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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for January 27, 2020:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | Flying solo: Solar Orbiter will take first-ever direct images of solar polesSolar Orbiter will orbit our nearest star, the sun, observing it up close. It will take the first-ever direct images of its poles, while also studying the inner heliosphere—the bubble-like region around the sun created by the stream of energized, charged particles released in the solar wind. |
 | How Earth climate models help picture life on unimaginable worldsIn a generic brick building on the northwestern edge of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center campus in Greenbelt, Maryland, thousands of computers packed in racks the size of vending machines hum in a deafening chorus of data crunching. Day and night, they spit out 7 quadrillion calculations per second. These machines collectively are known as NASA's Discover supercomputer and they are tasked with running sophisticated climate models to predict Earth's future climate. |
 | Tarantula Nebula spins web of mystery in Spitzer imageThe Tarantula Nebula, seen in this image by the Spitzer Space Telescope, was one of the first targets studied by the infrared observatory after its launch in 2003, and the telescope has revisited it many times since. Now that Spitzer is set to be retired on Jan. 30, 2020, scientists have generated a new view of the nebula from Spitzer data. |
 | In a rare sighting, astronomers observe burst of activity as a massive star formsHere on Earth, we pay quite a lot of attention to the sun. It's visible to us, after all, and central to our lives. But it is only one of the billions of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. It's also quite small compared to other stars—many are at least eight times more massive. |
 | Image: Hubble sees dusty galaxy with supermassive centerThis peculiar galaxy, beautifully streaked with tendrils of reddish dust, is captured here in wonderful detail by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. |
Technology news
 | Collaborative simultaneous localization and mapping technique uses available Wi-Fi networksIn recent years, research teams worldwide have developed new methods for simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). These techniques can be used to construct or update maps of a given environment in real time, while simultaneously tracking an artificial agent or robot's location within these maps. |
 | For cheaper solar cells, thinner really is betterCosts of solar panels have plummeted over the last several years, leading to rates of solar installations far greater than most analysts had expected. But with most of the potential areas for cost savings already pushed to the extreme, further cost reductions are becoming more challenging to find. |
 | New research exposes security risk for e-scooters and ridersMicromobility vehicles, such as e-scooters, zip in and out of traffic. In San Antonio alone, over 12,000 scooters are on the road. For this reason, micromobility is seen as an alleviating trend to help tackle traffic congestion. |
 | Researchers advance solar material productionA Washington State University team has developed a more efficient, safer, and cost-effective way to produce cadmium telluride (CdTe) material for solar cells or other applications, a discovery that could advance the solar industry and make it more competitive. |
 | Hundreds of Amazon employees criticize firm's climate stanceHundreds of Amazon employees Sunday openly criticized the online retail giant's environmental record, defying the company's communications policy. |
 | Johnson says can square Huawei 5G role with security concernsBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday insisted the UK can have technological progress while preserving national security, as he prepared to approve a role for Chinese telecoms giant Huawei in developing its 5G telecoms network despite strong US opposition. |
 | GM to invest $2.2B in Detroit to build electric vehiclesGeneral Motors is spending $2.2 billion to refurbish an underused Detroit factory so it can build a series of electric and self-driving vehicles, eventually employing 2,200 people. |
 | Testing new turbines goes swimmingly with sensor fishWorking on top of Ice Harbor Dam, a team of PNNL researchers had little time to appreciate the view. It was a beautiful, sunny fall day in early October and the team was on its 4th day of releasing Sensor Fish to travel through the dam. |
 | New standard allows stacked dies in 3-D integrated circuits to connect with test equipmentThis week, IMEC, a world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, announced that IEEE Std 1838TM-2019—recently approved by the IEEE Standards Association—will be included in IEEE Xplore Digital Library from February 2020 onward. The new standard allows die makers to design dies which, if compliant to this standard, constitute, once stacked in a 3-D-IC by a stack integrator, a consistent stack-level test access architecture. The standardization effort of the 3-D-DfT (design-for-test) was initiated by IMEC. |
 | Thin radio-frequency detector monitors capacity of commercial lithium-ion batteryA new paper-thin radio-frequency detector designed to work inside a lithium-ion battery provides information about the battery's health while charging and discharging. |
 | Facebook, government urge court to approve $5-billion FTC settlementFacebook and the Justice Department are urging a federal judge to approve the $5-billion deal the Federal Trade Commission reached with Facebook to settle Cambridge Analytica privacy complaints. |
 | Banks, Bitcoin, bond funds: Where is your money safe in an era of cyberattacks?For almost a decade, John Luksic used a Bitcoin exchange to invest money in cryptocurrencies, trying to build a nest egg while caring for his parents in Saginaw, Michigan. |
 | New Delhi to sell full stake in debt-ridden Air IndiaNew Delhi intends to sell its entire stake in the debt-crippled national carrier Air India, the government announced Monday, after failing previously to secure any bids for a majority share. |
 | 'I did it': Portugal hacker says he exposed African tycoonA Portuguese hacker is claiming responsibility for leaking confidential documents implicating the billionaire daughter of a former prominent African leader in alleged murky international business deals. |
Medicine & Health news
 | Parkinson's disease may start before birthPeople who develop Parkinson's disease before age 50 may have been born with disordered brain cells that went undetected for decades, according to new Cedars-Sinai research. The research points to a drug that potentially might help correct these disease processes. |
 | Researchers identify opportunities to advance genomic medicineGenetic discoveries over the past 25 years have substantially advanced understanding of both rare and common diseases, furthering the development of treatment and prevention for ailments ranging from inflammatory bowel diseases to diabetes, according to a study published in Nature in January. |
 | Prescription drug improves symptoms of autism by targeting brain's chemical messengersBumetanide—a prescription drug for oedema (the build-up of fluid in the body) - improves some of the symptoms in young children with autism spectrum disorders and has no significant side effects, according to a new study from researchers in China and the UK. |
 | Researchers trace the molecular roots of potentially fatal heart conditionThe heart's ability to beat normally over a lifetime is predicated on the synchronized work of proteins embedded in the cells of the heart muscle. |
 | Genomics experts dispute nine genes linked to congenital heart conditionGeneticists and heart specialists around the world had previously reported 17 genes to cause long QT syndrome, a little-known inherited heart condition. However, the Clinical Genome Resource's (ClinGen) expert panel has critically reevaluated the scientific evidence for all 17 reported genes, disputing nine of the genes and revealing only three of the genes to be definitively associated with the most common form of the disease. The work was funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health. |
 | New treatment kills off infection that can be deadly to cystic fibrosis patientsA new treatment developed by researchers at Aston University and Birmingham Children's Hospital has been found to completely kill a bacterial infection that can be deadly to cystic fibrosis patients and other chronic lung conditions such as bronchiectasis. |
 | Successfully predicting bone marrow failure caused by drugs, radiation, and diseaseYour bone marrow produces about 500 billion new blood cells every single day—roughly equivalent to the number of stars thought to be in the Milky Way. Being so prolific, however, comes with a price: medical interventions that aim to disrupt cell growth and differentiation, such as chemotherapies and radiation, can hit the bone marrow extremely hard, causing serious side effects like anemia, severe bleeding, and increased infections. Efforts to understand and reduce bone marrow toxicity have been hampered by the marrow's inaccessible location, as the only way to effectively study living marrow tissue in humans is to take invasive, painful biopsies from patients' bones. |
 | Human Body-on-Chip platform enables in vitro prediction of drug behaviors in humansDrug development is an extremely arduous and costly process, and failure rates in clinical trials that test new drugs for their safety and efficacy in humans remain very high. According to current estimates, only 13.8% of all tested drugs demonstrate ultimate clinical success and obtain approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There are also increasing ethical concerns relating to the use of animal studies. As a result, there has been a world-wide search to find replacements for animal models. |
 | Consequences of Zika virus infection on glial cellsStudies regarding the brain damage caused by the Zika virus have revealed the virus' predilection for a certain neural cell: the astrocyte. However, few studies have sought to identify the infection effects on these cells, as well as their association with developmental alterations, including brain malformations and microcephaly. Recently published in Scientific Reports, a new article explores the virus' reactions on laboratory-created astrocytes, comparing them to the same cells present in the brain tissue of animals and fetuses infected with Zika. |
 | Using AI and natural language processing to predict disease outbreaks earlierAs the world prepares for yet another viral outbreak, scientists look for better ways to prevent them. One of the main areas of focus in such research is spotting possible outbreaks sooner. A new startup in Canada called BlueDot has applied AI and natural language processing to the problem and was one of the first to spot the outbreak of the Wuhan virus in China. |
 | 'Lethal' mutation made tuberculosis bacteria resistant to important antibioticAntibiotic-resistant tuberculosis is a common and serious problem globally. In a new article, researchers from Uppsala University describe how tuberculosis bacteria that carries a mutation that in theory should kill them manages to stay alive. The researchers discovered that the same trick that kept the bacteria alive also made them resistant to a very important type of antibiotic. |
 | Could depression be linked to cellular metabolism?EPFL researchers have discovered a compound that stimulates brain-cell metabolism and reduces signs of depression in mice. The next step will be to test their findings on humans. |
 | Study reveals young children prefer to learn from confident peopleAt a time when scams seem all around us and fake news appears to be on the rise, you might be relieved to know that even young children show some impressive skills when it comes to identifying poor sources of information, suggests new research from the University of British Columbia. |
 | Research shows the sexes have equal spatial cognition skillsMen are not better than women at spatial cognition—such as map reading—is the principal finding from ground-breaking work by researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, hosted at University of Limerick (UL), Ireland. |
 | Histamine: an unexpected defender against heart and kidney damageChronic kidney disease and heart failure are critical medical problems worldwide, and are closely associated in a phenomenon known as "cardiorenal syndrome." The relationship between kidney dysfunction and heart dysfunction is complex. Many studies have attempted to understand this relationship; few have provided a clear target for treatment of the combined dysfunction, until now. |
 | Micro-scaled method holds promise as improved cancer diagnostic platformUsing a single-needle biopsy and new technology for tumor diagnosis developed by Baylor College of Medicine and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, researchers have been able to provide a more detailed and wider window into cancer biology, tumor type and the mechanisms of response and resistance to therapy than with conventional approaches. |
 | Enhancing drug testing with human body-on-chip systemsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves only 13.8% of all tested drugs, and these numbers are even lower in "orphan" diseases that affect relatively few people. |
 | Protein AKAP8 suppresses breast cancer metastasisA protein naturally produced in the body has been found to suppress breast cancer metastasis in animal models of human tumors. Researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine also found that high levels of this protein, AKAP8, predicts a better survival for breast cancer patients. |
 | Similar survival of African-American and white men with prostate cancer in an equal-access health care systemAmong men with prostate cancer who received care from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Health System, an equal-access health care system, African American men did not have more advanced disease at the time of diagnosis or die earlier than white men, unlike trends seen in the greater U.S. population of patients with prostate cancer. The findings are published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. |
Survival of preterm babies improves by 25% after quality-improvement programThe rate of survival of very preterm babies in Canada increased 25% after the national Evidence-based Practice for Improving Quality (EPIQ) program was introduced in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) across the country, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). | |
 | New drug that could aid MS diagnoses approved for human trials by FDAA new drug that could make it easier for doctors to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) in its earlier stages has been approved for its first human trials by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). |
 | China virus sends shockwaves through Asia tourist industryA deadly virus that has prompted travel restrictions in China is sending shockwaves through Asia's tourism industry, which has become increasingly reliant on growing numbers of Chinese visitors. |
 | China extends holiday to buy time as virus keeps spreadingChina on Monday extended its biggest national holiday to buy time in the fight against a viral epidemic and neighbouring Mongolia closed its border, after the death toll spiked to 81 despite unprecedented quarantine measures. |
 | China virus toll spikes despite massive lockdownThe toll from China's viral epidemic spiked on Monday to 80 dead with hundreds of new infections despite unprecedented quarantines and travel lockdowns, as foreign governments scrambled to help their trapped citizens. |
WHO chief heads to China for virus talksThe head of the World Health Organization headed to China on Sunday to discuss how to contain a virus outbreak that has killed 56 people and infected over 2,000 worldwide. | |
Mongolia closes China border to cars, shuts schools over virus fearsMongolia has closed its border crossings with China to cars, temporarily shut schools and suspended public events to prevent a deadly virus from reaching its soil, authorities said. | |
 | Countries evaluate evacuation of citizens in virus epicenterCountries with citizens in the central Chinese city that's the epicenter of a viral outbreak are planning evacuations as the number of illnesses grow and China takes drastic measures to try to stop the spread of the virus. |
 | China death toll spikes to 80, over 2,700 cases confirmedChina said on Monday that the death toll from a deadly viral outbreak spiked to 80 as the hard-hit epicentre province of Hubei suffered 24 new fatalities, while total confirmed cases nationwide rose sharply to 2,744. |
 | Many U.S. adults misinformed about the flu, vaccination(HealthDay)—Many U.S. adults are misinformed about the influenza virus and the importance of flu vaccination, according to the results of a survey released by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). |
 | Strict adherence to traditional masculinity associated with more severe PTSD in vetsTo help service members perform better in the field, military training emphasizes the importance of certain traits associated with traditional masculinity, including suppression of emotion and self-reliance. But when veterans return home, strict adherence to these traits can become detrimental, leading to more severe post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and making it more difficult to treat, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. |
 | Simple test identifies patients at high risk for future dialysis or transplantA low-cost test that screens for excess protein in the urine has been shown to accurately identify patients at higher risk for progressive kidney disease after being hospitalized for acute kidney injury, according to a new study by researchers at UC San Francisco. |
More youth suicide found in poor communities across USA study led by Jennifer Hoffmann, MD, from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, found that higher county-level poverty is associated with increased youth suicide rates among children 5-19 years old in the United States in 2007-2016. Children and adolescents from counties where 20 percent or more of the population lives below the federal poverty level were 37 percent more likely to die by suicide, compared to communities with the lowest poverty concentration. Youth suicide by firearms was 87 percent more likely in areas with the highest poverty levels. Findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics. | |
 | 'Draconian' travel curbs needed to halt spread of virus: scientistsGovernments need to implement "draconian" travel curbs to stop a mystery coronavirus in China becoming a global epidemic, a team of experts mapping the outbreak said Monday. |
 | Almost a third of UK doctors may be 'burnt out' and stressed, poll suggestsNearly one in three UK doctors may be 'burnt out' and stressed,' suggests the results of an in-depth survey, published in the online journal BMJ Open. |
 | Are you in danger of catching the coronavirus? 5 questions answeredThe Chinese government has quarantined Wuhan, a port city of 11 million people, and it has restricted travel to and from several other cities, including Beijing, to contain the coronavirus that has sickened more than 800 people and killed at least 25 as of Jan. 23, 2020. A case has been reported in Seattle, and officials are monitoring a patient with a possible case in College Station, Texas. This raises the question: Will this spread—to me? |
 | The serious consequence of exercising too much, too fastEvery 365.25 days, when the Earth completes a full orbit around the Sun, we humans have the opportunity to hit the reset button and become fitter, finer versions of ourselves. As usual for January, social media is humming with advice on how to eat better, exercise regularly, lose weight and remain healthy. We feel particularly invincible at this time of year, armed with renewed vigor and motivation to purge ourselves from previous indulgences and our couch-potato ways. |
 | Study challenges assumptions about social interaction difficulties in autismAutism is characterized in part by an individual's challenges communicating and interacting socially with others. These difficulties have typically been studied in isolation by focusing on cognitive and behavioral differences in those with autism spectrum disorder, but little work has been done on how exchanges for autistic people unfold in the real world. |
 | Does China's response to coronavirus outbreak reflect lessons learned from SARS?Fear of a global pandemic is one of the factors driving China's surprising decision to shut down airports in the hope of containing a dangerous virus. |
 | Leukemia and head and neck cancer drugs not approved for NHS EnglandPeople with head and neck cancer or leukemia in England are set to miss out on access to two new cancer drugs, after the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said it couldn't recommend pembrolizumab (Keytruda) or gilteritinib (Xospata) for NHS use. |
 | Targeting cancers' surroundings to prevent or limit metastasisCancer depends on blood. Just like the rest of the body, tumors need blood vessels to supply them with nutrients and oxygen to grow. But cancer uses these vessels in another way as well—to spread to other parts of the body. |
 | 5 things everyone should know about coronavirusAn unusual outbreak of pneumonia in China in December presented a medical mystery that may have been solved with the identification of a never-before-seen coronavirus, now known as the 2019 novel coronavirus—but many more questions are yet to be answered. As doctors, epidemiologists, and medical researchers work to learn more about the new coronavirus, including such basic questions as how dangerous it is, how it spreads, and how it should be treated, people are understandably on edge because it has caused a considerable number of deaths. It's moving quickly around the world, having already been identified in patients in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and other parts of China. The first case in the United States was identified in January, in a 30-year-old man in Washington state who had traveled to Wuhan to visit relatives. |
 | Emotions come from a 3-centimeter area of the brainThe entire set of our emotions is topographically represented in a small region of the brain, a 3-centimeter area of the cortex, report scientists in a study conducted at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy. The discovery of this "map" of emotions comes from work conducted by the Molecular Mind Laboratory (MoMiLab) directed by Professor Pietro Pietrini, and recently published in Nature Communications. |
 | New research finds text messages can predict suicide attemptsNearly 130 people in the United States commit suicide every day. New work at the University of Virginia suggests that language used in text messages may one day help clinicians predict an increased risk of a suicide attempt in real time. |
 | Turning to the gut to better understand depressionCan the community of microbes in our digestive track influence our mental state and, if so, how? |
 | Report provides first clinical data from initial cases of new coronavirus in ChinaThe 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) appears to cause similar symptoms to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and seems to be capable of spreading from person to person and between cities, according to the findings of two studies published in The Lancet. |
 | Body ideal determines men and women's use of doping agentsFitness doping is still common despite well-known risks. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg and Linnaeus University have made an ethnographic study to understand the processes by which a person becomes or unbecomes a "fitness doper." |
 | Mental health-related emergency room visits are increasing among teens and young adultsA new study led by fellows at the USC Schaeffer Center shows mental health-related emergency department (ED) visits have increased substantially since 2009, a trend driven by large increases in adolescent and young adult visits to the emergency room for behavioral health-related diagnoses. |
 | 'Dabbing' teens more likely to keep using cannabis and increase its useOf all the ways adolescents experiment with cannabis, "dabbing" cannabis concentrate is the method most likely to lead to ongoing and increasingly frequent use, new USC research shows. |
 | Coronavirus: Some reasons to be cautiously optimisticThe alarm is sounding again. The Asia financial markets were reasonably calm about the new coronavirus until the news of the lockdown of the whole city of Wuhan in China on January 23, where the first and most cases have been reported so far. After that, markets started tumbling. Everything from stock markets to Brent crude drifted down by several percentage points as all eyes were on ticker screens for the latest news. |
 | Lead levels in preschool kids lower, but vigilance is neededResearchers led by Dr. Christos Symeonides, a paediatrician and post-graduate research scholar from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, measured the blood lead levels in 523 of 708 children appraised in the Barwon Infant Study preschool review. |
Canada confirms first virus case, second is 'presumptive'Canadian health authorities on Monday confirmed the country's first case of a deadly coronavirus that originated in China, and said the patient's wife had also tested positive. | |
 | China's coronavirus: rising death toll, growing alarmA new coronavirus that China announced in late December has killed more than 80 people and infected at least 2,700, with a dozen other countries confirming cases and stepping up protection measures. |
 | As we age, women are frailer but more resilient than menWomen tend to have poorer health status and are more frail, but are more resilient and have longer life expectancy than men, according to the authors of a narrative review on frailty, published online today by the Medical Journal of Australia. |
 | Training on a low-carb diet boosts protein needs for endurance athletesEndurance training while consuming a diet low in carbohydrates has garnered much interest lately. But is this the right approach for everyone and how does it impact protein requirements and performance? |
 | Single parents more likely to allow cigarette smoking in the home than two-parent familiesAre you a single parent? Do you allow smoking inside your home? |
 | Unrecognized genetic variation in research mouse models can affect immune cellsCongenic mouse strains—used for decades in immunology research and assumed to be genetically identical outside of a marker locus—have been found to contain previously unrecognized genetic variation, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers reported in a study published in the journal Immunity. |
 | Why it's unclear whether private programs for 'troubled teens' are workingI first became interested in what I've learned is called the "troubled teen industry" more than 20 years ago, when my parents sent me away to a program they thought would help me finish high school. At that point I was skipping a lot of school and running away. Simply put, I was seeking emancipation, community and safety—albeit in a headstrong way. |
 | Study finds inconsistencies in a broadly used autism testRutgers researchers have found that a test widely used to diagnose whether children have autism is less reliable than previously assumed. |
 | What the latest coronavirus tells us about emerging new infectionsViruses are quick studies. They're prolific at adapting to new environments and infecting new hosts. As a result they are able to jump the species divide from animals to humans—as the new coronavirus in China is showing. |
 | Nearly half of U.S. smokers not advised by doctors to quitToo few American smokers are advised by their doctors to quit, according to a report released Thursday by U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, M.D. |
 | Social isolation results in memory loss in later lifeSocial isolation contributes to memory loss in older age, research by LSE's Care and Evaluation Centre has shown for the first time. |
 | The first epidemiological estimation of mild cognitive impairment among migrants in EuropeIn a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, ISS researchers estimated about 680,000 cases of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a total of 12,730,960 migrants aged between 60 and 89 years living in the European Union (EU) in 2018. The proportion of cases among migrants (compared to the total in the resident population) ranged from 1.1 percent in Romania to 54.1 percent in Liechtenstein, with an overall increase over four years of 34 percent, rising from 511,624 cases in 2014 to 686,000 in 2018. |
 | Study urges national review of support services for male survivors of sexual violenceThe sentencing of Reynhard Sinaga, the most prolific convicted rapist in British history, who preyed on largely straight men in Manchester, was shocking and destroyed the myth that only women are raped and sexually abused. |
 | Obesity, second to smoking as the most preventable cause of US deaths, needs new approachesThe opioid crisis and deaths related to e-cigarette use among teenagers have dominated news headlines recently. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 34 people had died as a result of vaping and, in 2017, opioid addiction was responsible for more than 47,000 deaths in the U.S. Opioid addiction has been declared a public health emergency. |
 | Poll: 71% of Americans say their overall health and wellness is good or excellentA survey assessing Americans' health-related behaviors and attitudes found 71% rate their overall health and wellness as good (54%) or excellent (17%). The Whole-Person Health Poll was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association. |
 | Algae shown to improve gastrointestinal healthA widespread, fast-growing plant called Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is famous in scientific laboratories due to its position as the world's most exhaustively studied algae. |
 | Updated guidelines issued for ER, PgR testing in breast cancer(HealthDay)—In an American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists updated guideline, published online Jan. 13 in the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Oncology, recommendations are presented for estrogen and progesterone receptor (ER/PgR) testing in breast cancer. |
 | Something far deadlier than the Wuhan virus lurks near youThere's a deadly virus spreading from state to state. It preys on the most vulnerable, striking the sick and the old without mercy. In just the past few months, it has claimed the lives of at least 39 children. |
 | Rural kids carrying handguns is 'not uncommon' and starts as early as sixth gradeRoughly one-third of young males and 1 in 10 females in rural communities have carried a handgun, reports a new University of Washington study. And, the study found, many of those rural kids started carrying as early as the sixth grade. |
 | With high fiber diets, more protein may mean more bloatingPeople who eat high fiber diets are more likely to experience bloating if their high fiber diet is protein-rich as compared to carbohydrate-rich, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. |
 | Weight loss surgery may reduce the risk of colorectal cancerWeight loss surgery may reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer by one-third, according to an analysis of all relevant published studies. The findings are published in BJS (British Journal of Surgery). |
 | Anti-cancer drug safe and effective for treating light chain (AL) amyloidosisThere's a new treatment option available for patients with AL amyloidosis: daratumumab. |
 | New study explores prevalence of drug promotions in primary care practicesAccording to a new Dartmouth study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, pharmaceutical companies' promotional access to outpatient practices that deliver primary care in the U.S. is substantial, especially in smaller practices, those outside of healthcare systems, and those without academic affiliation, possibly impacting prescribing quality and cost. |
 | Global alarm grows as China's capital reports first virus deathChina's capital on Monday recorded its first death from a deadly coronavirus as it struggles to contain a rapidly spreading disease that has sparked global alarm, with countries scrambling to evacuate their citizens from the epicentre of the epidemic. |
 | Confusion as WHO corrects China virus global risk level (Update)The World Health Organization, which has sometimes been criticised for its handling of past disease outbreaks, admitted an error on Monday in its risk assessment of China's deadly virus. |
SARS lessons crucial for mounting coronavirus testThe strain of coronavirus that has killed more than 80 people in China and that has spread to several countries appears to be more contagious but less deadly than SARS, offering health authorities some clues in dealing with the latest outbreak. | |
 | AI to help monitor behaviorCould artificial intelligence improve educational and clinical decisions made by your child's teacher, or your mental-health professional or even your medical doctor? Yes, indeed, says a study by an UdeM psychoeducator and behaviour analyst published in Perspectives on Behavior Science. |
 | Most young people do not vape, and even fewer vape regularlyWhile youth vaping rates have increased in recent years, most middle and high school students don't vape or smoke and very few vape or smoke daily, finds a study led by researchers at NYU School of Global Public Health. |
 | Discovery could lead to new treatment for rare blood diseaseA cancer researcher at the University of Alberta has made a discovery that could unlock new ways to treat a rare blood disease. |
 | Tdap or Td vaccine may be used for decennial Td booster doses(HealthDay)—Either tetanus and diphtheria toxoids (Td) vaccine or tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine may be used for Td booster doses every 10 years or when indicated for tetanus prophylaxis in wound management, according to research published in the Jan. 24 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. |
 | How personality predicts seeing others as sex objectsSeveral personality traits related to psychopathy—especially being openly antagonistic—predict a tendency to view others as merely sex objects, finds a study by psychologists at Emory University. The journal Personality Disorders: Theory, Research and Treatment published the study, which the authors believe is the first to identify key personality correlates of interpersonal sexual objectification. |
 | First-of-its-kind technology lights up lung cancer cells, helps improve patient outcomesA groundbreaking tumor-highlighting technology—OTL38—enhances the visualization of lung cancer tissue, providing surgeons with a significantly better chance of finding and removing more cancer than previously possible, according to a scientific presentation at the 56th Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. |
 | An egg a day not tied to risk of heart disease: new studyThe controversy about whether eggs are good or bad for your heart health may be solved, and about one a day is fine. |
 | Study finds association between therapy time, length of stay after hip fracture surgeryThe rate of recovery and a patient's length of stay at nursing and rehabilitation facilities are associated with a patient's mobility and their ability to provide self-care when they are discharged following hip fracture surgery, according to a new study from the George Washington University (GW), published in JAMA Network Open. |
 | Unanticipated response to estrogen at the single cell levelA team led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine found that not only do individual mammalian cells in a population fail to respond synchronously to estrogen stimulation, neither do individual gene copies, known as alleles. The findings, published in the recent edition of the journal Nucleic Acids Research, also showed that neither the level of estrogen receptor nor its activation status determined asynchronous cellular responses. |
 | Blood pressure drug linked to lower risk of goutAffecting more than 7 million adults in the United States, gout is characterized by a sudden onset of pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints and caused by the formation of urate crystal in small spaces between joints that builds up when high amounts of uric acid circulate in the blood. While gout is linked to consuming some foods, including red meat, seafood, and alcohol, it is also a common complication of blood pressure management and a frequently cited reason patients don't take their medication as directed. However, few studies provide guidance for physicians selecting antihypertensive medications for patients at risk for gout. |
 | Sri Lanka confirms first case of new virus, a Chinese touristSri Lankan health authorities said Monday that the country has its first confirmed case of of a person infected with the new virus from China. |
 | A brain link to STI/HIV sexual riskData show that young adult women in the United States have high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that increase their risk of HIV. Though epidemiologic and behavioral factors for risk have been studied, we know very little about brain factors that may be linked to STI/ HIV sexual risk. |
 | China's coronavirus has not mutated in the US, says CDCUS health authorities said Monday they have sequenced the genome of the first two cases of the Chinese coronavirus reported in the country and confirmed the virus has not mutated since leaving China. |
Burden of health care costs greatest among low-income AmericansHigher income American households pay the most to finance the nation's health care system, but the burden of payments as a share of income is greatest among households with the lowest incomes, according to a new RAND Corporation study. | |
Germany urges citizens to avoid 'unnecessary trips' to virus-hit ChinaGermany urged its citizens on Monday to avoid "unnecessary trips" to China amid fears over the rapid spread of a deadly virus. | |
 | The brain may need iron for healthy cognitive developmentIron levels in brain tissue rise during development and are correlated with cognitive abilities, according to research in children and young adults recently published in JNeurosci. Future work could lead to iron supplementation as an intervention for atypical cognitive development. |
Malaysia imposes ban on Chinese tourists from WuhanMalaysia banned visitors from the Chinese city of Wuhan and its surrounding Hubei province on Monday, in a bid to contain the spread of a deadly virus. | |
China races against the clock to build virus hospitalsHundreds of workers are toiling around the clock at the site of a field hospital that China is racing to build within days to treat a rapidly growing number of patients stricken by a deadly virus. | |
 | Developing sensors for tumors and dengue feverResearchers from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) have developed a tumor biosensing chip that can help determine the optimum dosage of chemotherapy required for a cancer patient. |
 | New aspects of globular glial tauopathy could help in the design of more effective drugsTauopathies are a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the accumulation of phospho-tau—in other words tau associated to phosphate groups. Globular Glial Tauopathy, as well as Alzheimer's, are members of this large group. It is characterized by the accumulation of phospho-tau in neurons and by the formation of protein inclusions in glial cells astrocytes or oligodendrocytes. The majority of these kinds of tauopathies are spontaneous, but some of them are caused by specific mutations. |
 | Asfotase alfa in hypophosphatasia in childhood/adolescence: Survival benefit for infantsHypophosphatasia (HPP) is a rare congenital metabolic disorder. The frequency of severe courses of disease is estimated at 1:100 000: A deficiency of the enzyme phosphatase results in insufficient mineralization of the bones and thus in severe skeletal malformations. The course of disease varies greatly—the earlier the onset of the disease, the more severe are symptoms and complaints. Affected infants in whom the disease occurs before the age of 6 months often die of it and at a very early age, whereas the symptoms are sometimes less pronounced when the disease occurs later. |
 | Weight loss surgery may reduce the risk of heart failure and premature deathCompared with routine care, weight loss surgery was linked with a reduced risk of hypertension, heart failure, and early death in a study based on information from a primary care database in the UK. The findings are published in BJS (British Journal of Surgery). |
 | First human trial of monoclonal antibody to prevent malaria opensA Phase 1 clinical trial testing the safety and effectiveness of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against malaria has begun enrolling healthy adult volunteers at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The trial, sponsored by NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is the first to test mAb CIS43LS in humans. It aims to enroll up to 73 volunteers aged 18 through 50 years old who have never had malaria. After receiving mAb CIS43LS, most of the volunteers will be exposed to malaria parasite-carrying mosquitoes under carefully controlled conditions at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda to assess the ability of the mAb to confer protection from malaria infection. |
Doctors and immunologists implement a new approach for melanoma treatmentWorldwide, the incidence rate of skin cancer, like other types of cancer, is increasing. People in Europe and the Nordic countries are, compared to other areas of the world, at a higher risk of developing skin cancer due to their predominantly light and sun-sensitive skin type. The number of new cases of cancer in Estonia and Nordic countries has reached the same level as in sunny Australia, New Zealand and Florida. The increasing trend among Estonians to travel to southern countries is also likely to play a role in this. | |
 | The virome of HPV-positive tonsil squamous cell carcinoma and neck metastasisThe cover for issue 3 of Oncotarget features Figure 3, "Hierarchical clustering of tonsil squamous cell carcinoma cohorts based on viral signature detection pattern with associated pathological features (perineural invasion (PNI), lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and tumor stage (T stage))," by Carey, et al. |
 | WVU project sets sights on preventing blindness in diabetic patientsWhen people think about the management of diabetes, A1C (hemoglobin) tests and foot exams usually come to mind. Often overlooked is the recommended retinal eye exam. This eye exam is crucial because many West Virginians with diabetes are at risk for blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy. |
Biology news
 | Earth's most biodiverse ecosystems face a perfect stormA combination of climate change, extreme weather and pressure from local human activity is causing a collapse in global biodiversity and ecosystems across the tropics, new research shows. |
 | Study connects marine heat wave with spike in whale entanglementsClimate change is increasing the frequency and severity of marine heat waves—warm water anomalies that disrupt marine ecosystems—and this is creating new challenges for fisheries management and ocean conservation. A new study shows how the record-breaking marine heat wave of 2014 to 2016 caused changes along the U.S. West Coast that led to an unprecedented spike in the numbers of whales that became entangled in fishing gear. |
 | New portable tool analyzes microbes in the environmentImagine a device that could swiftly analyze microbes in oceans and other aquatic environments, revealing the health of these organisms—too tiny to be seen by the naked eye—and their response to threats to their ecosystems. |
 | Research suggests benefits of conservation efforts may not yet be fully visibleThe time it takes for species to respond to conservation measures—known as an 'ecological time lag' - could be partly masking any real progress that is being made, experts have warned. |
 | Revenge of the albatross: seabirds expose illicit fishingFor the magnificent but maligned albatross, it was time for a little payback after centuries of insult and injury. |
 | Kiss and run: How cells sort and recycle their componentsWhat can be reused and what can be disposed of? Cells also face this tricky task. Researchers from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel have now discovered a cellular machine, called FERARI, that sorts out usable proteins for recycling. In Nature Cell Biology, they explain how FERARI works and why it is so special. |
 | 'Profound' evolution: Wasps learn to recognize facesOne wasp species has evolved the ability to recognize individual faces among their peers—something that most other insects cannot do—signaling an evolution in how they have learned to work together. |
 | Genetic marking discovery improves fruit quality, bolsters climate defensesTransferring genetic markers in plant breeding is a challenge, but a team of grapevine breeders and scientists at Cornell University have come up with a powerful new method that improves fruit quality and acts as a key defense against pests and a changing climate. |
 | Getting to the root of plant survivalWhen facing a volatile climate, nature searches for a way to survive. For plants, that often means spreading new roots deeper and wider in search of water, particularly in times of drought. While scientists have recognized the process of root emergence for decades, how intercellular communication may drive this phenomenon was previously unknown. |
 | Prescribed fires help native plants find mates, reproduce and flourish: studyFor a prairie plant, a fiery love life isn't just fun—it's essential. |
 | Finely tuned nervous systems allowed birds and mammals to adopt smoother stridesSince the 1900s, neuroscientists have known that the peripheral nervous systems of tetrapods (four-footed animals) vary greatly, but how these differences affect the way that animals walk, run, or move has not been well understood. Now, a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology on January 27, authored by a New York Institute of Technology anatomy professor, suggests that neuromuscular adaptations in mammals and birds may have allowed them to become more nimble than reptiles and amphibians. |
 | If it's below 40 degrees in South Florida, the forecast calls for falling iguanasAs temperatures were dipping this week, the National Weather Service issued freeze warnings for much of Florida and Georgia, adding a warning in South Florida for "falling iguanas." University of Florida wildlife ecologist Frank Mazzotti explains the physiology of cold iguanas and why many people in Florida aren't shedding tears for the iguana-cicles lying around the region. |
 | Fungal decisions can affect climateWhen we think of climate change, we tend to think about greenhouse gases, fossil fuels and pollution. Most of us don't think about fungi. |
 | 'Net' is closing in on more viable biological control options for fall armyworm menaceThe 'net' is closing in on more viable biological control agents to fight the scourge of the fall armyworm (FAW) pest which is already wreaking havoc in most African countries as well as more than a dozen Asian countries including China and India. |
 | 19th-century bee cells in a Panamanian cathedral shed light on human impact on ecosystemsDespite being "neotropical-forest-loving creatures," some orchid bees are known to tolerate habitats disturbed by human activity. However, little did the research team of Paola Galgani-Barraza (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) expect to find as many as 120 clusters of nearly two-centuries-old orchid bee nests built on the altarpiece of the Basilica Cathedral in Casco Viejo (Panamá). Their findings are published in the open-access Journal of Hymenoptera Research. |
 | Unique centromere type discovered in the European dodderWhenever the European dodder, Cuscuta europaea, is under scientific scrutiny, it usually is due to its lack of chloroplasts and its concomitant parasitic lifestyle. However, since the beginning of this year its chromosomes became the new centre of attention, when researchers discovered a new type of centromere inherent to C. europaea. |
 | Wild tomatoes resist devastating bacterial cankerMany New York tomato growers are familiar with the scourge of bacterial canker—the wilted leaves and blistered fruit that can spoil an entire season's planting. For those whose livelihoods depend on tomatoes, this pathogen—Clavibacter michiganensis—is economically devastating. |
 | Recreational fishers catching more sharks and raysRecreational fishers are increasingly targeting sharks and rays, a situation that is causing concern among researchers. |
 | Kellogg pledges to phase out glyphosate in oats, wheat by 2025US cereal giant Kellogg has set a goal of phasing out the controversial weedkiller glyphosate from its oat and wheat supply chain by 2025, the company confirmed Monday. |
 | New bacteriophage fully characterized and sequencedResearchers have identified a new bacteriophage that can infect and destroy bacteria in the genus Pantoea, for which few bacteriophage have been identified and characterized. Details of the isolation, characterization, and full genome sequencing of this new bacteriophage are published in the new Genome Introduction section of PHAGE: Therapy, Applications, and Research. |
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