Science X Newsletter Tuesday, Mar 3

Phys.org Newsletter for March 3, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Na-ion batteries get closer to replacing Li-ion batteries 
- Why seashells' mineral forms differently in seawater 
- New technique allows analysis of clouds around exoplanets 
- Research challenges popular theory on origin of languages 
- Giant virus revealed in 3-D using X-ray laser 
- Study shows one reason why pigeons so rarely crash 
- Simulations suggests cutting rainforests in mid and high latitudes can impact rainfall in northern hemisphere 
- The origins of polarized nervous systems 
- Plants detect bacterial endotoxin in similar process to mammals 
- Researchers evaluate mosquitoes' ability to float on water in order to potentially design aquatic robots 
- BlackBerry offers new phones but turns focus to software 
- Flower-like magnetic nanoparticles target difficult tumors 
- A new level of earthquake understanding 
- Researchers discover new material to produce clean energy 
- Far from home: Wayward cluster is both tiny and distant 

Nanotechnology news

	Tuning energy levels through surface chemistry shows promise for higher efficiency quantum dot solar cells Solar cells made out of lead sulfide quantum dots could eventually offer a cheaper, more flexible alternative to ones made using silicon, but they are currently much less efficient. However, altering the chemical composition of quantum-dot solar cells offers a way of tuning them to reach higher efficiencies, MIT physics graduate student Patrick R. Brown says.
The rub with friction: Researchers uncover new rules of friction at microscopic level Here's the rub with friction—scientists don't really know how it works. Sure, humans have been harnessing the power of friction since rubbing two sticks together to build the first fire, but the physics of friction remains largely in the dark.
	Flower-like magnetic nanoparticles target difficult tumors Thanks to the work of an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the Dartmouth Center of Nanotechnology Excellence, funded by the National Institutes of Health, the next-generation magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) may soon be treating deep-seated and difficult-to-reach tumors within the human body.
	Electrons moving along defined snake states Physicists at the University of Basel have shown for the first time that electrons in graphene can be moved along a predefined path. This movement occurs entirely without loss and could provide a basis for numerous applications in the field of electronics. The research group led by Professor Christian Schönenberger at the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the Department of Physics at the University of Basel is publishing its results together with European colleagues in the renowned scientific journal Nature Communications.

Physics news

	Giant virus revealed in 3-D using X-ray laser For the first time, researchers have produced a 3-D image revealing part of the inner structure of an intact, infectious virus, using a unique X-ray laser at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The virus, called Mimivirus, is in a curious class of "giant viruses" discovered just over a decade ago.
	Why seashells' mineral forms differently in seawater For almost a century, scientists have been puzzled by a process that is crucial to much of the life in Earth's oceans: Why does calcium carbonate, the tough material of seashells and corals, sometimes take the form of calcite, and at other times form a chemically identical form of the mineral, called aragonite, that is more soluble—and therefore more vulnerable to ocean acidification?
	Magnetic vortices in nanodisks reveal information Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) together with a colleague at the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Strasbourg have found a new way to electrically read out the orientation of magnetic vortices in nanodisks. Their method relies on measuring characteristic microwaves emanating from the vortices. The new knowledge about these signals could be used in the construction of extremely small components for novel memory technology or wireless data transmission. The results of the study appear in the current edition of the scientific journal Nature Communications.
	Watching alloys change from liquid to solid could lead to better metals If you put a camera in the ice machine and watched water turn into ice, the process would look simple. But the mechanism behind liquids turning to solids is actually quite complex, and understanding it better could improve design and production of metals. A recent investigation aboard the International Space Station contributed to that understanding.
Breakthrough in particle control creates special half-vortex rotation A breakthrough in the control of a type of particle known as the polariton has created a highly specialised form of rotation.
	Researchers discover new material to produce clean energy Researchers at the University of Houston have created a new thermoelectric material, intended to generate electric power from waste heat - from a vehicle tailpipe, for example, or an industrial smokestack - with greater efficiency and higher output power than currently available materials.
	Scientists provide new data on the nature of dark matter Recent research conducted by scientists from the University of Granada sheds light on the nature of dark matter, one of the most important mysteries in physics. As indirect evidence provided by its gravitational effects, dark matter amounts to more than 80% of the universe.
	Unified theory for skyrmion-materials Magnetic vortex structures, so-called skyrmions, could in future store and process information very efficiently. They could also be the basis for high-frequency components. For the first time, a team of physicists succeeded in characterizing the electromagnetic properties of insulating, semiconducting and conducting skyrmion-materials and developed a unified theoretical description of their behavior. This lays the foundation for future electronic components with purpose-designed properties.
	First scientific publication from data collected at NSLS-II Just weeks after the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory, achieved first light, a team of scientists at the X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XPD) beamline tested a setup that yielded data on thermoelectric materials. The work was part of the commissioning activities for the XPD beamline, a process that fine-tunes the settings of beamline equipment to ready the facility for first scientific commissioning experiments in mid-March on its way to full user operations later in the year.

Earth news

	Simulations suggests cutting rainforests in mid and high latitudes can impact rainfall in northern hemisphere (Phys.org)—A trio of researchers with the Indian Institute of Science has found, via computer simulation, that deforestation in one part of the world can impact rainfall patterns in another. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Abhishek Devaraju, Govindasamy Bala and Angshuman Modak describe the experiments they conducted with their models and what their findings may mean for real world deforestation.
	A new level of earthquake understanding As everyone who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area knows, the Earth moves under our feet. But what about the stresses that cause earthquakes? How much is known about them? Until now, our understanding of these stresses has been based on macroscopic approximations. Now, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is reporting the successful study of stress fields along the San Andreas fault at the microscopic scale, the scale at which earthquake-triggering stresses originate.
	Europe still off mark on sustainability goals: report Europe could miss several key targets for safeguarding its species, water, air and land, said a study Tuesday that warned economic recovery would add to the pressure on natural resources.
	What's beneath Hawaii's most active volcano? Step away from the villages and idyllic beaches of Hawaii, and you may think you've been transported to the moon. Walking along the lava flows of the Kilauea volcano, the landscape changes from a lush tropical paradise to one that's bleak and desolate, the ground gray and rippled with hardened lava.
	Methane oxidation fuelled by algal oxygen production Methane emissions are strongly reduced in lakes with anoxic bottom waters. But here – contrary to what has previously been assumed – methane removal is not due to archaea or anaerobic bacteria. A new study on Lake Cadagno in Canton Ticino shows that the microorganisms responsible are aerobic proteobacteria. The oxygen they require is produced in situ by photosynthetic algae.
	Banded ironstone formation theory challenges current thinking A UWA geologist has proposed a hypothesis which threatens to overturn conventional notions of the way Banded Ironstone Formations (BIF) first evolved.
	Combined Arctic ice observations show decades of loss It's no surprise that Arctic sea ice is thinning. What is new is just how long, how steadily, and how much it has declined. University of Washington researchers compiled modern and historic measurements to get a full picture of how Arctic sea ice thickness has changed.
	Pre-1950 structures suffered the most damage from August 2014 Napa quake An analysis of buildings tagged red and yellow by structural engineers after the August 2014 earthquake in Napa links pre-1950 buildings and the underlying sedimentary basin to the greatest shaking damage, according to one of six reports on the Napa quake published in the March/April issue of Seismological Research Letters (SRL).
	Is iron rain the reason why Earth and the moon are so different? New experiments show that the asteroids that slammed into Earth and the moon more than 4 billion years ago were vaporised into a mist of iron. The findings, published in Nature Geoscience, suggest that the iron mist thrown up from the high velocity impacts of these asteroids travelled fast enough to escape the moon's gravity, but stayed gravitationally stuck on more massive Earth. And these results may help explain why the chemistry of the Earth and the moon differ.
	Music festivals go cleaner, greener Every summer, tens of thousands of people across Australia revel in live outdoor music, staying for a day or pitching their tents for a weekend. When the music dies, however, what's left may be less appealing – a churned-up landscape with tonnes of food and drink packaging, a sea of discarded possessions and overflowing portable toilets.
	A study determines that the Gulf of Cadiz is an area prone to suffering from flooding and coastal damage Reasearchers at the University of Cadiz have carried out a study that establishes the atmospheric conditions responsible for the generation of extreme meteorological events in the Gulf of Cadiz, which can cause flooding and significant damage to the coastline. In the study, published in the scientific journal Climate Dynamics, a possible increase in the vulnerability of coastal areas is considered, due to variations in marine storm patterns, together with an increase in coastal occupation. This situation of risk is related to the state of the sea level which is affected by the meteorological tides, maximum wave height and effect of the waves on the coastline.
	Looted and leaking, South Sudan's oil wells pose health risk Thick black puddles and a looted, leaking ruin are all that remain of the Thar Jath oil treatment facility, once a crucial part of South Sudan's mainstay industry.
	Lightning plus volcanic ash make glass In their open-access paper for Geology, Kimberly Genareau and colleagues propose, for the first time, a mechanism for the generation of glass spherules in geologic deposits through the occurrence of volcanic lightning. The existence of fulgurites—glassy products formed in rocks and sediments struck by cloud-to-ground lightning—provide direct evidence that geologic materials can be melted via natural lightning occurrence.

Astronomy & Space news

	New technique allows analysis of clouds around exoplanets Meteorologists sometimes struggle to accurately predict the weather here on Earth, but now we can find out how cloudy it is on planets outside our solar system, thanks to researchers at MIT.
	Fierce 'superflares' from the sun zapped an infant Earth Our young sun may have routinely blasted Earth with gobs of energy more powerful than any similar bombardments recorded in human history.
	OSIRIS catches glimpse of Rosetta's shadow Several days after Rosetta's close flyby of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 14 February 2015, images taken on this day by OSIRIS, the scientific imaging system on board, have now been downlinked to Earth. With a resolution of 11 centimeters per pixel, these data from OSIRIS' Narrow Angle Camera reveal highly detailed structures on the comet's surface. Since at closest approach Sun, spacecraft and comet were almost perfectly aligned, few shadows are visible in the images. With one exception: as a side-effect of this exceptional observational geometry Rosetta's shadow on the surface can be seen surrounded by a bright halo-like region.
	Far from home: Wayward cluster is both tiny and distant Like the lost little puppy that wanders too far from home, astronomers have found an unusually small and distant group of stars that seems oddly out of place. The cluster, made of only a handful of stars, is located far away, in the Milky Way's "suburbs." It is located where astronomers have never spotted such a small cluster of stars before.
	OSIRIS-REx mission successfully completes system integration review This week marked the completion of an important step on the path to spacecraft assembly, test, and launch operations for the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer or OSIRIS-REx mission.
	Aboriginal legends an untapped record of natural history written in the stars Aboriginal legends could offer a vast untapped record of natural history, including meteorite strikes, stretching back thousands of years, according to new UNSW research.
	Kamikaze comet loses its head Like coins, most comet have both heads and tails. Occasionally, during a close passage of the Sun, a comet's head will be greatly diminished yet still retain a classic cometary outline. Rarely are we left with nothing but a tail. How eerie it looks. Like a feather plucked from some cosmic deity floating down from the sky. Welcome to C/2015 D1 SOHO, the comet that almost didn't make it.
	Why don't we search for different life? If we really want to find life on other worlds, why do we keep looking for life based on carbon and water? Why don't we look for the stuff that's really different?

Technology news

	Fingerprint tech from Qualcomm uses ultrasonic sound waves Password-less authentication to protect user data—we have heard the call into the future from tech giants before and for good reason: Users are frustrated over having to remember numerous password combinations to enter accounts; they can easily forget passwords and have to ask support services for help, and instead depend on easy to remember combinations that are also vulnerable to easy detection. Users share with vendors a concern over criminal theft of passwords and private data. Snapdragon Sense ID 3D fingerprint technology may soon be a step forward in wider use of fingerprint authentication.
	BlackBerry offers new phones but turns focus to software BlackBerry may be launching four new smartphones over the coming year, but the struggling company is staking its future on becoming a giant in software.
	Researchers evaluate mosquitoes' ability to float on water in order to potentially design aquatic robots Small semi-aqueous arthropods, such as mosquitoes and water striders, are free to go about their waterborne business thanks to their unique leg-based adaptations, which repel water and allow them to float freely on the surface.
	Fujitsu shows iris recognition system that unlocks phones In the bid to come up with authentication solutions beyond passwords, fingerprint authentication from Qualcomm is making news, and so is Fujitsu's iris recognition, yet another potential authentication tech step forward. Fujitsu announced that it has developed an iris authentication system, and they built it into a prototype smartphone, shown at the Mobile World Congress 2015, running from March 2 through March 5 in Barcelona. The biometric authentication approach uses infrared light to acquire the pattern formed by the iris—the pattern of one's iris does not change much at all after the age of two. Iris patterns are unique for each individual, much like a fingerprint. Tim Hornyak, Tokyo correspondent, IDG News Service, said the prototype being shown at the Barcelona event was the first of its kind for a smartphone, according to the company. Hornyak said it can work even if the user wears glasses or contact lenses. The prototype! , he added, had a piece of hardware weighing less than 1 gram grafted onto a regular smartphone.
	Phone firms and the quest for the 5G Holy Grail Lightning-quick downloads, driverless cars and remote surgery: telecom firms are racing to develop a new generation of "5G" mobile networks that could start to change the world in five years.
	Netflix to launch in Australia, New Zealand this month US video streaming service Netflix on Tuesday said it will launch in Australia and New Zealand this month, with access to season three of hit political drama House of Cards a key drawcard.
	Airlines move to better track planes a year after Flight 370 At 656,000 pounds fully loaded and the length of six school buses, the Boeing 777-200ER is hard to miss.
	New lower cost sensors and controls yield better energy efficiency Regulating comfort in small commercial buildings could become more efficient and less expensive thanks to an innovative low-cost wireless sensor technology being developed by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
	Road safety through snowflake imaging The technology behind the camera that revealed the intricate, imperfect beauty of snowflakes can now expose their potential danger.
Video: Researcher teams up with industry to help bring hydrogen-powered vehicles to market If Marc Secanell Gallart had his way, the streets would be filled with hydrogen-fuelled vehicles. The technology already exists, and has for some time, says the director of the University of Alberta's Energy Systems Design Laboratory. But engineers like him are now only a few years away from reducing the cost of the fuel cell enough to compete with the conventional combustion engine.
	Video: Smart assembly line robots that learn from experience working alongside humans Assembly line workers won't be swapping stories with their robotic counterparts any time soon, but future robots will be more aware of the humans they're working alongside.
	Reading speed harnessed to automatically control text display rates Reading a text is something that each of us does at our own individual pace. This simple fact has been exploited by computer scientists in Saarbrücken who have developed a software system that recognizes how fast a text on a display screen is being read and then allows the text to scroll forward line by line at the right speed. The technology makes use of commercially available eye-tracking glasses, which are able to capture the motion of the user's eyes and convert this into a reading speed. Potential future areas of applications include electronic books or the large-scale displays used in railway stations and shopping centres. The research team will be showcasing its project from March 16th to March 20th at the Cebit computer expo in Hanover.
	Computer simulator will improve radiation therapy for cancer patients Using complex computational algorithms based on repeated sampling, a University of Arkansas graduate student helped spearhead a project to develop a computer simulator that provides customized electron beam tunings for radiation therapy. The research will help cancer centers provide better radiation therapy.
Researcher develops new software to assess online interaction Whether it is business or personal, more and more human interaction is happening in an online environment. But, how do you know if you can trust the person on the other end of the connection? The simple answer is most people don't.
	Cash could be phased out within a decade, says expert The rise of electronic currency will lead to the phasing out of physical cash in Australia within a decade, according to Professor Rabee Tourky, Director of the Australian National University (ANU) Research School of Economics.
	Emerging world drives cheap smartphone boom Phone and Internet firms are rolling out cheaper handsets and may turn to hot-air balloons to boost network coverage in developing countries, where sales of smartphones are booming.
	Automakers vow not to give up on weak-selling electrics Top automakers are vowing not to give up on weak-selling electric vehicles—even as they unveil an array of powerful luxury cars with conventional engines aimed at a growing global market.
	Apple edges Samsung, retakes smartphone throne: survey Apple overtook Samsung to regain the top position in global smartphone sales in the fourth quarter, a market tracker said Tuesday.
Can we track the world's nuclear weapons? The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has unveiled an interactive infographic that tracks the number and history of nuclear weapons in the nine nuclear weapon states: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea. The Nuclear Notebook Interactive Infographic is designed to provide a visual representation of the Bulletin's famed Nuclear Notebook, which since 1987 has tracked the number and type of the world's nuclear arsenals.
	Game Developers Conference offers creators a sporting chance With tens of millions of gamers now regularly spectating video games online and in real-world arenas, game developers looking to create the next "StarCraft" or "League of Legends" might learn a few lessons at this year's Game Developers Conference.
	Understanding electric car 'range anxiety' could be key to wider acceptance Manufacturers of battery electric vehicles, or BEVs, have increased their offerings in response to rising consumer concerns over gas prices and the environment. Drivers have been slow to adopt BEVs due to "range anxiety," the fear of becoming stranded with an empty battery. This phenomenon was recently addressed in a study published in Human Factors that aims to explain range anxiety and determine whether hands-on BEV experience can reduce drivers' stress.
Supreme Court allows challenge to Colorado Internet tax law A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that federal courts can hear a dispute over Colorado's Internet tax law. One justice suggested it was time to reconsider the ban on state collection of sales taxes from companies outside their borders.
Silicon Valley no-poaching deal appears headed for approval Aside from a few "nits," a federal judge appeared poised on Monday to sign off on a $415 million settlement that would end a five-year legal battle over alleged illegal hiring practices in Silicon Valley.
	FCC head defends Internet neutrality rules on the road (Update) The head of the Federal Communications Commission is taking the defense of new Internet regulations on the road.
	Wireless show highlights: Eyes on Apple, Blackberry As a major wireless show continues this week in Barcelona, Spain, Apple is highlighting the capabilities of its iPhone cameras with a gallery of photos taken by its users around the world.
	Ubisoft game aims to be what the doctor ordered Ubisoft on Tuesday unveiled a tablet video game crafted as a prescription for a medical condition known as "lazy eye," blending the worlds of play and health care.
Visa, MasterCard moving into mobile pay in Africa Americans may just be getting used to mobile pay, but consumers in many African countries have been paying with their phones for years. Now payment processors Visa and MasterCard want to get a slice of that market, and are launching card services aimed at Africa's growing mobile payment industry.
United Airlines won't accept rechargeable battery shipments Citing safety concerns, United Airlines on Monday became the second major U.S. airline to announce it will no longer accept bulk shipments of rechargeable batteries of the kind that power everything from smartphones to laptops to power tools.
	Wireless show photo gallery: On the ground in Barcelona Couldn't be in Barcelona this week?
Venture capitalist testifies in Silicon Valley sex-bias suit A prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist who helped direct early investments in Google and Amazon said Tuesday during testimony in a high-profile sex discrimination lawsuit that his firm is not run by men and has many female senior partners.
	Large-surface light-emitting plastic film Based on OLED technology and implemented by means of a printing machine, this method developed by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd provides an opportunity to create patterned and flexible light-emitting surfaces on advertising displays, info signs and lighting fixtures, for instance. The method also enables transparent smart surfaces to be attached to window panels or packaging.
New generation of mobile networks for the 5G Internet of the future Even though the deployment of 4th generation mobile networks has not yet been completed, operators and handset manufacturers, as well as leading research teams in the field, have launched a series of R&D initiatives to develop the 5th generation of mobile technology, called 5G, intending to commercialize it by 2020.
Enhancing efficiency of multi-core processors Software development for embedded multi-core processors is considered to require a large expenditure and to be difficult. Under the ALMA EU project, researchers developed a new integrated tool chain to facilitate programming. According to tests, the ALMA tool chain reduces the time and, hence, cost expenditure of programming by up to 58%. Compared to single-core processors, applications are accelerated by about a factor of three. The project that has now been completed was coordinated by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
	Towards dust-free wood combustion About 15 million wood-fired stoves and combustion systems exist in Germany, including central-heating boilers for apartment houses. They are subject to strict clean air regulations. New wood-fired boilers exceeding emission limits for particles have to be equipped with precipitators since the beginning of 2015. Next week, KIT scientists will present the Carola-precipitator for boilers at the ISH trade fair, Frankfurt.
	Clinton used personal email account as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton used a personal email account during her time as secretary of state, rather than a government-issued email address, potentially hampering efforts to archive official government documents required by law.
New incubator network to help clean-energy entrepreneurs The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have launched the Clean Energy Incubator Network. The program, funded by the Energy Department, aims to improve the performance of clean energy business incubators, connect critical industry and energy sector partners, and advance clean energy technologies emerging from universities and federal laboratories.
Waze map app to get Amber Alerts on child abductions The Waze navigation app is getting Amber Alerts on child abductions.
Why your laptop battery won't kill you News on Tuesday that major U.S. airlines are no longer going to ship powerful lithium-ion batteries might lead some to fret about the safety of their personal electronic devices.

Chemistry news

	Na-ion batteries get closer to replacing Li-ion batteries (Phys.org)—As lithium resources continue to decline worldwide, the next generation of portable electronics will most likely be powered by something other than Li-ion batteries. One potential candidate is the sodium-ion (Na-ion) battery, which stands out because sodium is cheaper, non-toxic, and more abundant than lithium.
	Dislocations in oxides seen as promising electrolytes create a 'traffic jam' for charged ions Dislocations in oxides such as cerium dioxide, a solid electrolyte for fuel cells, turn out to have a property that is the opposite of what researchers had expected, according to a new analysis at MIT.
What causes the sunlight flavour in milk? Most of us have tasted milk that has been left in the sun – it has a distinctive off-flavour. The reason is that milk and other dairy products turn rancid when exposed to light.

Biology news

	Study shows one reason why pigeons so rarely crash (Phys.org)—A pair of researchers with Harvard University has uncovered one of the secrets behind pigeons' impressive flight abilities. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, David Williams and Andrew Biewener describe how they videotaped some of the birds flying through an obstacle course they made, and what they found when they examined the footage.
	The origins of polarized nervous systems (Phys.org)—There is no mistaking the first action potential you ever fired. It was the one that blocked all the other sperm from stealing your egg. After that, your spikes only got more interesting. Waves of calcium flooding the jointly-forged cell stiffened its glycoprotein-enhanced walls against all other suitors and kicked off the developmental program ultimately responsible for constructing your brain. Unlike the nervous systems of the lower forms of life, our neurons have a clearly polarized form—a single output axon projecting far to parts unknown is charged by input dendrites feeding on the local metabolic soup de jour. The origins of this polarity in neurons, and therefore in nervous systems in general, are written in the primitive body plans of the mostly gelatinous organisms still hailing intact across deep time.
	Rare 'alien of the deep' goblin shark found in Australia A rare sea creature described as an "alien of the deep" has been found off Australia and delivered to a museum which Tuesday showed off its fleshy snout, nail-like teeth and flabby pink body.
	The water trading strategies of plants Plants trade water for carbon – every litre of water that they extract from the soil allows them to take up a few more grams of carbon from the atmosphere to use in growth. A new global study, led by Australian researchers and published this week in Nature Climate Change, shows that plants trade their water wisely, with different plant species having different trading strategies depending on how much it costs them to obtain their water.
	Plant species evolved a way to determine most promising pollinator (Phys.org)—A trio of researchers has found that one species of flower is able to pick and choose when it comes to accepting pollen from a variety of pollinators. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Matthew Betts and Adam Hadley with Oregon State University and John Kress with the Smithsonian Institution, describe their study of Heliconia tortuosa, a flowering plant native to Costa Rica, and what they discovered about its pollinating abilities.
	New fat cells created quickly, but they don't disappear Once fat cells form, they might shrink during weight loss, but they do not disappear, a fact that has derailed many a diet. Yale researchers in the March 2 issue of the journal Nature Cell Biology describe how—and just how quickly—those fat cells are created in the first place.
	Spurring production of a sluggish enzyme for crop yields Australian scientists have found a way to improve production of an enzyme essential to plant growth.
	New research characterizes novel aspects of maize reproduction Male reproductive organ development in maize involves a complex array of ribonucleic acid molecules (RNAs) with potentially diverse activities in gene regulation, demonstrated by new research from the University of Delaware and Stanford University.
	Plants detect bacterial endotoxin in similar process to mammals Similar to humans and animals, plants possess an innate immune system that protects them from invading pathogens. Molecular structures that only occur in pathogens enable their recognition and trigger the immune response. Lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin) is one such substance, occurring in the outer membrane of certain bacteria. A team of scientists from Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) in Halle has now described the first endotoxin immunosensor in plants.
	Researchers devise new method to identify disease markers UCLA life scientists have created an accurate new method to identify genetic markers for many diseases—a significant step toward a new era of personalized medicine, tailored to each person's DNA and RNA.
	In hot and cold water: The private lives of 'Hoff' crabs revealed Researchers at the University of Southampton have shed light on the private life of a new species of deep-sea crab, previously nicknamed the "Hoff" crab because of its hairy chest.
	DNA tool helping biologists find elusive or invasive species When salmon, salamanders or other aquatic animals poop or shed skin cells, they leave behind traces of their DNA in the water, like clues left behind at a crime scene.
	Tracking bald eagles in coastal North Carolina Few animals capture the public imagination like the bald eagle. But despite their status as a national emblem, we still have a lot to learn about their behavior in the wild. Now NC State researchers are part of a team that's using state-of-the-art GPS transmitters and the Movebank animal tracking database to study bald eagle movements in coastal North Carolina.
	A single target for microRNA regulation It has generally been believed that microRNAs control biological processes by simultaneously, though modestly, repressing a large number of genes. But in a study published in Developmental Cell, a group of scientists led by Helge Grosshans have now shown that miRNAs can control the development of a roundworm through regulation of a single target.
	Few friends for shy kangaroos Kangaroo social networks could provide insight into the evolution of human personality differences.
	Study reveals north/south genetic divide in Welsh red kite A study of the modern red kite population in Wales has revealed a north/south genetic divide that runs along the Towy Valley.
	Shark's sixth sense aid attacks from below Wobbegong (Orectolobus maculatus) and angel sharks (Squatina australis) have evolved unique electrosensory pores that aid attacks on unsuspecting prey from beneath, according to a recent study.
	Step change for screening could boost biofuels Researchers at the Institute of Food Research have developed a new way of rapidly screening yeasts that could help produce more sustainable biofuels.
Study finds lasting severe weather impact in feathers of young birds While studying a ground-nesting bird population near El Reno, Okla., a University of Oklahoma-led research team found that stress during a severe weather outbreak of May 31, 2013, had manifested itself into malformations in the growing feathers of the young birds. The team witnessed a phenomenon termed 'pallid bands' in a large proportion of fledgling Grasshopper Sparrows and found spikes in the chemical signatures of 'pallid bands,' which led to abnormalities in the new feathers.
	Chinese ivory traders find haven online China's booming e-commerce websites have carried thousands of advertisements for illegal wildlife products including ivory, rhino horn and tiger bone, a wildlife trade monitoring network said on Tuesday.
	World's wildlife critical to the economies of nations Wildlife is critical to the economies of nations. New Zealand's wildlife – whales, dolphins, red deer, thar, albatross, kiwi, tuatara, fish and kauri – attract tourists. And the tourists who come to see or hunt our wildlife stay for longer and spend more, especially in our provinces and small towns, than those who come for our casinos and high-end hotels.
	Modern methods lead the way toward a rhino rebound Cutting-edge technology and techniques have become essential tools in the effort to save rhinos. Micro chips, translocation and consumer campaigns are helping shift the balance against record-setting poaching threatening the world's remaining rhinos.
Study shows the factors influencing which conservation news get shared on social media A team of researchers led by the Department of Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Science recently concluded a study to better understand the factors influencing the spread of conservation news in online media.
	Gold standard management of the diabetic cat The International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM), the veterinary division of International Cat Care, has convened an expert panel of veterinary clinicians and academics to produce practical guidance to help veterinary teams deliver optimal management for the increasing numbers of diabetic cats that are presenting to practices.
New AAHA/AAFP pain management guidelines for dogs and cats now available The robust advances in pain management for companion animals underlie the decision of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) to expand on the information provided in the previous 2007 AAHA/AAFP Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats. The 2015 Guidelines represent a consensus of expert opinions that summarize and offer a discriminating review of new research and knowledge. To access the Guidelines, visit: http://www.catvets.com/guidelines/practice-guidelines/pain-management-guidelines.

Medicine & Health news

	People use handshakes to sniff each other out Limp or firm, your handshake conveys subliminal social cues. Now, research reveals it also transmits chemical signals that could explain why the greeting evolved in the first place.
	Scientists produce hypothalamic neurons, which can help target a range of conditions Collaborating with scientists from New York, Toronto, and Tokyo, Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers have devised two methods for using stem cells to generate the type of neurons that help regulate behavioral and basic physiological functions in the human body, such as obesity and hypertension, as well as sleep, mood, and some social disorders.
	Protein may be key to cancer's deadly resurgences Tumor recurrence following a period of remission is the main cause of death in cancer. The ability of cancer cells to remain dormant during and following therapy, only to be reactivated at a later time, frequently with greater aggressiveness, is one of the least-understood aspects of the disease.
	Adults only really catch flu about twice a decade, suggests study Adults over the age of 30 only catch flu about twice a decade, a new study publishing March 3rd in PLOS Biology suggests.
	Neuroscientists identify new way several brain areas communicate Carnegie Mellon University neuroscientists have identified a new pathway by which several brain areas communicate within the brain's striatum.
	Research links creativity with inability to filter irrelevant sensory information The literary great Marcel Proust wore ear-stoppers because he was unable to filter out irrelevant noise—and lined his bedroom with cork to attenuate sound.
	Newly discovered hormone mimics the effects of exercise Scientists at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology have discovered a new hormone that fights the weight gain caused by a high-fat Western diet and normalizes the metabolism - effects commonly associated with exercising.
	Moderate coffee consumption lessens risk of clogged arteries and heart attacks People who drink a moderate amount of coffee daily are less likely to develop clogged arteries that could lead to heart attacks, reveals research published online in Heart. Researchers from South Korea found that people consuming three to five cups a day had the least risk of coronary calcium in their arteries.
Kids who lack sympathy more likely to share with virtuous friends Children who sometimes lack sympathy for others are more likely to share resources with those friends if they respect their morals suggests a paper published today (March 2, 2015) in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology.
	Penis size: Researchers provide the long and short of it What is an "average" size for a penis? The enduring question now has a scientific answer: 13.12 centimetres (5.16 inches) in length when erect, and 11.66 cm around, according to an analysis of more than 15,000 appendages around the world.
	Study offers clues to early detection of bipolar disorders in high-risk children New research published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry indicates a strong link between subthreshold manic episodes and likelihood of developing bipolar disorder in children of parents with bipolar disorder. The study's findings could improve clinical assessment and care for these high-risk children by potentially enabling earlier identification, treatment or possible preventive measures.
The more friends you drink with... the more you drink Sometimes it is useful to show in a well conducted study something which one suspects could well be true. A new study published today by the scientific journal Addiction shows that alcohol consumption of individuals appears to increase with the number of friends in their drinking group. The impact of drinking group size on alcohol use is stronger for men than women.
	MR spectroscopy shows precancerous breast changes in women with BRCA gene A magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) technique that monitors biochemical changes in tissue could improve the management of women at risk of breast cancer, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.
Study shows strong link between adolescent obesity and high blood pressure A recent study published in the American Journal of Hypertension has found that body mass index (BMI) in healthy adolescents has a statistically significant association with both systolic blood pressures (SBP) and diastolic blood pressures (DBP), and highlights the significance of the global trend of rapidly increasing adolescent obesity.
'Now or never': making a killing from budding US pot market From aspiring "bud tenders" to research scientists and Wall Street analysts, marijuana enthusiasts of every stripe gathered in Washington looking for ways to capitalize on America's evolving pot laws.
Losing a spouse often too hastily linked to depression A new study by researchers at KU Leuven, in Belgium, has found that loneliness brought about by the death of a spouse can trigger a wider network of depression-like symptoms - but that doctors are often too quick to attribute these symptoms to depression.
Researchers find the pathway responsible for taste changes among chemotherapy patients Many patients undergoing chemotherapy experience severe taste disruptions that make eating a challenge at a time when maintaining good nutrition is extremely important. Because the type of chemotherapy drugs used varies among cancer types, numerous theories exist about how and why certain medications interfere with taste perception. Now researchers at the University of Michigan have identified the pathway responsible for taste changes among users of chemotherapy drugs that treat basal cell carcinoma (BCC), a skin cancer that is among the most commonly diagnosed in the US.
	Researchers explain cancer-destroying compound in extra virgin olive oil Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), long-known for its heart health benefits, has now been identified for its rapid destruction of cancer cells. While scientists have proven that the oleocanthal compound found in EVOO causes cell death in cancer cells, they have been unable to provide an explanation for this phenomenon until now. Paul Breslin, David Foster, and Onica LeGendre offer answers in their paper "(-)-Oleocanthal Rapidly and Selectively Induces Cancer Cell Death Via Lysosomal Membrane Permeabilization (LMP)," published in Molecular & Cellular Oncology.
Scientists move closer to creating cartilage from stem cells Scientists have succeeded in producing cartilage formed from embryonic stem cells that could in future be used to treat the painful joint condition osteoarthritis.
Investigational therapy could attack cause of sickle cell crises Treatment for painful episodes of blood vessel obstruction in sickle cell anemia is currently limited to controlling pain, but an investigational therapy might be able to interfere with the underlying cause of these events, known as vaso-occlusion crises, researchers at Duke Medicine report.
	Researcher looks to eye-tracking device to better understand anxiety in children Koraly Perez-Edgar, a researcher in Penn State's Department of Psychology, takes a remote-operated toy spider from a tall bookcase in her office, turns it on and places it on the linoleum floor. It's gangly, about the size of a shoebox, with eight fuzzy black legs, beady eyes and plastic fangs. With the switch of a button, the arachnid on wheels zooms forward and out of the room.
	US dietary guidelines focus on curtailing sugar The latest word from an advisory panel that helps form U.S. dietary guidelines confirms what nutritionists have been saying in recent years: Cholesterol-rich foods like eggs and shrimp aren't as bad for us as previously believed, but sugars definitely should be curtailed.
	Diet key to lifespan and fertility It may be possible to live longer and increase fertility by manipulating diet, according to world-first research in mice from the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre.
Despite federal law, some insurance exchange plans offer unequal coverage for mental health One-quarter of the health plans being sold on health insurance exchanges set up through the Affordable Care Act offer benefits that appear to violate a federal law requiring equal benefits for general medical and mental health care, according to new research led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
	The match between early family experiences and self-esteem contributes to how people view themselves Although some children emerge from cold and neglectful family environments as adults with high self-esteem, a new study by a University at Buffalo research team suggests those people may still be at a relative disadvantage, with a foggier sense of who they are.
	Australian virus might be answer to effective Ebola vaccine An experimental Ebola vaccine made using an Australian virus called Kunjin might help in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus, an international study led by The University of Queensland has found.
Scientists find a defect responsible for memory impairment in aging Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a mechanism that causes long-term memory loss due to age in Drosophila, the common fruit fly, a widely recognized substitute for human memory studies.
How fat breakdown contributes to insulin resistance New research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine has shed light on how chronic stress and obesity may contribute to type 2 diabetes. The findings point the finger at an unexpected biological perpetrator – the breakdown of fat.
	Women with endometriosis need support, not judgement Known for years as the "career woman's disease" based on the idea that women without children develop disease in their reproductive organs, endometriosis is a painful condition thought to affect one in ten women worldwide.
	Meal deliveries benefit seniors, report says Kali Thomas, assistant professor (research) of health services, policy, and practice, has shown that meal deliveries can help seniors stay in their homes and save some states money, but in a new report she documents that the service also provides psychological and health benefits, particularly for seniors who live alone.
	Researchers devise a faster, less expensive way to analyze gene activity A team of Yale researchers has developed a simple method that could significantly reduce the time and cost of probing gene expression on a large scale. The findings were published March 2 in the journal Nature Methods.
Vaccine skeptics aren't swayed by emotional scare tactics On the heels of a nationwide measles outbreak comes a report that campaigns aimed at scaring people about the consequences of non-vaccination might not be as effective as many think. An upcoming article in the journal Communication Research challenges the popular assumption that emotional appeals have a wide, sweeping effect on people's health beliefs.
Educating college students on drinking risks can temporarily help lessen drinking behaviors Briefly counseling college students on the dangers of binge drinking is effective in lowering heavy drinking levels among many students, but only temporarily. Three out of four will be right back where they started a year later, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
	New model shows that filaments in heart muscle cells don't automatically keep the beat Two hearts, said Keats, can beat as one; but a study led by Weizmann Institute scientists in collaboration with researchers from the University of Pennsylvania shows that sometimes a single heart muscle cell can beat as more than two dozen. The findings, reported recently in Nature Communications, provide an extremely detailed glimpse into the mechanisms behind normal and irregular heart muscle cell contractions. The study may help define the limitations of existing therapies for abnormal heartbeat and, in the future, suggest ways of designing new ones.
Family based interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed preadolescents A recent study published in the March 2015 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry finds that Family Based Interpersonal Psychotherapy (FB-IPT) is more effective in treating preadolescent children with depression compared to child-centered therapy (CCT).
	Time to 'just say no' to behavior-calming drugs for Alzheimer patients? Experts say yes Doctors write millions of prescriptions a year for drugs to calm the behavior of people with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. But non-drug approaches actually work better, and carry far fewer risks, experts conclude in a new report.
	Listeria screening in public lavatories in Vienna Vienna's public lavatories were at the focus of a study by the Global Food Safety research group at the Vetmeduni Vienna. The researchers studied 224 public restrooms in Vienna, which are about 91 percent of all municipal public lavatories in the capital city, for the presence of the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. The result: the bacteria were prevalent in two percent of all lavatories. Facilities in parks and near markets had a higher prevalence of L. monocytogenes than lavatories in shopping centres or at public transport locations. The study was published in the journal Zoonoses and Public Health.
	Helping student-athletes with mental health issues (HealthDay)—Guidelines for helping U.S. high school athletes with mental health problems are outlined in a new policy statement from the National Athletic Trainers' Association.
	Does long-term acetaminophen use raise health risks? (HealthDay)—Acetaminophen may not be as safe as previously thought, with larger doses and long-term use linked to increased risk of health problems, a new report contends.
	In vitro births continue to rise in US (HealthDay)—More babies in the United States are being conceived by in vitro fertilization, a new report shows.
Stress markers in the unemployed linked to poor health Research from the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies at UCL suggests direct biological effects of stress during unemployment may help explain the increased mortality and morbidity among jobseekers. The study used biological signatures in blood samples called inflammatory markers, which are influenced by stress and are clinically important because mildly raised levels predict atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries due to fatty deposits) and heart disease.
Long-term follow-up of benign thyroid nodules shows favorable prognosis After five years of follow-up, a majority of asymptomatic, benign thyroid nodules exhibited no significant change in size, or actually decreased in size, and diagnoses of thyroid cancer were rare, according to a study in the March 3 issue of JAMA.
Examination of prior authorization policies for antipsychotic prescribing to children With a concern about inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotic medications to children, 31 states have implemented prior authorization policies for atypical antipsychotic prescribing, mostly within the past 5 years, and with most states applying their policies to children younger than 7 years of age, according to a study in the March 3 issue of JAMA.
Administering sedatives for patients receiving general anesthesia questioned Although sedatives are often administered before surgery, a randomized trial finds that among patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia, receiving the sedative lorazepam before surgery, compared with placebo or no premedication, did not improve the self-reported patient experience the day after surgery, but was associated with longer time till removal off a breathing tube (extubation) and a lower rate of early cognitive recovery, according to a study in the March 3 issue of JAMA.
	Study shows poor heart function could be major risk for Alzheimer's disease A healthier heart could prevent Alzheimer's disease, according to new research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Divorce fuels sugary beverage consumption, study finds Children of recently separated or divorced families are likelier to drink sugar-sweetened beverages than children in families where the parents are married, putting them at higher risk for obesity later in life, according to a new study from San Francisco State University.
Prevnar, Pfizer's pneumonia vaccine, okayed for adults in EU Pfizer's blockbuster vaccine against pneumonia and other bacterial infections has won another approval, for use in European Union residents aged 18 and older.
Researchers investigate possible colon cancer risk for new generation of weight-loss drugs Gastric bypass and similar stomach-shrinking surgeries are a popular option for obese patients looking to lose weight or treat type 2 diabetes. While the surgeries have been linked to a decreased risk in many types of cancers, the single outlier in a 2013 long-term study of 77,000 obese patients was colon cancer. In the March 3 issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, scientists at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto present work in mice that could explain this association and raise safety concerns for a new generation of weight-loss drugs that mimic the biological after effects of these procedures.
	A high-salt diet could protect against invading microbes Most people consume more salt than they need and therefore have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, which are the two leading causes of death worldwide. But a study published by Cell Press March 3rd in Cell Metabolism reveals that dietary salt could have a biological advantage: defending the body against invading microbes. A high-salt diet increased sodium accumulation in the skin of mice, thereby boosting their immune response to a skin-infecting parasite. The findings suggest that dietary salt could have therapeutic potential to promote host defense against microbial infections.
	Air pollution linked to slower cognitive development in children Attendance at schools exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollution is linked to slower cognitive development among 7-10-year-old children in Barcelona, according to a study published by Jordi Sunyer and colleagues from the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Spain, published in this week's PLOS Medicine.
	Highly sensitive detection of malaria parasites New assays can detect malaria parasites in human blood at very low levels and might be helpful in the campaign to eradicate malaria, reports a study published this week in PLOS Medicine. An international team led by Ingrid Felger, from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel, Switzerland, took advantage of genes that have multiple copies in the parasite genome to reveal parasites present at concentrations that are 10 times lower than the detection limit of current standard assays.
Friends may make the difference in keeping children active Children being physically active with a friend may accomplish more than hearing encouragement or being active with a parent, according to a new study presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology/Lifestyle Scientific Sessions 2015.
	Identifying the war-afflicted teenagers most in need of mental health care A new study finds widespread post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and suicidal ideation among teenagers in warn-torn Northern Uganda, not only among former child soldiers. Psychological support should be offered to all young people in the region through the education system.
	Bans don't help smokers quit: The law only does so much, study shows Smokers have become accustomed to stepping outside at bars and restaurants. But has the change in rules governing enclosed public places inspired enough of them to smoke less behind their own closed doors or maybe even quit altogether?
Pregnant women with asthma need to curb urge to ask for antibiotics Getting sick when you're pregnant is especially difficult, but women whose children are at risk for developing asthma should avoid antibiotics, according to a new study.
	FDA warning: men's testosterone drugs overused (Update) The Food and Drug Administration is warning doctors against over-prescribing testosterone-boosting drugs for men, saying the popular treatments have not been established as safe or effective for common age-related issues like low libido and fatigue.
	Age-specific causal link for adiposity, CV risk factors (HealthDay)—Adiposity has an age-specific causal effect on cardiovascular risk factors, according to research published online Feb. 23 in Diabetes.
	Severe obesity in youth even riskier than thought (HealthDay)—Extremely obese children—such as those at least 100 pounds overweight—are in deeper trouble in terms of cardiovascular disease risks than doctors have thought, new research suggests. The study appears online March 2 in JAMA Pediatrics.
	Both high and low intensity exercise benefit weight, waist (HealthDay)—For people who are obese and sedentary, any exercise can help trim abdominal fat, but it may take a bit more effort to get other health benefits, a new study suggests. The findings were published in the March 3 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Losing weight before pregnancy is healthier for mom, baby Before she got pregnant in 2014, Lizzy King, 28, of East Lansing, Mich., gave herself a "lifestyle overhaul." She started running and lost 50 pounds. She eschewed processed food and ate her first banana.
Amgen says a study found its cancer drug more effective than rival drug Amgen Inc., the Thousand Oaks, Calif., biotech giant, said Sunday a new study has found its cancer drug Kyprolis is far more effective in treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma than its chief rival.
Experimental Ebola drug ZMapp begins clinical trials in Liberia ZMapp, the experimental Ebola drug that won notoriety when it was given to a handful of infected aid workers at the height of the epidemic, will now begin clinical testing in Liberian treatment centers, U.S. health authorities said.
California scientists link tiny particles in car exhaust to heart disease A new study by California scientists has linked chronic exposure to microscopic air pollutants in vehicle exhaust to deaths from heart disease. The finding bolsters evidence that ultrafine particles, which are not regulated by state or federal environmental agencies, are a key contributor to health problems among people living near traffic.
Device gives early warning on heart failure Joe Jones has been hospitalized half a dozen times for heart failure.
Early life stress may cause excess serotonin release resulting in a serotonin deficit Studies indicate that the majority of people with mood and anxiety disorders who receive the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant medications, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SSRI's, are not helped by these medications. SSRIs are designed to increase serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is key to maintenance of mood.
	ADHD plus childhood trauma heightens risk for self-harm, suicide Young women with ADHD who have been exposed to abuse, neglect or other traumas in childhood and adolescence are at greater risk for self-injury, eating disorders and suicide than those with ADHD who were not mistreated in early youth, according to new research from UC Berkeley.
Spouses of alcoholics can benefit from online help, study finds Women married to men with alcohol abuse problems can face a slew of problems themselves, with finding support for their situation near the top of the list.
Expanding sports concussion laws may help ensure safety of all teenage athletes Recent concussion laws that set out to prevent head injuries in American teenage athletes should be extended to include the activities of summer camps, travel teams and all-star teams. This will ensure that all children and youths who suffer head injuries receive appropriate care and education. So says Thomas Trojian of Drexel University College of Medicine, lead author of a study that showed a marked increase in the number of teenagers receiving medical treatment for sports-related concussions after laws pertaining to these injuries were passed in Connecticut in 2010. The findings are published in Springer's journal Injury Epidemiology.
	Study shows testosterone being prescribed when not medically needed A new study by the University of Texas Medical Branch found that 20 percent of men were prescribed testosterone despite having normal testosterone levels based on the Endocrine Society's guidelines. The study also found that 39 percent of new testosterone users did not have a prostate cancer screening during the year before treatment and 56 percent were not screened during the year after starting treatment.
OTC medications and supplements are most common causes of drug-induced liver failure Drug-induced acute liver failure is uncommon, and over-the-counter medications and dietary and herbal supplements—not prescription drugs—are its most common causes, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The findings are published in the current issue of Gastroenterology.
	New compound protects 100 percent of ferrets, mice, from H5N1 Since 2003, the H5N1 influenza virus, more commonly known as the bird flu, has been responsible for the deaths of millions of chickens and ducks and has infected more than 650 people, leading to a 60 percent mortality rate for the latter. Luckily, this virus has yet to achieve human-to-human transmission, but a small number of mutations could change that, resulting in a pandemic. Now a team of investigators from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Stanford University Medical Center, and MacroGenics have developed an antibody which has proven 100 percent protective against the virus in two species of animal models. The research is published ahead of print February 11, in the Journal of Virology.
New drugs pose serious health risks says UN body The proliferation of new narcotics developed to circumvent existing drug laws poses a serious health problem, the United Nations drugs control body said on Tuesday.
	US health officials perplexed by vaccination skeptics Public health officials in the U.S. are exasperated by their inability to persuade more parents to vaccinate their children, saying they're dealing with a small minority who are misinformed—or merely obstinate—about the risks of inoculations.
New pot users in Spain outnumber new tobacco users: study The number of Spaniards who said they started using cannabis in 2013 outnumbered those who said they took up smoking cigarettes, according to a government study released Tuesday.
Aneurysm screening should be revisited, say experts Aneurysm screening for men over 65 should be revisited as it is unknown whether the benefits outweigh the harms, argue researchers in The BMJ this week.
Obamacare future hangs in balance at US Supreme Court The US Supreme Court faces a momentous case Wednesday on the sweeping health insurance reform law that President Barack Obama wants to leave as part of his legacy.
One million patients could lose primary care if residency training in underserved regions is eliminated The shortage of primary care doctors could worsen if funding for the Teaching Health Centers (THC), a program to train medical residents in underserved areas, is eliminated. Loss of funding - which has already been drastically reduced - could disrupt the training of 550 current medical residents and cut off the pipeline of future primary care residents, says a new report conducted by the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative at Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University (GW).
	Mobile phone app to identify premature babies in the developing world A mobile phone app that will identify babies born prematurely in the developing world is being developed by researchers at The University of Nottingham.
Global Ebola conference seeks end to W.Africa outbreak Leaders of Ebola-hit countries in west Africa will attend an international conference in Brussels Tuesday to mobilise a final push to end the outbreak and ensure the delivery of nearly $5 billion in aid pledges.
	Load-bearing capacity of the cruciate ligament replacement precisely evaluated A footballer is able to play football again or to recommence training six months after an operation on a cruciate ligament rupture in case of a normal healing process. This interruption is common in professional football, but it is merely an empirical value, as Siegfried Trattnig from the University Clinic for Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at the MedUni Wien (Medical University of Vienna) has emphasised. In future, however, it will be possible to evaluate precisely both the load-bearing capacity of the "new" cruciate ligament and the risk of a renewed rupture using a new imaging process methodologically developed for clinical use at the MedUni Wien, with which the biomechanical properties of the knee and the cruciate ligament can be measured.
	The 'cardiovascular revolution' has increased life expectancy in Spain Over the last century, life expectancy for Spaniards has increased by 40 years. A study by the International University of La Rioja determines that the main cause, since 1980, is the reduced incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Other pathologies, such as mental illnesses and certain types of cancer, have been seen to rise. The authors predict that the effects of the economic recession on mortality will show up in the long-term.
Neuropsychological, neuropsychiatric and functional assessments help follow the course of Alzheimer's disease The cognitive performance of persons with Alzheimer's disease and behavioural and psychological problems are linked to their performance of activities of daily living, according to a recent study completed at the University of Eastern Finland. However, difficulties in cognitive performance were not linked to behavioural and psychological problems, although both deteriorated as the disease progressed. Some persons may have significant problems in memory and other cognitive performance without the presence of behavioural and psychological problems, while others experience behavioural and psychological problems already at the early phase of the disease.
Early benefit assessment increases transparency for study data Four years have passed since the introduction of the German Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG). AMNOG was primarily aimed at containing the increasing drug expenditure of the statutory health insurance funds. However, the early benefit assessment of new drugs as stipulated by AMNOG also reveals so far unpublished information from clinical study reports. Researchers from the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) have further examined this issue in an article published in the British Medical Journal.
Uganda on defensive over medical 'brain drain' uproar Uganda's government on Tuesday hit back at mounting criticism of plans to 'export' over 200 health workers to the Caribbean, insisting it was only seeking to regulate an existing labour market and prevent abuses.
African leaders urge Ebola 'Marshall Plan' Leaders of the west African countries worst hit by Ebola urged the world on Tuesday to back a "Marshall Plan" to help them stamp out the disease and rebuild their shattered economies.
Brain tumor patients fare better with private insurance, new study finds Brain tumor patients who are uninsured or use Medicaid stay hospitalized longer and develop more medical complications than those with private insurance, University of Florida Health researchers have found.
Tools can identify nations vulnerable to Ebola and aid response, analysis finds Public health experts can identify nations that are vulnerable to the occurrence and impact of future outbreaks of Ebola or other emergencies by using a screening tool that evaluates a nation's strengths across a wide range of measures such as political strength and health care capabilities, according to a new analysis from the RAND Corporation.
Housing First program has success in study of homeless people with mental illness It sounds simple, but it appears to be working: Give homeless people financial help to find free-market rental accommodation in the community as well as mental health support services, and the success rate in ending their homelessness is far higher than with current approaches.
Outcomes of lung transplantations since implementation of need-based allocation system Since implementation of a medical need-based allocation system of donor lungs in 2005, double-lung transplantation has been associated with better graft survival than single-lung transplantation in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF); at 5 years, there has been no survival difference between single- and double-lung transplant recipients in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study in the March 3 issue of JAMA.
Marijuana: The allergen you never knew existed Growing up, you may have been given reasons for not smoking marijuana. What you may not have heard is that marijuana, like other pollen-bearing plants, is an allergen which can cause allergic responses.
Climate change affects human health, ATS membership survey shows The American Thoracic Society has published the results of a survey of the ATS membership on climate change which found that the majority of ATS members believe that climate change is real and that it is having a negative impact on the health of the patients that they care for.

Other Sciences news

	Research challenges popular theory on origin of languages International research involving the University of Adelaide has shed new light on the origins of some of the most widely spoken languages in the world.
Focus on exams 'hinders development of character' in British school children Two new reports by the University of Birmingham's Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues have found that moral character is being squeezed out of children's education.
	Geometry's least-packable shapes If you've ever struggled to pack a bunch of suitcases into the trunk of your car, you've got some idea of a basic problem in materials science: if you throw a bunch of atoms or molecules together, how do they fit together, and how densely can they be packed? In a new paper, Omidyar Fellow Yoav Kallus takes a small yet significant step toward answering those questions while at the same time addressing an old conjecture about what packs least well.
How to succeed in business without sucking up Many people seem to think that landing a big-time appointment—like a spot on a company's board—is all about who you know.
	Finding a job may be the hardest nut for a new scientist to crack The typical biography of a scientist might look something like this.
Egypt unearths 3000-year-old tomb in southern city Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities says American archeologists have discovered a 3000-year-old tomb with beautifully painted walls belonging to a nobleman who guarded the temple of the ancient deity Amun.
	Precise dating of ancient charcoal found near a skull is helping reveal a unique period in prehistory A partial human skull unearthed in 2008 in northern Israel may hold some clues as to when and where humans and Neanderthals might have interbred. The key to addressing this, as well as other important issues, is precisely determining the age of the skull. A combination of dating methods, one of them performed by Dr. Elisabetta Boaretto, head of the Weizmann Institute's D-REAMS (DANGOOR Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) laboratory, has made it possible to define the period of time that the cave was occupied and thus the skull's age. The combined dating provides evidence that Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis could have lived side by side in the area.
Real estate bidding wars aren't going away Frenzy, frustration and disappointment are what home buyers have come to dread about real estate bidding wars.
	Study finds female entrepreneurs are discounted because of their gender Starting a new business is challenging under the best of circumstances, but for female entrepreneurs, the uphill battle can be particularly steep.
	Getting to the point of parenting Why do people really have kids?
	Early–career researchers the missing link for STEM diversity When high school physics teacher Moses Rifkin wrote a recent blog post on "Teaching Social Justice in the Physics Classroom," he ignited a new round of conversation about white privilege and the kinds of skills scientists need. Rifkin outlined how he incorporates into his teaching a unit on "Who does physics, and why?" to highlight the lack of diversity in science, particularly physics.
	We must defend science if we want a prosperous future Today's Australians are, by far, the best educated cohort in our history –- on paper, anyway -– but this is not reflected in the quality of our political discourse. We appear to be lacking in courage, judgement, capacity to analyse and even simple curiosity, except about immediate personal needs.
Number of women involved in mass murders much larger than has been assumed In a context of collective mass violence, such as a war, women can be just as cruel as men, commit crimes against humanity, and act with the same motives. Still many more men are involved in mass violence than women, but the number of women is much larger than has been assumed so far. That is one of the main conclusions of new research by Alette Smeulers, Professor of International Criminology at Tilburg University and the University of Groningen.
Nimoy inspired generations of sci-fi fans For generations who've grown up on science fiction, not loving Leonard Nimoy was—as his Mr. Spock might say—highly illogical.