Science X Newsletter Tuesday, Jan 27

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Popper's experiment realized again—but what does it mean?

- Chemists use high speed camera to fully explain high school explosion demonstration

- Climatic history study suggests pre-Columbian Mesoamerican society's demise was more complex than just weather

- Quantum dots combined with antibodies as a method for studying cells in their native environment

- A challenge to expedite Genervon's new ASL drug

- Stomach acid-powered micromotors get their first test in a living animal

- Tracking DNA helps scientists trace origins of genetic errors

- Using stem cells to grow new hair

- Supercomputing the evolution of a model flower

- Researchers identify natural plant compounds that work against insects

- The world's oldest known snake fossils: Rolling back the clock by nearly 70 million years

- New technology makes creating ultrashort infrared laser pulses easy and cheap

- Research into brain control of liver lipid production could cause break in obesity, diabetes treatment

- Researchers tune friction in ionic solids at the nanoscale

- Stellar astronomers answer question posed by citizen scientists: 'What are yellowballs?'

Nanotechnology news

	Quantum dots combined with antibodies as a method for studying cells in their native environment (Phys.org)—To understand cell function, we need to be able to study them in their native environment, in vivo. While there are many techniques for studying cells in vitro, or in the laboratory setting, in vivo studies are much more difficult. A new study by a team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School used a unique quantum dot-antibody conjugate to facilitate in vivo studies of bone marrow stem cells in mice. This study was reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
'Bulletproof' battery: Kevlar membrane for safer, thinner lithium rechargeables New battery technology from the University of Michigan should be able to prevent the kind of fires that grounded Boeing 787 Dreamliners in 2013.
	Stomach acid-powered micromotors get their first test in a living animal Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have shown that a micromotor fueled by stomach acid can take a bubble-powered ride inside a mouse. These tiny motors, each about one-fifth the width of a human hair, may someday offer a safer and more efficient way to deliver drugs or diagnose tumors.
	Researchers tune friction in ionic solids at the nanoscale Friction impacts motion, hence the need to control friction forces. Currently, this is accomplished by mechanistic means or lubrication, but experiments conducted by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have uncovered a way of controlling friction on ionic surfaces at the nanoscale using electrical stimulation and ambient water vapor.
	Carbon nanoballs can greatly contribute to sustainable energy supply Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have discovered that the insulation plastic used in high-voltage cables can withstand a 26 per cent higher voltage if nanometer-sized carbon balls are added. This could result in enormous efficiency gains in the power grids of the future, which are needed to achieve a sustainable energy system.
	Nanoparticles that deliver oligonucleotide drugs into cells described Therapeutic oligonucleotide analogs represent a new and promising family of drugs that act on nucleic acid targets such as RNA or DNA; however, their effectiveness has been limited due to difficulty crossing the cell membrane. A new delivery approach based on cell-penetrating peptide nanoparticles can efficiently transport charge-neutral oligonucleotide analogs into cells, as reported in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics.

Physics news

	Popper's experiment realized again—but what does it mean? (Phys.org)—Like Einstein, the philosopher Karl Popper was a realist who was deeply bothered by some of the odd implications of quantum mechanics. Both Popper and Einstein disliked the idea in Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, for instance, that precisely measuring one property of a particle means that the particle's conjugate property is completely undetermined. This idea undermines the basic principle of common-sense realism: that every particle's properties must have precise pre-existing values, which do not depend on being measured.
	Broadest set of results to date about the properties of the Higgs boson With the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) preparing to restart in a few months, data from its first run has already been bearing fruit.
	New pathway to valleytronics A potential avenue to quantum computing currently generating quite the buzz in the high-tech industry is "valleytronics," in which information is coded based on the wavelike motion of electrons moving through certain two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors. Now, a promising new pathway to valleytronic technology has been uncovered by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).
	New technology makes creating ultrashort infrared laser pulses easy and cheap In a marathon, everyone starts at roughly the same place at roughly the same time. But the faster runners will gradually increase their lead, and in the end, the distribution of runners on the street will be very broad. Something similar happens to a pulse of light sent through a medium. The pulse is a combination of different colours (or different wavelengths), and when they are sent through a medium like glass, they travel at slightly different speeds. This leads to a dispersion effect: the pulse becomes longer and longer.

Earth news

	Climatic history study suggests pre-Columbian Mesoamerican society's demise was more complex than just weather (Phys.org)—A team of researchers with members from Mexico, the U.S. and Germany has found that the demise of the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican society centered around a city known as Cantona, was likely due to a combination of weather and politics. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team describes their study where they compared lake sediments with archeological evidence to provide a clearer picture of life in the area back when the city was still active and what factors led to both its rise and fall.
	Scientist discusses three-year mission to study how soil, water, and carbon interact Dara Entekhabi, an MIT professor of civil and environmental engineering and of earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences, is the science team leader of NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite, scheduled to be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Jan. 29. The satellite will provide measurements of the moisture in the top 2 inches of the soil, everywhere on Earth, over the course of its planned three-year mission, as well as specifying whether that water is liquid or frozen. Entekhabi discussed what he hopes this mission will be able to accomplish.
	Satellites for peat's sake Satellites can help us to safeguard nature's richest carbon storehouses – peatlands.
	SMAP will track a tiny cog that keeps cycles spinning When you open the back of a fine watch, you see layer upon layer of spinning wheels linked by interlocking cogs, screws and wires. Some of the cogs are so tiny they're barely visible. Size doesn't matter—what's important is that the cogs fit together well so the wheels keep turning smoothly.
	On the right track for tropical clouds Think of a tropical storm about the size of Alaska. Large and lumbering, the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) affects weather patterns in every corner of the world. Unlike its well-known cousin El Niño, the MJO is both variable and unpredictable, earning the title of the largest and least understood element in the tropical atmosphere. However, scientists at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and collaborators at the Indian Institute of Technology recently discovered what forces cause the MJO to begin and keep moving. Understanding the MJO could allow accurate weather forecasts beyond 10 days, enabling better prediction of severe storms.
The burning issue of the world's vulnerable carbon sinks Changing climate conditions and increasing occurrences of wildfires may leave globally important carbon stocks defenceless, new research shows.
Carbon accumulation by Southeastern forests may slow Carbon accumulation levels in the Southeastern U.S. may be slowing due to forest dynamics and land use changes, according to findings of U.S. Forest Service researchers published in the journal Scientific Reports, Friday.
	Where did the snow go? Blizzard was a miss, but not a bust In the wild world of winter weather, location is everything, which New York and Massachusetts learned too well Tuesday.
	Obama floats offering first-ever drilling lease in Atlantic The Obama administration floated a plan Tuesday that for the first time would open up a broad swath of the Atlantic Coast to drilling, even as it moved to restrict drilling indefinitely in environmentally-sensitive areas off Alaska.
	NASA and NOAA's nighttime and daytime views of the blizzard of 2015 NASA and NOAA have provided night-time and daytime views of the Blizzard of 2015 from the Suomi NPP and the GOES-East satellites.
	No plan B on Rio sailing as Brazil chases pollution target Rio Olympics organizers say sailing and windsurfing events will not be switched from Guanabara Bay, a picturesque vista marred by pollution, despite apparent disagreement on the extent to which the venue can be cleaned up in time.
Study of new perspective on water management Water management should focus more on how robust different areas are in terms of coping with floods and drought. A robust system means that we can deal better with extreme events. High river discharges and long periods of drought will occur more frequently as climate change continues and inflicts increasing levels of damage. As well as taking action to prevent flooding and water shortages, then, we should be focusing much more on preventing irreversible damage. This new perspective provides inspiration for a different approach.
	NASA spots heavy rainfall in Tropical Cyclone Diamondra The eighth tropical cyclone of the Southern Indian Ocean season has formed far from land, and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite saw some heavy rain east of the storm's center.

Astronomy & Space news

	Ancient star system reveals Earth-sized planets forming near start of universe A Sun-like star with orbiting planets, dating back to the dawn of the Galaxy, has been discovered by an international team of astronomers.
	Earth's moon may not be critical to life The Moon has long been viewed as a crucial component in creating an environment suitable for the evolution of complex life on Earth, but a number of scientific results in recent years have shown that perhaps our planet doesn't need the Moon as much as we have thought.
	Researchers find new relationship involving black holes in galaxies with small bulges Research at Swinburne University of Technology has shown that it is possible to predict the masses of black holes in galaxies for which it was previously thought not possible.
	Big asteroid that skimmed Earth has its own moon, NASA says An unusually large asteroid that just skimmed by Earth had its own moon, NASA said Tuesday as the US space agency released its first radar images of the flyby.
	Stellar astronomers answer question posed by citizen scientists: 'What are yellowballs?' Some four years ago, a citizen scientist helping the Milky Way Project study Spitzer Space Telescope images for the tell-tale bubble patterns of star formation noticed something else.
	Dawn spacecraft captures best-ever view of dwarf planet NASA's Dawn spacecraft has returned the sharpest images ever seen of the dwarf planet Ceres. The images were taken 147,000 miles (237,000 kilometers) from Ceres on Jan. 25, and represent a new milestone for a spacecraft that soon will become the first human-made probe to visit a dwarf planet.
Four rockets launched into northern lights to study turbulence Four NASA soundings rockets were launched within a half hour into the northern lights in an effort to better understand and visualize turbulent air currents in the upper atmosphere.
	Are asteroids the future of planetary science? I don't think I ever learned one of those little rhymes – My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas – to memorize the order of the planets, but if I had, it would've painted for me a minimalist picture of the solar system. (Side question: what is my Very Educated Mother serving now that we only have Dwarf Pizzas?) After all, much of the most exciting work in planetary science today happens not at the planets, but around them.
	Bubbles from the galactic center: A key to understanding dark matter and our galaxy's past? Compared to other galaxies, the Milky Way is a peaceful place. But it hasn't always been so sleepy. In 2010, a team of scientists working at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics discovered a pair of "Fermi bubbles" extending tens of thousands of light-years above and below the Milky Way's disk. These structures are enormous balloons of radiation emanating from the center of our galaxy. They hint at a powerful event that took place millions of years ago, likely when the black hole at the center of our galaxy feasted on an enormous amount of gas and dust - perhaps several hundreds or even thousands of times the mass of the sun.
	Meteosat-7 becomes EUMETSAT's longest-serving operational satellite On 24 January 2015, Meteosat-7 becomes the longest-serving operational satellite in EUMETSAT history, clocking up 17 years of monitoring the weather from space.
	Image: Striking lightning from space Lightning illuminates the area it strikes on Earth but the flash can be seen from space, too. This image was taken from 400 km above Earth in 2012 by an astronaut on the International Space Station travelling at 28 800 km/h.

Technology news

	High-end 'upstream' Linux laptop plans to ship in April A unique laptop wastes no time in promoting its worth in its title, the Purism Librem 15. Its team maintain that this is "the first high-end laptop in the world that ships without mystery software in the kernel, operating system, or any software applications." The laptop carries appeal for those who are frustrated over paying for a machine with an OS carrying "suspect proprietary software," without the user knowing what that software does. The company says the value of going free/libre and open source is for an important reason: "unless every aspect of your kernel, operating system, and software applications are free/libre and open source, there is no way to know that your computer is truly working in your best interest."
	Twitter woos users with group chat and video features Twitter on Tuesday began rolling out new group chat and video features as it worked to ramp up use of the one-to-many messaging service.
	Facebook: Internal glitch caused hour-long global outage (Update) Facebook said it suffered a self-inflicted outage lasting an hour on Tuesday that made its site inaccessible to users worldwide.
New search engine lets users look for relevant results faster Researchers at the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology HIIT have developed a new search engine that outperforms current ones, and helps people to do searches more efficiently.
	Obama sees need to move on drone rules now (Update) President Barack Obama says the wayward quadcopter that crashed on the White House grounds—flown by an off-duty intelligence employee—shows that the U.S. must take steps to ensure commercial and consumer drones are used safely.
	Computerised vehicles are vulnerable to hacking and theft Theft of vehicles is about as old as the notion of transport – from horse thieves to carjackers. No longer merely putting a brick through a window, vehicle thieves have continually adapted to new technology, as demonstrated by a new method to steal a car without the need to be anywhere near it.
	New gadgets and gimmicks to keep us watching sport live on TV Australia's love of sport appears to be more from in front of a TV screen than actually attending any event live, and that could be on the increase given some of the new technology heading our way.
	Research applications of unmanned aerial vehicles Mississippi State University researchers are preparing for the day when unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, can be used commercially in agriculture.
	Pilotless aircraft will play critical roles in precision agriculture Comparing an unmanned aerial vehicle to a magnetic resonance imaging machine may seem odd, but that is how the director of the Mississippi State University Geosystems Research Institute sees it.
	Transmitting wireless data on higher frequencies Everything we do that requires a wireless connection uses the radio spectrum. We're able to harness radio waves to listen to music in the car or stream Netflix from the 4G network on our smartphones. Each application is assigned its own frequency within the spectrum. The problem is that space is limited and our demand is only increasing. But what if we weren't bound by this crowded spectrum?
	Messaging app hides pictures in plain site on Facebook Snoop-thwarting messaging application Wickr on Tuesday began letting Apple mobile gadget users hide pictures in plain site on their Facebook pages.
Using 3-D printing, MakerBot and Feinstein Institute repair tracheal damage Investigators at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have made a medical breakthrough using 3D printing on a MakerBot Replicator 2X Experimental 3D Printer to create cartilage designed for tracheal repair or replacement. The results were reported today at the 51st Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons in San Diego, in a presentation by Todd Goldstein, an investigator at the Feinstein Institute, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System. This is a first for medical research where regular MakerBot PLA Filament was used to 3D print a custom tracheal scaffolding, which was combined with living cells to create a tracheal segment.
Tech sector hot, but no bubble: analyst study Dealmaking in the tech sector jumped last year to the highest levels since the dot-com boom, a consultancy report said Tuesday.
NREL reports examine economic trade-offs of owning versus leasing a solar photovoltaic system Two new reports from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) examine the economic options customers face when deciding how to finance commercial or residential solar energy systems. NREL analysts found that businesses that use low-cost financing to purchase a photovoltaic (PV) system and homeowners who use solar-specific loans can save up to 30 percent compared with consumers who lease a PV system through a conventional third-party owner.
	What! Facebook's down? No storm selfies during brief outage No storm selfies, hookups, status updates. With Facebook and Instagram down for nearly an hour overnight, what were legions of users to do?
Snapchat to show content from big media brands Popular disappearing-message app Snapchat is introducing content from media companies such as Vice, CNN and People to its service as it works to broaden its audience.
	Microsoft tanks 10 percent, hit by four downgrades on earnings Microsoft shares plunged more than 10 percent Tuesday after the software giant reported quarterly revenue that beat expectations but warned that a weak PC market and a strong dollar will curb growth this year. Many analysts slashed price targets on the stock and some cut their Buy ratings to Hold.
	US watchdog urges safeguards for 'Internet of Things' A US government consumer watchdog agency called Tuesday for better privacy and security to be built into the myriad of connected devices, for fitness, smart homes or other uses.
	Google super-fast US Internet service spreads Google's super-fast Internet service—up to 100 times quicker than basic broadband—is heading for four more US metropolitan areas as the technology titan ramps up pressure on cable service giants.
	Yahoo announces tax-free spinoff of Alibaba stake Yahoo announced plans Tuesday for a tax-free spinoff of its stake in Chinese Internet giant Alibaba, splitting off the valuable holdings from its core operations.
	Big costs drag AT&T to 4Q loss, but revenue up 4 percent AT&T booked a nearly $4 billion loss for the fourth quarter because of a slew of one-time expenses that included a loss on benefit plans, but its revenue grew 4 percent to top expectations.
Google wireless service could disrupt carriers Internet users from San Jose to Kansas City have been clamoring for Google to lay down its long-awaited fiber-optic network to compete with Comcast and AT&T in speeding up Web and television access. Now the Silicon Valley search giant plans to do battle with the telecommunications industry on another front: wireless phone service.
	Record iPhone sales drive blowout quarter for Apple Apple had another blowout quarter thanks to its new plus-sized iPhones, which helped the company smash sales records for the holiday season.
	Aircraft with a parallel hybrid engine tested in UK More research is needed before commercial airliners will be powered entirely with electric motors but tests with hybrid designs are turning up interesting results. Researchers from the University of Cambridge in association with Boeing have tested an aircraft with a parallel hybrid engine in the UK, the first ever to be able to recharge its batteries in flight. The Cambridge report said that the test flights took place at the Sywell Aerodrome near Northampton. The tests involved hops along the runway and evaluation flights at a height over 1,500 feet.
	Cubans look to US detente for better Web access Alfredo Castellano travels half an hour to Havana twice a week to write emails in a computer center with a Fidel Castro poster outside and aging machines inside.
Mineral scarcity and environmental technologies seen as opportunities As mineral resources are dwindling, it is becoming increasingly important to know how even the tiniest amounts of minerals can be recovered from waste - or how minerals can be substituted for other materials in industrial use. The VTT Mineral Economy innovation programme develops new technologies for, for instance, the mining industry.
China says 'harmful info' must be managed after VPNs blocked A Chinese official says that "harmful information" must be managed following reports that China is blocking VPN services that let users access censored online content.
NREL releases the 2013 Renewable Energy Data Book, detailing increases in installed capacity The newly released 2013 Renewable Energy Data Book illustrates United States and global energy statistics, including renewable electricity generation, renewable energy development, clean energy investments, and technology-specific data and trends. The Data Book is produced and published annually by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on behalf of the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
	New study will help researchers change face of military training The Office of Naval Research (ONR) this week launched a study that could lead to breakthroughs in creating the next-generation of avatars, robots and other human surrogates for military training.

Chemistry news

	Chemists use high speed camera to fully explain high school explosion demonstration (Phys.org)—A team of researchers with members from Czech Republic and Germany has found that the general explanation given to high school chemistry students regarding the reasons for an explosion when alkali metals are dropped into water, is insufficient. In their paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the group explains how they filmed such reactions and discovered what really happens.
	Light-induced generation of gas breaks open microcapsules and releases fragrances Fragrances that are sensitive or need to be released with a time delay can be enclosed in microcapsules. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, Swiss scientists have now introduced a new type of microcapsule that can be ruptured by its ingredients when irradiated with light.
	Micropore labyrinths as crucibles of life Water-filled micropores in hot rock may have acted as the nurseries in which life on Earth began. An LMU team has now shown that temperature gradients in pore systems promote the cyclical replication and emergence of nucleic acids.
Design and enantioselective synthesis of new Cashmeran odorants When a perfume is said to include Cashmere Wood, it means the typical smell of the odorant Cashmeran. As described in the journal Angewandte Chemie, scientists from Switzerland and Germany have introduced new members in this exclusive and precious family of scents, by using a novel synthetic strategy to synthesize enantiomerically pure products. Olfactory analysis of these compounds provided insight into the structural requirements for Cashmeran odorants.

Biology news

	Evolution of marine mammals to water life converges in some genes When marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, manatees and walruses moved from land to water, a series of physical abilities —– limbs adapted for swimming, less dense bones that make them more buoyant and a large store of oxygen relative to their body size – made it possible. Yet these animals made the transition from land to water millions of years apart.
	Bioengineers develop tool for reprogramming genetic code Biology relies upon the precise activation of specific genes to work properly. If that sequence gets out of whack, or one gene turns on only partially, the outcome can often lead to a disease.
Tracking DNA helps scientists trace origins of genetic errors Scientists have shed light on how naturally occurring mutations can be introduced into our DNA.
Researchers identify natural plant compounds that work against insects Each year millions of deaths result from diseases transmitted by insects. Insects are also responsible for major economic losses, worth billions of dollars annually, by damaging crops and stored agricultural products.
	Supercomputing the evolution of a model flower Scientists using supercomputers found genes sensitive to cold and drought in a plant help it survive climate change. These findings increase basic understanding of plant adaptation and can be applied to improve crops.
	China officials dine on endangered salamander: reports Chinese officials feasted on a critically endangered giant salamander and turned violent when journalists photographed the luxury banquet, according to media reports Tuesday on the event which appeared to flout Beijing's austerity campaign.
	Bison not cattle's top competitor for range forage, ecologists say If bison lumber through a patch of rangeland, you'll know it, says Utah State University ecologist Dustin Ranglack. A mature bull, after all, often weighs a ton.
	Newly discovered caterpillar makes its cocoon out of flakes of dried resin A new caterpillar has been discovered with the unique ability to make its cocoon out of flakes of dried resin - a sticky substance exuded from trees that hardens over time.
Shark populations suffer from undue reputation Sharks have been making news yet again, after a spate of sightings in Newcastle, New South Wales, prompted days of beach closures and reports of oceangoers allegedly being "stalked" by "monster" specimens.
Researchers describe structure of the largest protein complex in the respiratory chain Mitochondria produce ATP, the energy currency of the body. The driver for this process is an electrochemical membrane potential, which is created by a series of proton pumps. These complex, macromolecular machines are collectively known as the respiratory chain. The structure of the largest protein complex in the respiratory chain, that of mitochondrial complex I, has been elucidated by scientists from the Frankfurt "Macromolecular Complexes" cluster of excellence, working together with the University of Freiburg, by X-ray diffraction analysis.
	Research finds orchid mantis doesn't mimic an orchid after all In his 1879 account of wanderings in the Orient, the travel writer James Hingston describes how, in West Java, he was treated to a bizarre experience:
Study on insect aggression and neurochemistry College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Professor and Chair of Biology John Swallow and his lab groups are applying information about neurotransmitters to illustrate the power of using insect models to study aggression. Swallow and his team were invited to contribute to December's special-themed issue of the journal Current Zoology entitled, "Ecological and Evolutionary Connections between Morphology, Behavior and Physiology."
Urban sprawl promotes worm exchange across species New research has shed light on the complex exchange of parasitic worms between wildlife, rats and humans.
	Turtle embryos genetically wired for hotter summers Endangered loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) are able to protect themselves against environmental temperature fluctuations while still in the egg, a UWA researcher has discovered.
	Researchers study Arctic nesting sites of Atlantic brant geese Last summer, University of Delaware graduate student Clark Nissley and a team of three researchers studied the Atlantic brant goose in an area of the Arctic so remote that the only way to reach their camp was to fly in on a De Havilland Canada Twin Otter bush plane that had skis affixed to the bottom so that it could land on a sea ice runway.
	Breakthrough will help increase food security with better, more robust wheat varieties After years of research efforts worldwide, researchers have finally identified a draft sequence of the bread wheat genome - an accomplishment that will lead to more robust and better wheat varieties in the years ahead.
Introgression in the pig genome leads to their altitude adaptation Scientists from Jiangxi Agricultural University, BGI and University of California published their latest research on genetic mechanism of pig altitude-adaptations in Nature Genetics online. Their research underlined the importance of introgression for the first time as a potential reason for pig adaptations to cold and hot environments, which provided novel insights into the evolutionary history of pigs and the role of introgression in adaptation more generally.
	Monarch butterflies rebound in Mexico, numbers still low The number of Monarch butterflies that reached wintering grounds in Mexico has rebounded 69 percent from last year's lowest-on-record levels, but their numbers remain very low, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
	Fruit flies use olfactory cues to detect healthy antioxidants in their food Antioxidants are natural food ingredients that protect cells from harmful influences. Their main task is to neutralize so-called "free radicals" which are produced in the process of oxidation and which are responsible for cell degeneration. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, and the University of Lund, Sweden, now show that vinegar flies are able to detect these protective substances by using olfactory cues. Odors that are exclusively derived from antioxidants attract flies, increase feeding behavior and trigger oviposition in female flies.
From Tar Sands to Ring of Fire—forewarning changes to Canada's watersheds The Tar Sands in Alberta, potential development in the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, declining timber harvest and farming - human activity is transforming Canada's landscape, yet many of the country's aquatic resources remain unprotected, according to research by ecologists at the University of Toronto.
	Climate change redistributes fish species at high latitudes For millions of years, large parts of the marine biotas of the North Atlantic and North Pacific have been separated by harsh climate conditions in the Arctic. A new study published in Nature Climate Change underlines that climate change has begun to weaken this natural barrier promoting the interchange of fishes between the two oceans along with many ecological and economic consequences.
	Satellites, mathematics and drones take down poachers in Africa In 2014, 1,215 rhinos were killed in South Africa for their horns, which end up in Asia as supposed cures for a variety of ailments. An estimated 30,000 African elephants were slaughtered last year for their tusks to be turned into trinkets. The world loses three rhinos a day and an elephant every 15 minutes. Simply stated, this is an unsustainable situation.
	Fish catch break on world stage at global conference Inland fishing - the powerful yet quieter sister to the large, salty marine aquaculture powerhouse - has gained what experts say is a much-needed visibility boost this as the first partnership between Michigan State University (MSU) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations goes on in Rome.
	Ivory in Uganda seizure likely stolen from impound vault A huge haul of elephant ivory seized in Uganda probably includes tusks stolen from government strongrooms last year, wildlife officials said Tuesday.

Medicine & Health news

	A challenge to expedite Genervon's new ASL drug (Medical Xpress)—The Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) went viral on social media last summer. Over 1.2 million videos were posted on Facebook alone. The difficulty in treating a disease like ALS is highlighted by the fact that the only drug available for it, Riluzole, extends life expectancy by just a couple months. A new challenge was just issued to the FDA to make another drug available to sufferers of ALS. Specifically, a petition on Change.org by Nicholas Grillo for access to Genervon's GM6 drug has just acheived a critical mass of over 100,000 signatures.
	Researchers pinpoint two genes that trigger severest form of ovarian cancer In the battle against ovarian cancer, UNC School of Medicine researchers have created the first mouse model of the worst form of the disease and found a potential route to better treatments and much-needed diagnostic screens.
Scientists find drug candidates can block cell-death pathway associated with Parkinson's In a pair of related studies, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have shown their drug candidates can target biological pathways involved in the destruction of brain cells in Parkinson's disease.
	Concentrating on word sounds helps reading instruction and intervention A neuroimaging study by a University at Buffalo psychologist suggests that phonics, a method of learning to read using knowledge of word sounds, shouldn't be overlooked in favor of a whole-language technique that focuses on visually memorizing word patterns, a finding that could help improve treatment and diagnosis of common reading disorders such as dyslexia.
	Human stem cells could one day be regulated to replace aged, damaged, and missing tissues When a salamander loses a tail, it grows a new one. What's the difference, MIT biologist Peter Reddien PhD '02 wondered, between a wound that severs a salamander's tail and one that severs a human spinal cord?
	Using stem cells to grow new hair In a new study from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), researchers have used human pluripotent stem cells to generate new hair. The study represents the first step toward the development of a cell-based treatment for people with hair loss. In the United States alone, more than 40 million men and 21 million women are affected by hair loss. The research was published online in PLOS One yesterday.
	Research into brain control of liver lipid production could cause break in obesity, diabetes treatment Ways of keeping the heart healthy has widened, with the discovery that the brain can help fight off hardening of the arteries.
Death rates from lung cancer will overtake those for breast cancer in 2015 among EU women Death rates from lung cancer will exceed those for breast cancer for the first time among European women in 2015, according to the latest predictions published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology today.
Smoking may increase risks for patients being treated for prostate cancer Among patients with prostate cancer, those who smoke have increased risks of experiencing side effects from treatment and of developing future cancer recurrences, or even dying from prostate cancer. The findings, which are published in BJU International, suggest that smoking may negatively affect the health outcomes of patients with prostate cancer and may contribute to complications related to their care.
Generic form of nexium approved (HealthDay)—The first generic version of the heartburn drug Nexium (esomeprazole) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Analysis rejects linkage between testosterone therapy and cardiovascular risk Fears of a link between testosterone replacement therapy and cardiovascular risk are misplaced, according to a review published in this month's Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The therapy has come under widespread scrutiny in recent months, including by a federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel convened last fall.
	MRIs link impaired brain activity to inability to regulate emotions in autism Tantrums, irritability, self-injury, depression, anxiety. These symptoms are associated with autism, but they're not considered core symptoms of the disorder. Researchers from the UNC School of Medicine are challenging this assertion. They have used functional MRI to show that - when it comes to the ability to regulate emotions - brain activity in autistic people is significantly different than brain activity in people without autism.
Measles outbreak that began at Disneyland grows to 87 cases A measles outbreak that originated at Disneyland has grown to 87 cases.
Mexico City swaps squats for subway rides There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but the overweight in Mexico City will be glad to hear there is such a thing as a free subway ride.
Age concern in largest ever study of heroin user deaths Older users of opioids such as heroin are 27 times more likely to become a victim of homicide than the general population, a University of Manchester study of almost 200,000 users has found.
New algorithm will allow better heart surgery A new technique to help surgeons find the exact location of heart defects could save lives, help them to treat patients more effectively and save health service cash.
Metabolic process of the liver implicated in the spread of colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer is a cancer on the move: about 50 percent of patients with the disease see their cancer spread, typically to the liver. By identifying genes that become activated in cancer cells that successfully travel—metastasize—to the liver, researchers at Rockefeller have implicated metabolic processes within the liver as a possible means by which starving transient cancer cells can go on to form deadly new colonies. The researchers say their finding represents vulnerability in metastasizing cancer cells that could be exploited with new drugs.
How pornography influences and harms sexual behavior A new article co-authored by a Virginia Commonwealth University professor suggests that pornography has become a primary source of sexual education, and has a tangible influence on the sex lives of young adults.
	In a severe flu season, Virginia Tech researcher searches for better ways to prevent infections Linsey Marr, a professor in the Charles E. Via Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, is obsessed with flu transmission.
	Autistic subjects' facial expressions don't always mirror emotions New research by UT Dallas scientists suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorder can have very expressive faces, but the emotions conveyed can sometimes seem overly intense and unusual.
Neuroscience researchers believe in quitting smoking gradually Smoking is harmful in almost every respect. Cancer, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases are just a small part of a well-documented portfolio of serious consequences of smoking. Nicotine is what makes smoking addictive, but new Danish research suggests that smoking initially increases brain activity. However, the brain tissue quickly adapts and the effect will disappear. On the other hand, according to brain scans, the brain's oxygen uptake and blood flow decreases by up to 17% immediately after people stop smoking:
Researchers find hormone that increases the sex drive of mice Researchers at the University of Gothenburg show that mice that receive a supplement of the "appetite hormone" ghrelin increase their sexual activity. Whether the hormone has the same impact on humans is unknown, but if it does, the researchers may have found the key to future treatments for sex abuse.
	Inhibiting CDK6 prevents leukemic relapse Despite enormous progress in cancer therapy, many patients still relapse because their treatment addresses the symptoms of the disease rather than the cause, the so-called stem cells. Work in the group of Veronika Sexl at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna has given a tantalizing clue to a solution. In the current issue of Blood, the scientists report that the cell-cycle kinase CDK6 is required for activation of the stem cells responsible for causing leukemia.
Inherited gene variation helps explain drug toxicity in patients of East Asian ancestry About 10 percent of young leukemia patients of East Asian ancestry inherit a gene variation that is associated with reduced tolerance of a drug that is indispensable for curing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood cancer. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists led the study, which is being published online today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
	Tips to enjoy a lifestyle that can prevent premature aging New Year's has become synonymous with a desire to change your lifestyle – in fact, 4 in 10 individuals have been said to made resolutions to lose weight. But what about individuals who are facing physical limitations to weight loss and other barriers to healthy living?
Targeted MRI / ultrasound beats standard biopsy to detect high-risk prostate cancer Targeted biopsy using new fusion technology that combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with ultrasound is more effective than standard biopsy in detecting high-risk prostate cancer, according to a large-scale study published today in JAMA. More than 1,000 men participated in the research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) over a seven-year period.
	Brain region vulnerable to aging is larger in those with longevity gene variant People who carry a variant of a gene that is associated with longevity also have larger volumes in a front part of the brain involved in planning and decision-making, according to researchers at UC San Francisco.
Why counting calories is not all about the numbers Looking to stay healthy this year? A new regulation may help in your endeavor.
Survey indicates willingness of general population to donate tissue samples to biobank A survey of nearly 1,600 individuals found that the majority were willing to donate tissue samples and medical information to a biobank for research and that most were willing to donate using a blanket consent, according to a study in the January 27 issue of JAMA.
	Negative patient-doctor communication could worsen symptoms Doctors who unintentionally communicate to patients that they do not believe or understand them could actually make their symptoms worse, a new study suggests.
Intracranial stimulation proved efficient in the recovery of learning and memory in rats Stimulation of the hypothalamus completely reverses learning and memory deficits caused by brain lesions in rats, according to a first time discovery by a group of researchers led by the UAB. The research has also served to study the mechanisms through which this recovery occurs, suggesting that the stimulation of the hypothalamus activates several regions of the brain, especially the memory systems, which offer compensatory effects.
	Discrimination is bad for your health – and your kids too Think about the last time you left the house. Did strangers on the street acknowledge your presence with a smile or avert their glance? Chances are that the answer depended on your age, gender and, of course, your race.
Appraisal of stressful or threatening situations by the brain Researchers at the Research Center Translational Neurosciences of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany have advanced a generalized concept as the basis for future studies of mental resilience. Their new approach is based on a mechanistic theory which takes as its starting point the appraisals made by the brain in response to exposure to stressful or threatening situations. Previously social, psychological, and genetic factors were in the foreground of resilience research. The Mainz-based team has published its conclusions in the renowned journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
Researchers find potential anti-cancer use for anti-epilepsy drug Scientists at the University of York have discovered that a drug used widely to combat epilepsy has the potential to reduce the growth and spread of breast cancer.
Study finds traumatic brain injury treatment is ineffective More than 1.7 million people in the U.S. alone suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year, often resulting in permanent disabilities or death. Up to half of these patients will experience progression of bleeding inside or around the brain, the occurrence of which is associated with an increased risk of death.
Study shows salivary biomarkers predict oral feeding readiness in preterm newborns Results from a study published online in the Journal of Pediatrics hold the potential to substantially improve clinical decision-making to determine when a premature newborn is ready for oral feeding. The study describes developmental salivary biomarkers associated with feeding success in newborns, markers that could lead to development of objective assessment tools for caregivers.
Researchers gain new insights into hypothyroidism An international research team led by physician-scientists at Rush University Medical Center has gained new insights into hypothyroidism - a condition affecting about 10 million people in the U.S. - that may lead to new treatment protocols for the disease, particularly among the approximately 15 percent of patients for whom standard treatments are less effective.
Association between parental time pressure and mental health problems among children A doctor's thesis at Sahlgrenska Academy has found that children whose parents experience time pressure are more likely to have mental health problems.
Web surfing to weigh up bariatric surgery options Obese people considering weight-reducing bariatric surgery are only topped by pregnant women when it comes to how often they turn to the Internet for health advice. While most use it to read up on relevant procedures and experiences, one in every four patients actually chooses a surgeon based solely on what he or she has gleaned from, in particular, websites hosted by public hospitals and former patients. This is according to a study in Springer's journal Obesity Surgery, led by Luca Paolino of the Joseph Ducuing Hospital in Toulouse, France.
	Prostate cancer: Androgen receptor activates different genes when bound to antiandrogens The androgen receptor in prostate cancer cells can activate different sets of genes depending on whether it binds with an androgen hormone or an antiandrogen drug, according to a new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James).

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