use, or vaping, is unsafe for children, adolescents and young adults. Electronic cigarettes often contain nicotine and other harmful substances. Nicotine is addictive and can curb adolescent brain development, which continues into young adulthood. The leading electronic cigarette company insists it is not targeting youth as customers. |
 | 23% of young black women now identify as bisexualSince 1972, social scientists have studied the General Social Survey to chart the complexities of social change in the United States. |
 | How a virus that infects 50% of people is helping develop new cancer treatmentsMost of us have heard of viruses such as measles and mumps—not to mention the more serious HIV and Ebola. But who has heard of Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV)? I certainly hadn't until I started my Ph.D. back in 2001. |
 | Checkmate for hepatitis B viruses in the liverResearchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich, working in collaboration with researchers at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and the University Hospital Heidelberg, have for the first time succeeded in conquering a chronic infection with the hepatitis B virus in a mouse model. The team showed in its publication, that T-cell therapy can provide a permanent cure. Up to now it has not been possible to fully control the virus. Their findings have now been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. |
 | Cancer survivors predicted to number over 22 million by 2030There were more than 16.9 million Americans with a history of cancer on January 1, 2019, a number that is projected to reach more than 22.1 million by 2030 based on the growth and aging of the population alone, according to estimates from Cancer Treatment and Survivorship Statistics, 2019. The report is produced every three years by the American Cancer Society in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute to help the public health community better serve this growing population. It appears in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, with a companion consumer edition published as Cancer Treatment and Survivorship Facts & Figures. |
Bringing mental health care into pediatricians' offices works, finds five-year studyA five-year study at Boston Children's Hospital reports success with a program it started in 2013 to bring much-needed behavioral health services directly into primary care pediatricians' offices. As reported today in Pediatrics, the program improved children's access to behavioral health care, with only minor increases in cost, and got high marks from participating pediatric practices. | |
 | Indoor tanning may be an addiction abetted by both genetic and psychiatric factorsA combination of elevated symptoms of depression along with modifications in a gene responsible for dopamine activity, important to the brain's pleasure and reward system, appear to influence an addiction to indoor tanning in young, white non-Hispanic women. |
 | Research team finds info in a third of eczema apps inconsistent with guidelinesA third (34 per cent) of eczema management mobile applications provide information that does not agree with international treatment and condition guidelines, a study led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has found. |
 | Inducing seizures to stop seizuresSurgery is the only way to stop seizures in 30 per cent of patients with focal drug-resistant epilepsy. A new study finds that inducing seizures before surgery may be a convenient and cost-effective way to determine the brain region where seizures are coming from. |
 | Research moves closer to brain-machine interface autonomyA University of Houston engineer is reporting in eNeuro that a brain-computer interface, a form of artificial intelligence, can sense when its user is expecting a reward by examining the interactions between single-neuron activities and the information flowing to these neurons, called the local field potential. |
 | How fathers, children should spend time togetherAs men everywhere brace for an onslaught of ties, tools, wallets and novelty socks gifted for Father's Day, here are two questions fathers of young children should ask themselves: What activities are best for bonding with my child, and when should those activities take place? |
 | The surprising role fibrinogen plays in regulating the body's response to diseaseA finding from University of Alberta researchers is shining new light on the role fibrinogen has in regulating a natural defence mechanism in the body. The discovery is hoped to contribute to improved diagnosis and treatments for patients in a variety of diseases ranging from inflammation, to heart failure, to cancer. |
 | Lower rates of opioid prescriptions in states that implemented medical cannabis use lawsUsing data from privately-insured adults, new findings from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston revealed that there is a lower level of opioids prescribed in states that have allowed the use of medical marijuana. The findings care currently available in Preventive Medicine. |
Eating more vitamin K found to help, not harm, patients on warfarinWhen prescribed the anticoagulant drug warfarin, many patients are told to limit foods rich in vitamin K, such as green vegetables. The results of a new clinical trial call that advice into question and suggest patients on warfarin actually benefit from increasing their vitamin K intake—as long as they keep their intake levels consistent. | |
Polygenic risk score reliably predicts coronary artery disease(HealthDay)—Genome-wide polygenic risk scores (PRS) can predict coronary artery disease (CAD), according to a study published online June 11 in Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine. | |
 | Nurse understaffing ups inpatient infection risk(HealthDay)—Nurse understaffing is associated with an increased risk for health care-associated infections (HAIs) among hospitalized patients, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Nursing Administration. |
 | Diagnostic yield of Lynch syndrome screening drops with age(HealthDay)—The incremental diagnostic yield of Lynch syndrome (LS) screening decreases substantially after age 70 to 75 years, according to a study published online June 11 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. |
 | Your guide to a healthier home for better asthma control(HealthDay)—If you or a family member has asthma, your doctor has most likely mapped out the steps you need to take to treat an asthma flare. |
Researchers develop tool to predict postoperative delirium severityA new tool seeks to predict the severity of patients' postoperative delirium and help practitioners more effectively care for patients as they recover from surgery. | |
Electronic consultations can streamline, simplify care in allergy and immunologyA study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers finds that electronic consultations (e-consults) in allergy and immunology can simplify the process of providing the most appropriate care, often reducing the need for in-person specialist visits. The paper, which has been published online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, reports on the first two years of the MGH program and finds a significant reduction in the time needed to access specialist guidance. | |
 | Early life stress plus overexpressed FKBP5 protein increases anxiety behaviorResearchers continue to dig for molecular clues to better understand how gene-environment interactions influence neuropsychiatric disease risk and resilience. An increasing number of studies point to a strong association between the FKBP5 gene and increased susceptibility to depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health disorders. |
 | Opioid misuse, binge drinking often go hand in hand(HealthDay)—Of the more than 4 million Americans who misuse prescription opioids, more than half also binge drink, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. |
 | Motorized scooter head injuries on the rise, study findsFacial and head injuries from riding electric scooters have tripled over the past decade, according to a Rutgers study. |
 | Secondary students' sexual health surveySexually active Australian secondary students tend to engage in responsible sexual behaviour but there is still room to improve knowledge and education for this group, according to a nationwide survey conducted by La Trobe University. |
Veteran-directed care program is effectiveA new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) and Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System researchers finds that a program that gives veterans flexible budgets for at-home caregivers is at least as effective as other veteran purchased-care services. Published in the June issue of Health Affairs, the study shows that, although the average enrollee in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)'s Veteran-Directed Care (VDC) program has more complex health burdens than veterans in other purchased-care programs, enrollees in both groups had similar hospitalization and cost trajectories. | |
 | Home workout: Companies like Peloton, Mirror, FightCamp push remote fitness forwardWith summer on the horizon (and Instagram stories calling), I begrudgingly pulled myself out of bed early one morning in May to get some exercise before work. |
 | Global burden of mental health in conflict settingsPeople living in countries that have experienced armed conflict are five times more likely to develop anxiety or depression, a University of Queensland research collaboration has found. |
 | Daily HIV prevention pill urged for healthy people at riskDoctors should offer a daily HIV prevention pill to healthy people who are at high risk of getting infected with the virus, an influential health care panel recommended Tuesday. |
 | Genetic marker linked to increased risk of diabetic peripheral neuropathyResearchers from Joslin Diabetes Center, using a genome-wide association study, have identified a genetic factor linked to the development of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. This finding suggests a new target for preventive therapies. The research has been published online and will appear in the August print issue of Diabetes. |
Electronic inhaler monitoring reduces hospitalizations, ER visits in patients with COPDIn one of the first-of-its-kind studies, Cleveland Clinic researchers found that the use of electronic inhaler monitoring, in combination with a disease management program, is associated with reduced healthcare utilization in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). | |
 | How nurses bring clarity to the nature of social changeHistory provides an enhanced understanding of the factors that inform social policy. In the wider arena of public health and its influence on social change, the political and healing import of nursing cannot be ignored. |
 | Uganda confirms first Ebola case outside outbreak in CongoA child in Uganda has tested positive for Ebola in the first cross-border case of the deadly virus since an outbreak started in neighboring Congo last year, Uganda's health ministry said late Tuesday, in a blow to efforts by health workers who for months sought to prevent contamination across the heavily traveled frontier. |
ACP releases paper on methods for developing evidence-based clinical policy papersRecommendations for the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of various diseases often differ by organization, making it difficult to know which ones to follow. To help doctors and patients understand how high-quality, evidence-based recommendations are developed and inform their decisions, the American College of Physicians (ACP) has released a paper, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, that presents ACP's methods for developing two types of clinical policy papers relevant to internal medicine: clinical guidelines and guidance statements. | |
 | AP analysis: Broad legalization cuts into medical marijuanaWhen states legalize pot for all adults, long-standing medical marijuana programs take a big hit, in some cases losing more than half their registered patients in just a few years, according to a data analysis by The Associated Press. |
 | Better human rights protections around the world for people with disabilities, but gaps remainThe first comprehensive human rights treaty of the 21st century, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) stands as one of the most quickly ratified human rights treaties in history. Globally, according to the United Nations (UN), approximately four billion people are affected by disability policy—including one billion persons with disabilities, one billion who are aging and at high risk of developing a disability, and two billion close family members and caregivers. But, in the 12 years since its adoption in 2006, have countries taken critical steps to realize the transformative promise of the CRPD and guarantee equal rights to all persons with disabilities? |
 | DR Congo fears 1,500 dead from measles epidemicHealth authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have declared an epidemic of measles which may have killed 1,500 people, according to statistical analysis. |
Norway officials trying to ID water contamination sourceNorwegian authorities said Tuesday they were trying to identify the source of water contamination that has sent dozens of people in southern Norway to the hospital. | |
 | Minorities face more obstacles to a lifesaving organ transplantPatients who experience organ failure need a transplant to improve their odds of survival and to achieve a better quality of life. |
 | Gender affects the correlation between depression and weight in children and adolescentsThe results of a large community-based study have shown that the probability of major depressive disorder in children and adolescents with high, low, or normal body mass index differs according to gender. Underweight boys and overweight girls have an increased risk of depression, according to the study published in Childhood Obesity. |
 | Say yes to yummy, healthy yogurt(HealthDay)—Creamy and rich, yogurt is a versatile dairy food that can be turned into delicious meals. |
New research shows dramatic increase in Ontario teens visiting an ED for self-harmAdolescents who intentionally harm themselves by poisoning or injuring themselves are at risk for repeated self-harm or suicide. A new CHEO and uOttawa study released today in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry shows a dramatic increase in the number of Ontario adolescents who presented to an emergency department for self-harm between 2009 and 2017. Changing Rates of Self-Harm and Mental Disorders by Sex in Youths Presenting to Ontario Emergency Departments: Repeated Cross-Sectional Study looked at all the emergency department visits by Ontario adolescents aged 13 to 17 for self-harm or mental health concerns from 2003 to 2017, about 170,000 visits each year. We found something surprising: 2003 and 2009, the number of adolescents with a visit to the ED for self-harm fell by about a third. During the same period, ED visits for mental stayed about the same. Starting in 2009, however, things changed. From 2009 to 2017 the rates of adolescent self-harm visits more than doubled. Likewise, the rates of visits for mental health problems rose 78%. These increases were even greater among female adolescents. | |
 | How to have a heart-healthy pregnancy before you even conceiveTaking good care of your health, especially your heart, is important during pregnancy. But preconception care—the care you get before becoming pregnant—can be just as critical for both mom and baby. |
Two reported cases of rare tick-related illness in NJTwo cases of a rare tick-related illness have been confirmed in northern New Jersey, health officials reported Saturday. | |
Biology news
 | Switchgrass hybrid yields insights into plant evolutionSwitchgrass is attractive as a potential bioenergy crop because it can grow for years without having to be replanted. Requiring less fertilizer than typical annual crops like corn, switchgrass can keep more nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon in the soil and out of our air and waterways. But, unlike corn, breeding of switchgrass for optimal traits is still in its early stages. |
 | Life in Antarctica's ice mirrors human diseaseThe cooling of the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, which began approximately 35 million years ago and gave rise to its present icy state, has for decades been considered a classic example of climate change triggering rapid adaptation. |
 | Hawks' pursuit of prey has implications for capturing rogue dronesPrevious research has shown that falcons intercept prey using the same guidance law as homing missiles, called proportional navigation. This guidance law is optimal against smoothly-manoeuvring aerial targets, but is prone to being thrown off by the zigzagging manoeuvres of terrestrial prey like hares or jackrabbits, and will not necessarily lead to a feasible flight path through the cluttered habitats that hawks frequent. |
 | Researchers determine ideal areas and timing for biological control of invasive stink bugBiological control of the brown marmorated stink bug, an invasive pest that devastates gardens and crops, would be more effective in natural areas bordering crops or at times when certain insecticides aren't being applied, according to a new Oregon State University study. |
 | New tool can pinpoint origins of the gut's bacteriaA UCLA-led research team has developed a faster and more accurate way to determine where the many bacteria that live in, and on, humans come from. Broadly, the tool can deduce the origins of any microbiome, a localized and diverse community of microscopic organisms. |
 | Sex, lice and videotapeA few years ago, Scott Villa of Emory University had a problem. Then a graduate student at the University of Utah, he was stumped with an issue never addressed in school: How does one film lice having sex? |
 | Study shows recent plant extinctions much more extensive than thoughtA team of researchers with the Royal Botanic Gardens in the U.K. and Stockholm University has found that plant extinctions over the past two and a half centuries have been more extensive than previous estimates suggested. In their paper published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, the group describes their exhaustive study of plants and which have gone extinct, and what it might mean for future plant life. |
 | New vulnerability found in major human virusesDiscovery of a new feature of a large class of pathogenic viruses may allow development of new antiviral medications for the common cold, polio, and other illnesses, according to a new study publishing June 11 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Rana Abdelnabi and Johan Neyts of the University of Leuven, Belgium, and James Geraets and Sarah Butcher of the University of Helsinki and their colleagues. |
 | Climate change may be putting beluga whales out of their depthsAn international team of researchers has found that the physical condition of beluga whales affects their capacity to store oxygen in their blood and muscle tissues, likely impacting their ability to dive. In a paper published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, concentrations of muscle myoglobin and blood hemoglobin, proteins responsible for the storage and delivery of oxygen, were found to be 12 and 27 percent higher, respectively, in beluga whales in peak physical condition compared to those of lower condition. |
 | Tube anemone has the largest animal mitochondrial genome ever sequencedThe tube anemone Isarachnanthus nocturnus is only 15 cm long but has the largest mitochondrial genome of any animal sequenced to date, with 80,923 base pairs. The human mitochondrial genome (mitogenome), for example, comprises 16,569 base pairs. |
 | Beewolves use a gas to preserve foodScientists from the Universities of Regensburg and Mainz and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology discovered that the eggs of the European beewolf produce nitric oxide. The gas prevents the larvae's food from getting moldy in the warm and humid brood cells. The results were published in the journal eLife. |
 | An unnatural way to make natural productsFrom medicine to fragrances, nature provides many of the key chemical compounds needed in an endless number of pharmaceuticals and consumer products. Now, a cutting-edge technique engineered by researchers at University of South Florida is changing the way scientists isolate these precious molecules. |
 | Canada bans capture and breeding of dolphins, whalesCanada's parliament on Monday approved a bill banning the capture and breeding of cetaceans such as whales and dolphins in a move hailed by animal rights activists. |
 | Indian temple helps nurture 'extinct' turtle back to lifeThe black softshell turtle is officially extinct in the wild, but a centuries-old Indian temple and its nature-loving caretaker are helping the creature make a tentative comeback. |
Poison dart frog brains can hold a mental mapFrogs aren't meant to be able to store a mental map in their brains. 20 years ago, Lainy Day from the University of Mississippi, USA, tested the place memory of amphibians and lizards, but none appeared capable of forming complex spatial memories. Frogs' brains were just too simple to carry a map it seemed. However, Sabrina Burmeister from the University of North Carolina recalls remarking at the time that Day should test the memories of poison frogs. After locating tiny pools of water up in the forest canopy, poison frog parents recall the location and return to deliver their freshly hatched tadpoles to develop safely in their new abodes. So, when East Carolina University ecologist Kyle Summers recently sent some green-and-black poison dart frogs (Dendrobates auratus) to Burmeister, she and graduate student Yuxiang Liu decided to investigate the remarkable amphibian's spatial awareness. They publish their discovery that the brain of the poison dart frog is sophisticated enough to form a mental map of its surroundings in Journal of Experimental Biology. | |
Fracking causes some songbirds to thrive while others declineA new paper in The Condor: Ornithological Applications, published by Oxford University Press, finds that some songbird species benefit from the spread of fracking infrastructure while others decrease in population. | |
 | Skinny cod and grey seal reveals troubling changes to food web in the Baltic SeaThe prime predators of the Baltic Sea at the top of the food web are losing weight, according to a new study that links the deteriorating health of gray seals and cod with changes in bottom-living crustaceans, isopods and amphipods. |
 | Action is needed to save west Africa's critically endangered chimpanzeesIn 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the western African subspecies of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) as "Critically Endangered". It had previously been listed as "Endangered." |
 | Fisheries outcomes maximized through traditional practiceA new study led by a University of Rhode Island doctoral student and published in the Journal of Applied Ecology has found a possible solution to one of the biggest conservation and livelihood challenges in the marine realm. |
 | New to science New Zealand moths link mythological deities to James Cameron's filmsIn an unexpected discovery from the South Island (New Zealand), two species of narrowly distributed macro-moths were described as new species. Interestingly, both Arctesthes titanica and Arctesthes avatar were named after mythological deities and top-grossing blockbusters by famous filmmaker James Cameron: Titanic and Avatar, respectively. |
 | Secondhand horror: Indirect predator odor triggers reproductive changes in bank volesReproducing in a fearful world is tricky. How do rodents get information of prevailing risk of death, and how do they respond to the information? A research team of evolutionary biologists from University of Jyväskylä, Finland and University of Vienna, Austria reported that rodent mothers are more likely to become pregnant after smelling odors produced by conspecific males frightened by predators. The study was published on 7th of June 2019 in the open access journal Ecosphere. |
 | First study of world's largest marine stingray reveals long-distance migrationSmalleye stingrays are the largest marine stingrays on record, reaching disc widths of up to 222 cm, and yet almost nothing is known about them. Scientists from the Marine Megafauna Foundation have for the first time used photo IDs to study this elusive animal in southern Mozambique, one of the only locations where it is regularly seen in the wild. Their findings are published today in the journal PeerJ. |
 | From face to DNA: New method aims to improve match between DNA sample and face databasePredicting what someone's face looks like based on a DNA sample remains a hard nut to crack for science. It is, however, getting easier to use such a sample to filter the right face from a face database, as an international team led by KU Leuven has shown. Their findings were published in Nature Communications. |
 | Penn State researchers to boost endangered Chesapeake logperch populationAs fishes go, the Chesapeake logperch is hardly impressive. |
 | New microorganism for algae biomass to produce alternative fuelsBiorefinery technology uses biomass as a feedstock and converts it to energy and other beneficial byproducts. It is drawing attention as an eco-friendly and sustainable technology to prepare for depletion of fossil fuels. However, the types of biomass that can be used for this technology are very limited. Starch crops such as corn are utilized as biomass (mainly glucose), but they are easily consumed by microorganisms. Such processes have limitations in satisfying the growing demands of bioproducts, for example, the consumption of food resources and limited cultivation capabilities. |
 | Superweed resists another class of herbicides, study findsWe've all heard about bacteria that are becoming resistant to multiple types of antibiotics. These are the so-called superbugs perplexing and panicking medical science. The plant analogue may just be waterhemp, a broadleaf weed common to corn and soybean fields across the Midwest. With resistance to multiple common herbicides, waterhemp is getting much harder to kill. |
 | Research reveals sustainable method to produce lifesaving opiate antidotes at reduced costOverdose from opiates has skyrocketed. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, on average, 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.1 The high cost of antidotes such as NARCAN prevents many first responders from having access to lifesaving antidotes when they need it most.2 Researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have identified a new method of producing these compounds using a microorganism discovered in a waste stream associated with the processing of opium poppy. This green chemistry process has the potential to greatly reduce the cost of the antidote drugs as well as decrease chemicals currently used that result in large amounts of harmful waste. Details of the discovery were published as the cover story in the journal Nature Sustainability: "Enzyme morphinan N-demethylase for more sustainable opiate processing". |
 | Forest fire pushes imperilled parrot closer to the brinkA devastating forest fire in Nicaragua has destroyed a vitally important nesting and roosting site of the yellow-naped amazon, one of the most endangered parrots in Central America. |
Leatherback sea turtles likely to go extinct under Trump administration policy, lawsuit arguesLeatherback sea turtles are likely to be "effectively extinct within 20 years" if two new federal permits for fishing off the coast of California go into effect, environmental groups claim in a new lawsuit. | |
 | Two giraffes killed by lightning in Florida: parkTwo giraffes were killed instantly when they were struck by lightning in the southeastern US state of Florida, the park where they resided said on Tuesday. |
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