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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for November 21, 2019:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | New 'warm Jupiter' exoplanet discoveredAn international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a new "warm Jupiter" alien world transiting a main sequence late F-type star on an eccentric orbit. The newfound exoplanet, designated TOI-677 b, is about 20 percent bigger and more massive than Jupiter. The finding is detailed in a paper published November 13 on arXiv.org. |
 | NASA's Fermi, swift missions enable a new era in gamma-ray scienceA pair of distant explosions discovered by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory have produced the highest-energy light yet seen from these events, called gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The record-setting detections, made by two different ground-based observatories, provide new insights into the mechanisms driving gamma-ray bursts. |
 | Building a Mars base with bacteriaHow do you make a base on Mars? Simple: you send some bacteria to the red planet and let them mine iron. After a couple of years, you send in human settlers who use the iron to construct a base. That, in a nutshell, is the proposal of Ph.D. candidate Benjamin Lehner of Delft University of Technology. Together with Delft colleagues and researchers from the space agencies ESA and NASA, Lehner has worked on an extensive plan for an unmanned mission utilizing bacteria for the past four years. On Friday the 22nd of November, he will defend his Ph.D. thesis at TU Delft. |
 | Fractured ice sheets on MarsWhere the two hemispheres of Mars meet, the planet is covered in broken-up terrain: a sign that slow-but-steady flows of icy material once forged their way through the landscape, carving out a fractured web of valleys, cliffs and isolated mounds of rock. |
 | The simultaneous merging of giant galaxiesAn international research team led by scientists from Göttingen and Potsdam proved for the first time that the galaxy NGC 6240 contains three supermassive black holes. The unique observations, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, show the black holes close to each other in the core of the galaxy. The study points to simultaneous merging processes during the formation of the largest galaxies in the universe. |
Russia opens new fraud cases over cosmodromeRussian investigators said Thursday they had opened two new fraud probes over the construction of a corruption-tainted space centre in the country's Far East. | |
Technology news
 | A multi-camera optical tactile sensor that could enable vision-based robotic skinsA team of researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland has recently developed a multi-camera optical tactile sensor (i.e., a tactile sensor based on optical devices) that collects information about the contact force distribution applied to its surface. This sensor, presented in a paper prepublished on arXiv, could be used to develop soft robotic skins based on computer vision algorithms. |
 | Big plans to save the planet depend on nanoscopic materials improving energy storageThe challenge of building an energy future that preserves and improves the planet is a massive undertaking. But it all hinges on the charged particles moving through invisibly small materials. |
 | How to design and control robots with stretchy, flexible bodiesMIT researchers have invented a way to efficiently optimize the control and design of soft robots for target tasks, which has traditionally been a monumental undertaking in computation. |
 | Are hiring algorithms fair? They're too opaque to tell, study findsTime is money and, unfortunately for companies, hiring new employees takes significant time—more than a month on average, research shows. |
 | Deep learning compute system is billed as world's fastestA company called Cerebras offers up some dizzying superlatives that need some time to sift through. The world's biggest chip? And 56x larger than any other chip? At the heart of the fastest AI supercomputer in the world? |
 | New algorithms train AI to avoid specific bad behaviorsArtificial intelligence has moved into the commercial mainstream thanks to the growing prowess of machine learning algorithms that enable computers to train themselves to do things like drive cars, control robots or automate decision-making. |
 | Grid reliability under climate change may require more power generation capacityA new analysis from university-based and national laboratory researchers applied a new modeling approach for long-term electricity generation infrastructure planning that considers future climate and water resource conditions. Compared to traditional projections, which do not consider climate-water impacts on electricity generation, results of this new approach show the national power grid may need an additional 5.3% to 12% of power-generating capacity to meet demand and reliability requirements. The changes would lower water use and carbon emissions, potentially helping mitigate future climate changes. |
 | Bone breakthrough may lead to more durable airplane wingsCornell researchers have made a new discovery about how seemingly minor aspects of the internal structure of bone can be strengthened to withstand repeated wear and tear, a finding that could help treat patients suffering from osteoporosis. It could also lead to the creation of more durable, lightweight materials for the aerospace industry. |
 | Google reins in political advertisingGoogle is making it harder for political advertisers to target specific types of people. |
 | E-commerce giant Alibaba raises $11 billion in share listingThe Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has raised at least $11 billion in a share offering in Hong Kong, netting the city's biggest offering since 2010 despite recent political turmoil. |
Panasonic to stop LCD panel productionJapanese electronics titan Panasonic said Thursday it would end its production of liquid crystal display panels by 2021, as Chinese and South Korean manufacturers dominate the global market. | |
 | As Tesla preps 'Cybertruck,' electric pickups gain steam. But does anyone want one?Eager to tow your camper, haul some wood or go off-roading with your pickup? |
 | Enough ambition (and hydrogen) could get Australia to 200% renewable energyThe possibilities presented by hydrogen are the subject of excited discussion across the world—and across Australia's political divide, notoriously at war over energy policy. |
 | New report: The world is awash with fossil fuels and it's time to cut off supplyA new United Nations report shows the world's major fossil fuel producing countries, including Australia, plan to dig up far more coal, oil and gas than can be burned if the world is to prevent serious harm from climate change. |
 | Google, Facebook at center of escalating political-ad tensionFacebook Inc. and Google were drawn into an escalating battle of wills Wednesday over the use of political advertising on social media. |
 | Uber may contribute more transport pollution than solution: studyRide-hailing pioneer Uber, rather than being part of the solution to urban transport may be adding to related problems, especially pollution from diesel cars, a study showed Thursday. |
 | When de-aging De Niro and Pacino, 'Irishman' animators tried to avoid pitfalls of the pastIf you thought 76-year-old Robert De Niro and 79-year-old Al Pacino were done starring in blockbuster gangster films, think again. |
 | Xerox holds firm on HP offer, sets Monday deadlineXerox said Thursday it was holding firm on its $33 billion takeover offer for computer and printer maker HP, and warned it would take the matter to shareholders directly without a deal by Monday. |
 | Electric cars a major challenge for supermarkets, gas stationsThe rise of electric cars is proving a challenge not only for auto makers but also gas stations, supermarkets and malls forced to adapt as more and more electric vehicles hit the road, experts say. |
 | Rise of the bots: Research team completes first census of Wikipedia botsSince launching in 2001, Wikipedia has evolved into a sprawling repository of human knowledge, with 40 million collaboratively-written articles and almost 500 million monthly users. Maintaining that project requires more than 137,000 volunteer editors—and, increasingly, an army of automated, AI-powered software tools, known as bots, that continually scour the website to eliminate junk, add and tag pages, fix broken links, and coax human contributors to do better. |
 | WeWork to lay off 2,400 workers worldwideEmbattled office sharing firm WeWork will lay off 2,400 employees worldwide—about a fifth of its workforce—as the it struggles to reorganize amid mounting losses, the company announced Thursday. |
 | Army project may improve military communications by boosting 5G technologyAn Army-funded project may boost 5G and mm-Wave technologies, improving military communications and sensing equipment. |
 | Twitter lets users 'hide' off-course replies to tweetsTwitter on Thursday began letting users "hide" tweeted replies that could be seen as abusive or harassing in the latest effort by the online platform to create a more welcoming environment. |
 | Google, Facebook business models threat to rights: Amnesty reportThe data-collection business model fueling Facebook and Google represents a threat to human rights around the world, Amnesty International said in a report Wednesday. |
 | India offers ailing telecom firms two-year moratorium on paymentsIndia has granted the country's beleaguered telecom giants a moratorium on spectrum payments until the end of March 2022, offering much-needed respite after the Supreme Court slapped a massive $13-billion bill on the companies. |
 | Workers of Samsung unite, new union tells chipmaker staffUnder the watchful gaze of Samsung Electronics security personnel, health and safety staffer Ko Jee-hun stood outside his semiconductor plant, handing out leaflets touting the benefits of joining a trade union. |
 | Goldman Sachs CEO says 'no gender bias' in Apple CardGoldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon on Thursday denied allegations of gender discrimination against an artificial intelligence programme used for setting credit limits for a new card from tech giant Apple. |
 | Where parents feel like chauffeurs, companies step inWhen Deb Fink heard about a company that could drive her 9-year-old son to his after-school program, she balked at the idea of putting him in a car with a stranger. But faced with the unrelenting pressure of driving him where he needed to go in the middle of her workday, she decided to give it a try. |
 | British Airways says flights hit by glitchBritish Airways flights were facing delays in and out of London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Thursday after a technical glitch overnight, the airline said. |
 | Uber shows a big rise in government requests for rider informationUber said on Wednesday that the number of requests for data on its riders from government officials in the United States and Canada rose sharply last year due, in part, to a "rising interest" in information on the ride-hailing company's users. |
 | Free streaming options aboundThere are more free streaming channels than you might suspect. Most are low-profile, compared with Netflix or Hulu, but they have more content than you will ever consume in six lifetimes. Since there's no such thing as a free lunch or a free viewing of "Free Willy," you'll have to endure ads, as we all did in the prehistoric network era. |
 | Put together your favorite TV streaming package for less than $30 a monthIt's never been more tempting for TV viewers to cut the cord and dive into "the stream." But with the recent launch of Disney+ and Apple TV+, the waters can appear murky. And they're about to get even muddier. |
 | Secure data transmission with ultrasound on the mobile phoneUltrasound communication is an entirely new method for data exchange between IoT devices and mobile phones. The communication between these is inaudible and the hardware requirements are kept to a minimum: microphone and loudspeakers. Researchers of the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences have now developed a first open communication protocol including an open-source development kit for ultrasound communication by the name of SoniTalk. |
 | Detecting mental and physical stress via smartphoneCan we use our smartphones without any other peripherals or wearables to accurately extract vital parameters, such as heart beat rate and stress level? The team led by Professor Enrico Caiani of the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering at Politecnico di Milano has shown that it is possible to do so, using the accelerometers inside a smartphone. |
 | Levitation, touch and sound – how you'll be able to feel videogames in the futureDespite advances in both virtual and augmented reality technology in the last few years, there's one area that remains neglected: touch. With your VR headset on, you might be able to explore the sights of a vast forest and hear birdsong all around you, but you won't feel the dampness of the moss on a tree trunk or the squelch of leaves underfoot. |
 | Iran net outage first to effectively isolate a whole nationInternet connectivity is trickling back in Iran after the government shut down access to the rest of the world for more than four days in response to unrest apparently triggered by a gasoline price hike. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Protein protects the mitochondria and surprisingly rescues neurons from stroke-like damageA protein newly discovered by scientists in China is aiding in the dramatic reversal of stroke-like damage in laboratory animals and may one day rescue humans from neurological injury, the research team is predicting. |
 | Little-known protein appears to play important role in obesity and metabolic diseaseWith unexpected findings about a protein that's highly expressed in fat tissue, scientists at Scripps Research have opened the door to critical new understandings about obesity and metabolism. Their discovery, which appears Nov. 20 in the journal Nature, could lead to new approaches for addressing obesity and potentially many other diseases. |
 | Omega-3 fatty acids' health benefit linked to stem cell control, researchers findFor years, researchers have known that defects in an ancient cellular antenna called the primary cilium are linked with obesity and insulin resistance. Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that the strange little cellular appendage is sensing omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, and that this signal is directly affecting how stem cells in fat tissue divide and turn into fat cells. |
 | Non-coding DNA located outside chromosomes may help drive glioblastomaOne of the ways a cancer-causing gene works up enough power to turn a normal cell into a cancer cell is by copying itself over and over, like a Xerox machine. Scientists have long noticed that when cancer-causing genes do that, they also scoop up some extra DNA into their copies. But it has remained unclear whether the additional DNA helps drive cancer or is just along for the ride. |
 | Simulations suggest embryo selection based on traits like height or IQ is still far offThere have been concerns about the idea of "designer babies" for almost as long as in vitro fertilization and technology to screen embryos for inherited disorders have existed. While the recent live births resulting from human embryonic CRISPR editing have heightened global attention to these issues, currently, the most practical approach to genetic "enhancement" of embryos is preimplantation genetic screening of IVF embryos. But according to a study publishing November 21 in the journal Cell, the ability to select for traits that are brought about by multiple genes—rather than genetic diseases caused by a single mutation—is more far off and complicated than most people probably realize. |
 | Brain biomarker predicts compulsive drinking in miceAlthough alcohol use is ubiquitous in modern society, only a portion of individuals develop alcohol use disorders or addiction. Yet, scientists have not understood why some individuals are prone to develop drinking problems, while others are not. Now, Salk Institute researchers have discovered a brain circuit that controls alcohol drinking behavior in mice, and can be used as a biomarker for predicting the development of compulsive drinking later on. The findings were published in Science on November 21, 2019, and could potentially have implications for understanding human binge drinking and addiction in the future. |
 | In a medical first, a trauma patient was put into a state of suspended animationNew Scientist reports that a team of doctors working at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has, for the first time, put a trauma patient into a state of suspended animation to save the patient's life. During a recent symposium in New York, Dr. Samuel Tisherman described the trial that is currently underway at the hospital and how the procedure works, . |
 | Trials promise good news for countries with dengue and Zika virusAn international team of scientists have reported an effective and environmentally sustainable way to block the transmission of mosquito-borne dengue virus, in trials carried out in Malaysia. |
 | Small rise in heart attack protein linked to increased risk of early death in all age groupsA new analysis of patients' heart data has shown that even a slight increase in a protein linked to heart attacks, called troponin, is linked to an increased risk of early death at all ages. |
 | New Alzheimer risk gene discoveredA new paper in the Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology finds a gene that may help explain a large part of the genetic risk for developing Alzheimer disease. |
 | New type of e-cigarette vaping injury describedA research case report describing lung injury related to e-cigarette use in a 17-year-old Canadian may be the first documented case of a new form of damage from vaping products. The article, published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) provides new evidence on forms of lung injury that can result from vaping. |
 | New study confirms American children and teens are consuming significantly less sugary drinksAccording to a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine the share of children and adolescents consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and the calories they consume from SSBs declined significantly between 2003 and 2014. |
 | Survey finds one in three patients needed more information on cancer treatment side effectsOne in three adults treated for cancer may experience side effects from treatment they wish they had known more about, according to a new survey published - link will be live when embargo lifts] today in the Journal of Oncology Practice. The national survey of more than 400 U.S. adults, which was sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), also found that nine in 10 patients felt they made the right treatment decision despite the desire for more information about treatment side effects. |
 | Some hyper-realistic masks more believable than human faces, study suggestsHyper-realistic masks are made from flexible materials such as silicone and are designed to imitate real human faces—down to every last freckle, wrinkle and strand of real human hair. |
Atopic eczema linked to increase fracture risk in adultsInvolving the health records of three million adults in the UK, the study, led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, is the largest to date examining the relationship between atopic eczema and fractures, and the first using primary care data. | |
 | Excellent mental health for two-thirds of Indigenous people off reserveTwo-thirds (68%) of Indigenous people living off reserve in Canada have excellent mental health, according to a nationally representative study conducted by the University of Toronto and Algoma University. |
 | Online reviews reveal need for specialized drug treatment facility assessmentsAlmost 10 percent of the nation's entire population live with substance use disorder, but many struggle to find the right help—a task which is made more difficult because there is no standardized rating system to ensure the quality of care within specialized drug treatment facilities. Even the efforts that do exist to evaluate these entities don't seem to be aligned with the central concerns of patients, according to a new study from Penn Medicine researchers which was published today in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. |
 | Predicting metastasis from primary tumor sizeA new mathematical model uses the size of a cancer patient's initial, primary tumor to predict whether undetectable secondary tumors are already present. Stefano Avanzini and Tibor Antal of the University of Edinburgh, U.K., present the model in PLOS Computational Biology. |
Who is left behind in Mass Drug Administration?Ensuring equity in the prevention of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is critical to reach NTD elimination goals as well as to inform Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Now, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have unmasked inequities in the delivery of Mass Drug Administration (MDA) programmes that leave vulnerable populations underserved. | |
Genetic studies reveal how rat lungworm evolvesRat lungworm is a parasitic disease, spread through contaminated food, which affects the brain and spinal cord. Now, researchers report in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases that a detail analysis of the genetics of the rat lungworm parasite— Angiostrongylus cantonensis— reveal signatures of adaptive evolution that have let the parasite survive and may serve as future drug targets. | |
Animal study finds link between MAP2 mutation and hereditary hair diseasesThe genetic mechanism of hereditary human hair diseases, such as alopecia and thinning hair, has drawn much attention in human genetics research, yet many questions around this mechanism persist. A recent animal study in The FASEB Journal revealed that a mutation in the gene that encodes a protein called MAP2 (for "microtubule-associated protein 2") may be an essential component of the hairless phenotype. | |
 | Diet pills, laxatives used for weight control linked with later eating disorder diagnosisAmong young women without an eating disorder diagnosis, those who use diet pills and laxatives for weight control had higher odds of receiving a subsequent first eating disorder diagnosis within one to three years than those who did not report using these products, according to a new study led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston Children's Hospital. |
Peritoneal dialysis use has increased in the United States after Medicare payment reformMore US patients with kidney failure started, stayed on, and switched to peritoneal dialysis following a payment policy implemented in 2011 by Medicare. The findings, which appear in an upcoming issue of CJASN, suggest that the policy is having a positive impact on an underutilized form of dialysis that may be preferred by patients. | |
 | Study: Urban green space can prevent premature deathsResidential greenness can protect against premature all-cause mortality, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) in collaboration with Colorado State University and the World Health Organization (WHO), and published in The Lancet Planetary Health. |
 | Researchers identify a molecular mechanism involved in Huntington's diseaseResearchers from the Institute of Neurosciences of the University of Barcelona (UBNeuro) and the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS) described a mechanism, the increase of proteinaceous synthesis, which takes part in the degeneration of the type of neurons that are affected in Huntington's disease, a genetic neurodegenerative disease. These results, published in the journal Brain, could help researchers design new therapies to treat this and other brain-affecting diseases. |
 | Some smokers credit e-cigarettes with saving their lives: Does that matter?In a major blow to the vaping industry, the American Medical Association has called for a ban on e-cigarettes and vaping products that the FDA doesn't deem tobacco cessation devices. |
 | Could psychedelic drugs be a new treatment option for people with depression?After being relegated to the fringes of legitimate scientific inquiry for nearly five decades, an increasing number of researchers, including Javier González-Maeso, Ph.D., and Mario de la Fuente Revenga, Ph.D., both in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, are exploring whether psychedelics, or related compounds, could be a new treatment option for people with depression. |
 | Eastern equine encephalitis virus poses emergent threat, say NIH officialsAlthough eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), a mosquito-borne illness, has existed for centuries, 2019 has been a particularly deadly year for the disease in the United States. As of November 12, 36 confirmed cases of EEE had been reported by eight states; 13 of these cases were fatal. In a new commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine, officials from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, describe the eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) that causes EEE, current research efforts to address EEE, and the need for a national strategy to address the growing threat of EEEV and other emerging and re-emerging viruses spread by mosquitoes and ticks (known as arboviruses). |
 | Food and Drug Administration delays plan to lower nicotine levels in traditional cigarettesThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a list of regulations it plans to work on in 2020, omitted from that list was a regulation to reduce nicotine levels in traditional cigarettes. That regulation was initially announced by former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb in 2017. |
 | The high cost challenge of personalised screening for bowel cancerPersonalised screening could improve the diagnosis of bowel cancer and re-shape the future of Australia's National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP), according to new research at The University of Western Australia. |
 | You can test your embryos for genetic defects, but designer babies aren't here just yetDesigner baby, anyone? A New Jersey startup company, Genomic Prediction, might be able to help you. |
 | Research into pregnancy, birth and infant care is underfunded—and women are paying the priceResearch in the UK is overwhelmingly male—male participants, male researchers, and male topics, despite 51% of the population being female. The lack of research on, by, and for this half of humanity has many detrimental effects—not least on the decisions women have to make during pregnancy, childbirth, and child rearing. In my latest book, Informed is Best, I explore the impact of incomplete and biased research in this area, and try to guide parents, and those supporting them, on how to read and judge the evidence that does exist. |
 | Diabetics do not benefit from implantable defibrillator pacemakersAccording to a broad European study involving multiple medical institutes, patients with diabetes do not benefit from implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) pacemakers. |
 | Development of colorectal cancer kit detectionBiologists from the University of Luxembourg together with researchers from the Integrated Biobank of Luxembourg (IBBL) and oncologists from the Centre Hospitalier Emile Mayrisch (CHEM) are in the process of developing a kit which could facilitate the detection of colorectal cancer at early stage and help clinicians choose the best treatment. |
 | Study finds increase in number of U.S. adults who perceive E-cigarettes more harmful than traditional cigarettesThe number of U.S. adults who perceive e-cigarettes to be at as harmful as, or more harmful than, cigarettes has increased between 2017 and 2018, even prior to the national outbreak of vaping-related lung disease and deaths, a study by tobacco researchers from Georgia State University's School of Public Health has found. |
 | Vigorous activity weekly may improve outcomes in stable CADPerforming vigorous physical activity once or twice a week compared with sedentary behavior or light physical activity may improve long-term cardiac health in patients with stable coronary artery disease, according to a study recently published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. |
 | Deaths increase under new heart donor system, research team findsDeaths following heart transplants have increased in the year after a new allocation system was put in place to reduce wait times and prioritize donor organs for the sickest patients. |
 | FDA urged to investigate use of unapproved anti-opioid implant on prisoners and the homelessBioCorRx bills itself as a developer of "advanced solutions" for alcohol and opioid addictions. |
 | Alternatives to therapy? There's an app for thatApparently, there is no problem too complex that an application cannot be created to solve it. |
 | How much sunshine causes melanoma? It's in your genesAustralian researchers from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have shown that 22 different genes help to determine how much sun exposure a person needs to receive before developing melanoma. |
 | Gay and bisexual men who use HIV prevention pill PrEP have lower anxietyA new study from the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney published today shows that gay and bisexual men who are taking the HIV prevention medication PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) also have significantly lower levels of HIV-related anxiety. |
 | Medical AI can now predict survival rates—but it's not ready to unleash on patientsResearchers recently produced an algorithm that could guess whether heart patients had lived or died from their condition within a year. By looking at data from a test of the heart's electrical activity known as an electrocardiogram or ECG, the algorithm successfully predicted patient survival in 85% of cases. But its developers couldn't explain how the algorithm did this. Its stated purpose was to find previously unknown information that doctors couldn't see in ECGs. |
 | Multifunctional small brains: Cerebral cortex not the only area with perceptual abilitiesWhen observing an old person picking up a box and a young person picking up a comparable box, it is easy to distinguish the difference in strength, flexibility and confidence of the two people. The brain region responsible for such higher perceptual abilities was thought to be the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain. However, a study done by the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience shows the cortex gets help from another region, namely, the cerebellum, or small brain, an area involved in movement. This discovery can help understand the consequences of damage to the small brain, since it causes not only motoric impairment, but also altered social cognition. The study was published today in Brain. |
 | Drug abuse during pregnancy can cause diabetes in children later in lifeData from the U.S. indicate that between 5 to 10 percent of mothers consume psychostimulants (such as amphetamine, cocaine or methamphetamine) during pregnancy. Apart from the negative impacts on the developing brain, many babies born from drug-abusing mothers present with imbalanced blood glucose levels, which statistically affects more female newborns. |
 | Mothers' depression and anxiety linked to unhealthy diets for childrenHaving symptoms of depression or anxiety could be affecting the way mothers feed their children and could contribute to youngsters developing unhealthy eating habits, a new study has found. |
 | Turning to turkey's tryptophan to boost mood? Not so fastEvery Thanksgiving, myths of the quasi-magical powers of tryptophan rise again. |
 | Brain responses as state markers of depressionDepression has been associated with bias in the processing of emotional information. Studies have for example, shown, that depressed individuals attend to negative stimuli, interpret neutral faces as sad and have enhanced recall for negative words. However, the bias in automatic information processing has been less studied. |
Mirror-sensory synesthetes show more empathic and altruistic behaviourAbout one in fifty people has it: mirror-sensory synesthesia. This means they can feel it in their own bodies when they see others get hurt or touched, like seeing someone cut one's finger or getting a hug. New research by Radboud cognitive neuroscientists shows that these synesthetes show more empathic and altruistic behaviour. | |
 | How universal childhood trauma screenings could backfireIt is well established that child maltreatment and other childhood adversities are associated with poor outcomes later on in life. |
 | Researchers discover potential new treatment for rare muscle-wasting diseaseA team of Cardiff University researchers has uncovered a potential new way to treat a very rare genetic disorder that causes muscles in the arms and legs to become increasingly weak. |
Landmark clinical trial could reduce the numbers of unnecessary C-sectionsA new research project at Trinity College could have far-reaching implications for the management of labour, making monitoring less intrusive and potentially reducing the number of unnecessary caesarean sections in Ireland. | |
 | Mental health program helps teens recognise and support peers at riskA novel mental health program improves teenagers' ability to recognise and support friends who might be at risk of suicide, according to new research. |
 | Detecting cancer in urineFeeling anxious around needles is common. The NHS estimates that around one in 10 people experience trypanophobia, a fear of medical procedures that involve needles or injections. |
 | Women raised in deprived neighbourhoods face an increased risk of intimate partner violenceWomen who spend longer periods of their early lives in less affluent neighbourhoods are at greater risk of experiencing violence during their early adulthoods at the hands of their intimate partners, finds a new study published in Epidemiology. |
New research finds signal of decreased early post transplant survival in new heart transplant systemIn an analysis of the new heart organ allocation system for transplant patients in the U.S., researchers have identified a signal of a decrease in heart transplant survival rates. The study, "An Early Investigation of Outcomes with the 2018 Donor Heart Allocation System in the United States," is published as a rapid communication in the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. | |
 | Investigational drug for people with treatment-resistant epilepsyImagine not being able to drive, shower alone or even work because you are never quite sure when the next seizure will leave you incapacitated. Hope may be on the horizon for epilepsy patients who have had limited success with seizure drugs. In a study, led by a Johns Hopkins lead investigator, of 437 patients across 107 institutions in 16 countries, researchers found that the investigational drug cenobamate reduced seizures 55% on the two highest doses of this medication that were tested over the entire treatment period. |
 | Pancreatic cancer tumor classification could optimize treatment choicesA study from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center could help predict resistance to treatments for pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancer types. |
 | New chemical treatment for bed nets could prevent more infections by overcoming mosquito resistanceWith insecticide resistance eroding the life-saving power of bed nets—a major malaria-fighting tool—researchers reported today that in a clinical trial that involved distributing millions of treated nets to households across Uganda, far fewer children showed evidence of malaria parasites after sleeping under nets newly formulated to disarm a mosquito's key resistance mechanisms. |
 | Increased, but low, suicide risk associated with use of anti-epileptic drugsThree of the most common forms of anti-epileptic drugs in Denmark are associated with an increase in patients' risk of suicide. However, the risk is low and should be seen in conjunction with the many beneficial effects of the medicines. This is the conclusion of a new study carried out by researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital. |
 | Vape debate: Are e-cigarettes wiping out teen smoking?In almost any other year it would be hailed as a public health victory: The smoking rate among U.S. high schoolers took its biggest hit ever this year, federal figures show, falling to a new low. |
 | Some child development milestones may be set too earlyCDC guidelines say most children reach a milestone by a certain age, but new data shows that "most" may mean over 99% or barely half. |
 | Turning to old remedies for new health challengesThe last thing anyone wants during a stay in the hospital is a hospital-acquired infection. Nosocomial infections, as they are called, are on the rise as more pathogens become resistant to drugs currently available. One pathogen tops the list as one of the most common, one of the most frequently fatal, and one of the most difficult to treat - Acinetobacter baumannii. |
 | Researchers discover how lungs cells respond to bacteriaPrevious research has shown that recovery from bacterial pneumonia hugely improves our defense against further infections by seeding the lungs with immune cells called lung resident memory T (TRM) cells, but how these cells actually protect the lungs against future bacterial infections has been unknown until now. |
 | New antitumoral drug release strategy created for breast cancer treatmentThe local release of antitumoral drugs through bacterial proteins in the treatment of breast cancer can mark a before and after in precision medicine. In this sense, researchers at the CIBER of Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), the Vall d"Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) have created Escherichia coli cell structures to produce non-toxic bacterial amyloids. |
 | Transplanting human nerve cells into a mouse brain reveals how they wire into brain circuitsA team of researchers led by Pierre Vanderhaeghen and Vincent Bonin (VIB-KU Leuven, Université libre de Bruxelles and NERF) showed how human nerve cells can develop at their own pace, and form highly precise connections with surrounding mouse brain cells. These findings shed new light on the unique features of the human brain and open new perspectives for brain repair and the study of brain diseases. |
 | Study finds assigning hospitalists by unit has both pros and consResearchers from Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine have conducted the first time-motion study in more than a decade to assess the impact of geographic cohorting of hospitalists. |
Glitch in Medicare drug plan finder could cost consumersA glitch in Medicare's revamped prescription plan finder can steer unwitting seniors to coverage that costs much more than they need to pay, according to people who help with sign-ups as well as program experts. | |
 | Employee premiums, deductibles eating larger share of income(HealthDay)—During the last decade, health care costs have eaten up a larger share of income for millions of middle-class Americans with employer coverage, according to Trends in Employer Health Care Coverage, 2008-2018, a Nov. 21 report from The Commonwealth Fund. |
 | She lives with seizures, and public stigma, every dayMost of the time, Eva Wadvinski is a typical college student. Then suddenly, she isn't. |
 | Infants may not be as immune to measles as thoughtA surprising new study upends the notion that antibodies passed from mother to fetus protect infants from measles for as much as a year. |
Obesity, other factors may speed up brain agingThe brains of middle-age adults may be aging prematurely if they have obesity or other factors linked to cardiovascular disease, new research has found. | |
Neighborhood matters for fentanyl-involved overdose deathsFentanyl overdoses cluster geographically more than non-fentanyl overdoses, according to a study just released by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The findings suggest that fentanyl-involved overdoses are concentrated in resource deprived neighborhoods over and above what data show for opioid and polydrug overdoses. This is one of few studies to examine the local geographic distribution of drug overdoses and associated neighborhood-level risk factors. The results are published online in the American Journal of Public Health. | |
 | Germ-free lungs of newborn mice are partially protected against hyperoxiaCharitharth Vivek Lal, M.D., and University of Alabama at Birmingham colleagues have used a novel and first-of-its-kind newborn mouse model to study the effect of high oxygen concentrations, or hyperoxia, on lung development of newborn mice that are germ-free—meaning no microbes colonizing their lungs. |
 | Bacteria-infected mosquitoes take bite out of deadly dengueThey still bite, but new research shows lab-grown mosquitoes are fighting dangerous dengue fever that they normally would spread. |
 | Science underestimated dangerous effects of sleep deprivationMichigan State University's Sleep and Learning Lab has conducted one of the largest sleep studies to date, revealing that sleep deprivation affects us much more than prior theories have suggested. |
Team publishes findings on TAF1 syndromeAn international, multidisciplinary research team from more than 50 institutions, led by geneticist and psychiatrist Gholson Lyon, MD, Ph.D., of the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities' (OPWDD) Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities (IBR), today announced publication of findings from its study of the rare disease TAF1 syndrome. | |
Johnson & Johnson found 'negligent' in Australian lawsuitAn Australian court found Thursday that Johnson & Johnson was "negligent" in supplying thousands of women pelvic meshes without adequate testing or health warnings, a ruling that exposes the firm to millions of dollars in damages. | |
 | Tinnitus: Scale of hearing damage for music industry workers revealedHearing loss and tinnitus (ringing, buzzing or whistling noises in the absence of any external sounds) are serious problems for music industry workers. The conditions can affect musical standards, limit employment and damage general wellbeing. Yet music industry workers' susceptibility to hearing problems is not well understood, as it can take years before the damage becomes severe enough to be detected by conventional tests and many people in the industry don't get their hearing tested. |
 | Reducing the risk of infertility during endometriosis treatmentRUDN University physicians have measured the level of the Anti-Müllerian hormone, which indicates reproductive health, in patients with an ovarian cyst, and also assessed the likelihood of pregnancy after cyst removal surgery. The researchers have determined what types of cyst surgery are more effective than other treatments. The results are published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. |
 | Lack of equity and diversity still plague global health researchThe field of global health has evolved from colonial and military medicine, tropical medicine and international health. While it is evolving for the better, research shows that global health is still struggling to shake off its colonial past. |
 | Researchers carry out simulation of a hospital outbreak"Genomics of a Mock Outbreak" was a stress test on the ability to identify and characterize multidrug-resistant bacteria isolated from patients and the hospital environment. The results, released on European Antibiotic Awareness Day, 18 November, show that it is possible to sequence and analyze bacterial genomes in a short time, which is crucial information to manage and control an outbreak. |
 | Traditional Chinese medical herb may offer new anti-obesity strategyOverweight and obesity have become a severe public health problem around the world. Current anti-obesity strategies are mainly aimed at restricting calorie intake and absorption. Now, Chinese scientists suggest in a new study that burning energy by activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) might be an alternative strategy for combating obesity. |
 | Massachusetts OKs ban on flavored vaping, tobacco productsMassachusetts lawmakers passed a groundbreaking ban Thursday on the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products, including menthol cigarettes. |
 | New translation system for humanitarian assistanceThe success of a psychiatric or psychotherapeutic treatment decisively depends on the quality of communication between the therapist and patient. In the case of refugees, this communication is often impeded by language barriers. The Central Institute of Mental Health (ZI) in Mannheim and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a portable, secure, and extendable translation system for diagnostic interviews of refugees from Arabic speaking countries within the BMBF-funded project RELATER. |
 | Does frailty affect outcomes after traumatic spinal cord injury?A new study has shown that frailty is an important predictor of worse outcome after traumatic spinal cord injury in patients less than 75 years of age. In patients younger than 75 years, frailty was a predictor of adverse events, acute length of stay, and in-hospital mortality, as reported in an article published in Journal of Neurotrauma. |
 | If not for 2-year-old, young mom might have diedThe night she turned 37, Barbara Jackson put her 2-year-old daughter Olivia Copeland to bed and walked to the kitchen. She felt a little odd but didn't think much of it. |
 | Packaged Caesar salad suspected as possible source in E. coli outbreak(HealthDay)—A brand of packaged Caesar salad is an early suspect in an outbreak of E. coli that's sickened 17 people in eight states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday. |
 | UM to research new aneurysm stent in upcoming multicenter trialRobert M. Starke, M.D., M.Sc., an experienced neurosurgeon and researcher with the University of Miami Health System and Miller School of Medicine, has been conducting laboratory studies on a specialized stent designed to treat complex aneurysms in the blood vessels of the brain. |
Biology news
 | Dung beetle discovery revises biologists' understanding of how nature innovatesWhen studying how organisms evolve, biologists consider most traits, or features, as derived from some earlier version already present in their ancestors. Few traits are regarded as truly "novel." |
 | Nature's secret recipe for making leavesThe secret recipe nature uses to make the diverse leaf shapes we see everywhere around us has been revealed in research. |
 | Scientists first to develop rapid cell division in marine spongesVertebrate, insect, and plant cell lines are important tools for research in many disciplines, including human health, evolutionary and developmental biology, agriculture and toxicology. Cell lines have been established for many organisms, including freshwater and terrestrial invertebrates. |
 | Researchers sequence genome of the 'devil worm'When scientists discovered a worm deep in an aquifer nearly one mile underground, they hailed it as the discovery of the deepest-living animal ever found. Now American University researchers, reporting in Nature Communications, have sequenced the genome of the unique animal, referred to as the 'Devil Worm' for its ability to survive in harsh, subsurface conditions. The Devil Worm's genome provides clues to how an organism adapts to lethal environmental conditions. Future research into how it evolved could help humans learn lessons for how to adapt to a warming climate. |
 | Deep learning to analyze neurological problemsGetting to the doctor's office for a check-up can be challenging for someone with a neurological disorder that impairs their movement, such as a stroke. But what if the patient could just take a video clip of their movements with a smart phone and forward the results to their doctor? Work by Dr. Hardeep Ryait and colleagues at CCBN-University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada, publishing November 21 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, shows how this might one day be possible. |
 | Peptide in male fruit fly semen found to enhance memory in females after matingA quartet of researchers with PSL Research University, CNRS, has found that a peptide in male fruit fly semen somehow makes its way to the female fruit fly brain after copulation, resulting in improvements in long-term memory. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, L. Scheunemann, A. Lampin-Saint-Amaux, J. Schor and T. Preat describe their study of memory in fruit flies and what they learned. |
 | The antibiotic arms race moves at high speedAcinetobacter baumannii is a pathogen that creates serious problems in hospitals throughout the world. It causes opportunistic infections in the bloodstream, urinary tract, and other soft tissues, accounting for as much as 20 percent of infections spread in Intensive Care Units. As one of the pathogens involved in many multidrug-resistant infections caught in hospitals, it was top of the highest priority "Critical" group of antibiotic-resistant pathogens the World Health Organization rated in 2017 as needing further research. |
 | A new antibiotic has been hiding in the gut of a tiny worm. It may be our best weapon against drug-resistant bacteria.Researchers at Northeastern have discovered a new antibiotic that could treat infections caused by some of the nastiest superbugs humanity is facing in the antibiotic resistance crisis. |
 | For Chesapeake oysters, the way forward leads back—through the fossil recordOysters once dominated the ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay, and it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the Bay to return to full ecological health without restoring Crassotrea virginica to its glory days of the Chesapeake's apex filterer. |
 | Cells lose their ability to share resources as we get olderA research team led by The University of Western Australia has found that our cells deteriorate and share fewer resources as we age, which can lead to the onset of diseases such as osteoporosis, arthritis, cardiovascular disease and cancers. |
 | Tropical fish shredding kelp forests in temperate zonesClimate change is causing previously temperate oceans to become more tropical with coral reef fish moving south, settling in and changing how things work in their new temperate neighborhood, according to a study by The University of Western Australia and international researchers. |
 | Unraveling gene expressionThe DNA of a single cell is two to three meters long end-to-end. To fit in the nucleus and function correctly, DNA is packaged around specialized proteins. These DNA-protein complexes are called nucleosomes, and they are a small part of a larger structure called chromatin. Nucleosomes can be thought of as the cell's DNA storage and protection unit. |
 | Self-restrained genes enable evolutionary noveltyChanges in the genes that control development can potentially make large contributions to evolution by generating new morphologies in plants and animals. However, because developmental genes frequently influence many different processes, changes to their expression carry a risk of "collateral damage." Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne and collaborators have now shown how gene self-repression can reduce the potential side effects of novel gene expression so that new forms can evolve. This self-regulation occurs via a distinctive molecular mechanism employing small regions of genomic DNA called low-affinity transcription factor binding sites. |
 | Magnesium deprivation stops pathogen growthWhen pathogens invade cells, our body combats them using various methods. Researchers at the University of Basel's Biozentrum have now been able to show how a cellular pump keeps such invading pathogens in check. As the researchers report in Science, this pump causes a magnesium shortage, which in turn restricts bacterial growth. |
 | Simple model explains why different four-legged animals adopt similar gaitsMost mammals walk at slow speeds and run or trot at intermediate speeds because these movement strategies are energetically optimal, according to a study published in PLOS Computational Biology by Delyle Polet and John Bertram of the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. |
 | The cause of chewy chicken meatUniversity of Delaware researchers have discovered that lipoprotein lipase, an enzyme crucial for fat metabolism, may be contributing to wooden breast syndrome in broiler chickens. |
 | China 'medicine' demand threatens world donkey population: reportChina's demand for donkey skins to make a traditional medicine could wipe out more than half the world's donkey population in the next five years, researchers said Thursday. |
 | Not so selfish after all: Key role of transposable elements in mammalian evolutionThe human genome contains 4.5 million copies of transposable elements (TEs), so-called selfish DNA sequences capable of moving around the genome through cut-and-paste or copy-and-paste mechanisms. Accounting for 30-50 percent of all of the DNA in the average mammalian genome, these TEs have conventionally been viewed as genetic freeloaders, hitchhiking along in the genome without providing any benefit to the host organism. More recently, however, scientists have begun to uncover cases in which TE sequences have been co-opted by the host to provide a useful function, such as encoding part of a host protein. In a new study published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research, Professor Hidenori Nishihara has undertaken one of the most comprehensive analyses of TE sequence co-option to date, uncovering tens of thousands of potentially co-opted TE sequences and suggesting that they have played a key role in mammalian evolution. |
 | Math reveals how diseases progress and bacteria develop drug resistanceScientists from Imperial and the University of Bergen have found a new way to predict how a disease will likely progress in individual patients. |
 | From anomalure to zebra duiker: Spotlight on West Africa's mammalsIf you thought zebra duiker and otter shrew were four different animals, think again. These are just two of the elusive creatures that Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and partners were hoping to track down during recent surveys of large and small mammals in one of West Africa's most important rainforests. |
 | Scientists develop new method to estimate seal breeding frequencyNew research, led by the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) at the University of St Andrews, develops method to better record breeding histories of seals, allowing for improved fecundity calculations. |
 | How to fight illegal cocoa farms in Ivory CoastThe world's love for chocolate has helped decimate protected forests in western Africa as some residents have turned protected areas into illegal cocoa farms and hunting grounds. |
 | Structures near airports increase risk of airplane-goose collisionsFrom mid-November 2015 through February 2016, scientists used GPS transmitters to track the movements of Canada geese near Midway International Airport in Chicago. They discovered that—in the colder months, at least—some geese are hanging out on rooftops, in a rail yard and in a canal close to Midway's runways. This behavior increases the danger of collisions between geese and airplanes, the researchers say. |
 | Fish in California estuaries are evolving as climate change alters their habitatThe threespine stickleback, a small fish found throughout the coastal areas of the Northern Hemisphere, is famously variable in appearance from one location to another, making it an ideal subject for studying how species adapt to different environments. A new study shows that stickleback populations in estuaries along the coast of California have evolved over the past 40 years as climate change has altered their coastal habitats. |
 | Back on all fours—Ronda the dog's pioneering prosthetic surgeryRonda seemed doomed. The six-year-old French mastiff had developed a tumour on her paw that required amputation and the fitting of a prosthetic leg—a rare and complex operation. |
 | In the war on emerging crop diseases, scientists develop new 'War Room' simulationsFarmers rely on seed systems for access to high-quality, disease-free planting material at the start of the season. Good seed systems ensure access to seed for a variety of crops that are affordable and fully available at the start of the season. Unfortunately, this is not a reality for many smallholder farmers in developing countries, where seed systems often serve as conduits for the spread of crop disease. |
 | Pollinator friendliness can extend beyond early springA study out of the University of Arkansas investigated whether bulbs can flower and persist in warm-season lawns while providing nutrition for pollinating insects. |
 | Bei Bei arrives at giant panda base in China's SichuanAfter a transcontinental flight on the "Panda Express," a furry American darling arrived early Thursday in his new Chinese home. |
 | Building better bacteriophage to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteriaResearchers are pursuing engineered bacteriophage as alternatives to antibiotics to infect and kill multi-drug resistant bacteria. The potential for an innovative synthetic biology approach to enhance phage therapeutics and the role a biofoundry can play in making this approach feasible and effective is discussed in an article in PHAGE: Therapy, Applications, and Research. |
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