My Favorite Newsletter: 02/10/15

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Researchers use closed-loop feedback from the brain to improve attention abilities
- Of cancer and chaos: Single base mutation induces cancer-like gene profile and major unexpected impact on phenotype
- Eavesdropping concerns in Samsung smart TVs (Update)
- Electronics you can wrap around your finger
- Molybdenum disulfide may find new application for thin-film transistors in extremely high-temperature electronics
- DNA 'cage' could improve nanopore technology
- Babies can identify complex social situations and react accordingly
- Nanotubes self-organize and wiggle: evolution of a non-equilibrium system demonstrates maximum entropy production
- Engineers put the 'squeeze' on human stem cells
- Google boosts health search with more medical sources
- Earthquake activity linked to injection wells may vary by region
- Study shows global sea ice diminishing, despite Antarctic gains
- Novel non-stick material joins portfolio of slippery surface technologies
- Google to stop SPDY protocol support early 2016
- Protein linked to longevity and enhanced cognition protects against Alzheimer's symptoms

Nanotechnology news

	Electronics you can wrap around your finger Electronic devices have shrunk rapidly in the past decades, but most remain as stiff as the same sort of devices were in the 1950s—a drawback if you want to wrap your phone around your wrist when you go for a jog or fold your computer to fit in a pocket. Researchers from South Korea have taken a new step toward more bendable devices by manufacturing a thin film that keeps its useful electric and magnetic properties even when highly curved. The researchers describe the film in a paper published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
	DNA 'cage' could improve nanopore technology Despite having a diameter tens of thousands of times smaller than a human hair, nanopores could be the next big thing in DNA sequencing. By zipping DNA molecules through these tiny holes, scientists hope to one day read off genetic sequences in the blink of an eye.
	Nanotubes self-organize and wiggle: evolution of a non-equilibrium system demonstrates maximum entropy production The second law of thermodynamics tells us that all systems evolve toward a state of maximum entropy, wherein all energy is dissipated as heat, and no available energy remains to do work. Since the mid-20th century, research has pointed to an extension of the second law for nonequilibrium systems: the Maximum Entropy Production Principle (MEPP) states that a system away from equilibrium evolves in such a way as to maximize entropy production, given present constraints.

Physics news

	Study offers hint at a way to predict 'blow up' fires (Phys.org)—A pair of researchers with Harvard University has found that a simple experiment they conducted in their lab might lead to helping predict when fires in buildings or forests might be on the verge of becoming "blow up" fires. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Jerome Fox and George Whitesides describe their experiment and why they believe what they have learned might help firefighters at some point in the future.
	Molybdenum disulfide may find new application for thin-film transistors in extremely high-temperature electronics Many industries are calling for electronics that can operate reliably in a harsh environment, including extreme temperatures above 200° Celsius. Examples of the high temperature applications include turbine engine control in aerospace and electronics or sensors used for drilling operation in oil and gas industry. Although traditional cooling systems can help electronics function at high temperatures, in some applications, cooling may not be possible—or it may be more appealing for the electronics to operate hot to improve system reliability or reduce cost. However, the availability of transistors and circuits for high temperature operation is very limited.
	Researchers develop new tissue autofluorescence endoscopic technique Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) of tissue autofluorescence has been shown to provide labelfree contrast between different types and states of tissue. Clinical FLIM can combine lifetime contrast with morphological information to provide a direct comparison between different spatial regions – making it easier to spot differences with respect to "normal" tissue, e.g. for diagnostic screening and potentially enabling margins of diseased tissue to be identified. To date, however, there have been relatively few clinical FLIM studies, partly due to a lack of suitable instrumentation.
	Failure in real science is good – and different from phony controversies Last March, the BICEP2 collaboration announced that they had used a microwave telescope at the South Pole to detect primordial gravitational waves. These tiny ripples in spacetime would be the first proof of the theory known as "inflation," an astonishingly rapid expansion of the universe in the instants after the Big Bang.
	Historic Indian sword was masterfully crafted The master craftsmanship behind Indian swords was highlighted when scientists and conservationists from Italy and the UK joined forces to study a curved single-edged sword called a shamsheer. The study, led by Eliza Barzagli of the Institute for Complex Systems and the University of Florence in Italy, is published in Springer's journal Applied Physics A - Materials Science & Processing.

Earth news

	Earthquake activity linked to injection wells may vary by region The Williston Basin in north central U.S. produced fewer earthquakes caused by wastewater injection than in Texas, suggesting the link between seismicity and production activities may vary by region, according to a new study published in the journal Seismological Research Letters (SRL).
	Study shows global sea ice diminishing, despite Antarctic gains Sea ice increases in Antarctica do not make up for the accelerated Arctic sea ice loss of the last decades, a new NASA study finds. As a whole, the planet has been shedding sea ice at an average annual rate of 13,500 square miles (35,000 square kilometers) since 1979, the equivalent of losing an area of sea ice larger than the state of Maryland every year.
	Using rooftop rainwater to make drinking water Climate change will lead to water scarcity in large parts of Africa. But there is hope – on African rooftops.
	Good news and bad news for coral reefs Some good news for coral reefs: In 2014, President Obama expanded the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in the central Pacific from about 87,000 square miles to 308,000 square miles. The Monument "is the largest marine protected area in the world and an important part of the most widespread collection of marine life on the planet under a single country's jurisdiction," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
	A song of fire and ice in the ocean Cyclic changes in the tilt of the Earth's axis and the eccentricity of its orbit have left their mark on hills deep under the ocean, a study published in Science has found.
Coral reef symbiosis: Paying rent with sugar and fat Scientists have revealed how coral-dwelling microalgae harvest nutrients from the surrounding seawater and shuttle them out to their coral hosts, sustaining a fragile ecosystem that is under threat.
Fed report: Time to examine purposely cooling planet idea It's time to study and maybe even test the idea of cooling the Earth by injecting sulfur pollution high in the air to reflect the sun's heat, a first-of-its-kind federal science report said Tuesday.
	ORCA prototype ready for the open ocean Its name refers to one of the biggest animals in the sea, but ORCA, the Ocean Radiometer for Carbon Assessment instrument, will be observing the smallest.
	A beginner's guide to speaking "Climate" Outsiders who walk into a UN climate conference often experience a "beam-me-up-Scotty" moment.
	Image: Fires dot the southeastern United States It seems that in some states the wildfire season has started early this year.
	Study: Charcoal production by Al-Shabaab increases in survey area Despite a UN ban on the export of charcoal, charcoal production is the main source of income for the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab. Because the area in which Al-Shabaab operates is inaccessible, it is not possible to determine on the ground where and how many trees are felled for the production. Researchers from the University of Twente have now succeeded in mapping the production in part of Somalia with satellite images. Charcoal production and the felling of trees appears to have increased significantly in recent years. The extensive logging has a major impact on the environment and the food security in Somalia. The research results were recently published in the scientific journal Energy for Sustainable Development.
	Spanish town showcases a smarter way to manage water The city of Almería in Spain is set to pioneer efficient new water management methods as part of an EU-funded project. Scheduled for completion in May 2015, the URBANWATER initiative will enable consumers to use water more responsibly; help water utilities meet increased demand at reduced costs; and establish the European water sector as a global leader in resource efficiency.
Climate intervention is not a replacement for reducing carbon emissions, reports say There is no substitute for dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate the negative consequences of climate change, a National Research Council committee concluded in a two-volume evaluation of proposed climate-intervention techniques. Strategies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are limited by cost and technological immaturity, but they could contribute to a broader portfolio of climate change responses with further research and development. Albedo-modification technologies, which aim to increase the ability of Earth or clouds to reflect incoming sunlight, pose considerable risks and should not be deployed at this time.
	TRMM and GPM satellites measure rainfall rates in Typhoon Higos The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite and the Global Precipitation Measurement or GPM core satellites can calculate rainfall rates occurring in a storm from their orbits in space. TRMM and GPM both saw moderate rainfall occurring in Typhoon Higos as it moved over open waters of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.

Astronomy & Space news

	Dark Energy Camera unveils small objects in solar system The 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera, built at DOE's Fermilab and mounted on the 4-meter Victor Blanco Telescope in Chile, delivers some of the most detailed images of celestial objects. While about a third of the camera's observing time goes to scientists working on the Dark Energy Survey, dozens of other teams share the remaining time. While the majority of them focus on observing objects far away, five groups recently highlighted in Symmetry magazine are investigating things close to Earth, looking for "space junk" that could damage satellites, large rocks that could hit Earth and other objects traversing our solar system.
	High wind scraps SpaceX observatory launch, rocket landing Dangerously high wind is keeping a deep-space observatory grounded for yet another day.
	Microbiologist teams with NASA research panel to find life on Mars Are we alone in the universe? It's one of the most fundamental of questions, says Hazel Barton, an associate professor of biology at The University of Akron who joined to a panel of experts, convened by NASA, to help answer that very question.
	Image: The icy cap at Mars' south pole Swirls of chocolate, caramel and cream – this image is definitely one to trigger sweet-toothed cravings. Smooth cream-coloured plateaus surrounded by cocoa-dusted ridges interspersed with caramel-hued streaks create a scene reminiscent of a cosmic cappuccino.
	Next solar maximum may be safest time for manned missions to Mars Humans have long dreamed of traveling to Mars, and several nations and private organizations are developing plans for crewed Mars missions in the coming decades. But a recent study looking at the risks for astronauts going to the moon, Mars, and other destinations, suggests some times will be safer than others for humans attempting the journey.
	How fast is the universe expanding? The Universe is expanding, but how quickly is it expanding? How far away is everything getting from everything else? And how do we know any of this anyway?
	How can Mars sometimes be warmer than Earth? Remember a few weeks ago when the weather on Mars was making the news? At the time, parts of the Red Planet was experiencing temperatures that were actually warmer than parts of the US. Naturally, there were quite a few skeptics. How could a planet with barely any atmosphere which is farther from the Sun actually be warmer than Earth?
	Do stars move? We know that Earth is not the center of the universe—let alone the Solar System—but looking at the sky, it's easy to get confused. Stars appear to be rising and setting, as well as the planets, Moon and the Sun. And with more precise instruments, we can see some stars appearing to move back and forth relative to other ones.
	SpaceX tries again to launch observatory, land rocket at sea (Update) SpaceX is taking another stab Tuesday at launching an observatory into deep space and landing the rocket booster that carries it up.
	Queen's University Belfast plays leading role in world's biggest solar telescope Queen's University Belfast and Belfast business Andor Technology are playing a leading role in the construction of the world's biggest and most revolutionary solar telescope.
	NASA solicits proposals for a precision Doppler spectrometer at Kitt Peak National Observatory Kitt Peak National Observatory is the future home of a state-of-the-art instrument that will be used to detect and characterize other worlds. The new instrument, an extreme precision radial velocity spectrometer, will measure the subtle motion of stars produced by their orbiting planets. The spectrometer, funded by NASA, will be deployed on an existing telescope at Kitt Peak, the 3.5-meter WIYN telescope. The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), which is funded by NSF, is a partner in the telescope and operates Kitt Peak.
	Image: Space station flyover of Gulf of Aden and horn of Africa European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti took this photograph from the International Space Station.
	Image: DSCOVR on the launch pad This photo shows the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set to launch NOAA's Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft, or DSCOVR, at the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
	Google gives Lick Observatory $1 million Google Inc. has given $1 million to the University of California's Lick Observatory in what astronomers hope is the first of many private gifts to support an invaluable teaching and research resource for the state.

Technology news

	Eavesdropping concerns in Samsung smart TVs (Update) Watch what you say in your living room. Samsung's smart TV could be listening. And sharing.
	Robots replacing human factory workers at faster pace Cheaper, better robots will replace human workers in the world's factories at a faster pace over the next decade, pushing labor costs down 16 percent, a report Tuesday said.
	Flyability set to empower drones for good deeds Flyability drones are going to advance a perception of drones as service angels as opposed to attack agents. Switzerland-based Flyability is all about making robots to support search and rescue operations. Their product is a small, lightweight drone which can collide on obstacles without losing stability and is safe to fly in contact with humans.
	New battery startup promises safe lithium batteries Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) battery scientist Nitash Balsara has worked for many years trying to find a way to improve the safety of lithium-ion batteries. Now he believes he has found the answer in a most unlikely material—a class of compounds that has mainly been used for industrial lubrication.
	Google boosts health search with more medical sources Google on Tuesday began tuning its mobile search application to better answer people's questions about common ailments from tennis elbow to the measles.
	Google to stop SPDY protocol support early 2016 Goodbye SPDY. The official Chromium blog from Chris Bentzel, Multiplexing Manager and Bence Béky, HTTP/2 Enabler, said on Monday they are saying goodbye to SPDY, the open nonstandard protocol that they were using. Chrome supported SPDY since Chrome 6, but now the plan is to remove support for SPDY in early 2016. They will also remove support for a TLS extension named NPN. (TLS stands for Transport Layer Security extension. NPN stands for Next Protocol Negotiation, which "allows application level protocols to be negotiated without additional round trips and with clean fallback in the case of an unsupportive MITM proxy.")
Ride-sharing service Sidecar adds package deliveries Ride-sharing service Sidecar on Monday said that along with transporting people it is making same-day deliveries of packages.
	Samsung and Microsoft end patent dispute Samsung and Microsoft said on Tuesday they had ended a patent dispute that had seen the US software giant sue the South Korean conglomerate for breaching a 2011 licensing contract.
	Let hackers in: Experts say traps might be better than walls Ever since the Internet blossomed in the 1990s, cybersecurity was built on the idea that computers could be protected by a digital quarantine. Now, as hackers routinely overwhelm such defenses, experts say cybersecurity is beyond due an overhaul.
Softbank quarterly profit dives, robot deal announced Softbank's quarterly profit plunged by two thirds as it struggled with reshaping its money-losing U.S. acquisition Sprint Corp.
	US admiral praises laser and electromagnetic guns on costs Lasers that shoot down drones with precision and electromagnetic cannons that fire more than 100 miles are part of the future of naval warfare, promising to be cheaper to use than conventional weapons, a U.S admiral said on Tuesday.
	In Japan, happiness is... wearable sensors? It is a problem that has defeated generations of philosophers, poets and painters, but one Japanese company thinks it has come up with a way of knowing for sure if people are happy.
	Softbank to add learning technology to empathetic robot Japanese mobile carrier Softbank said Tuesday it will incorporate artificial intelligence technology from IBM into its empathetic robot Pepper that will be available to Japanese consumers around midyear.
	New Ford Focus launches with next-generation stability control technology designed to predict potential spinouts What's better than a car that helps prevent spinouts once they occur? The answer at Ford Motor Company is a car that can predict a spin before it even begins.
	Fishing vessel transformed into a wave power plant Is it possible for a redundant fishing vessel to be used as a power plant? Absolutely! The first vessel of its kind is now anchored offshore in the Stadthavet area west in Norway, with the aim of generating electricity from the natural forces of the sea.
	Shaping up our 'soundscapes' can improve our lives We live in an increasingly noisy world. Since even low-level noise can affect quality of life, new tools to deal with noise are welcome. "Auralisation", the audio equivalent of visualisation, is now helping to model and improve the sound of our living and working spaces, as well as recovering the acoustics of past environments.
	It's not just your TV listening in to your conversation Be careful what you say in front of your new television, following reports that Samsung's new Smart TVs are now being programmed to listen to every word you say and send it over the internet to a third party cloud service.
	Experimental wave-power buoy survives winter in Monterey Bay In early January 2015, a team of MBARI engineers, led by Andy Hamilton, set out to sea to recover an experimental buoy that creates electrical energy from ocean waves. This power buoy had been deployed six miles southwest of Moss Landing Harbor for 131 days, while the engineers tested the system's ability to handle storms.
	Accident-tolerant fuels ready for testing Higher performance nuclear fuels could allow use in a reactor for longer periods of time along with enhanced tolerance to severe accident conditions. The summer of 2014 marked an important milestone toward development of nuclear fuel with enhanced accident-tolerant characteristics.
	Newsweek Twitter feed hijacked by pro-IS hacker Newsweek's Twitter feed was briefly hijacked Tuesday by hackers who displayed messages supporting the Islamic State group.
Obama to create new agency to examine cyberthreats The White House is setting up a new agency designed to coordinate cyberthreat intelligence that currently is spread across the U.S. government.
Computer analysis verifies authenticity of Jackson Pollock's drip paintings Abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock was perhaps most famous for his "drip painting" technique. His legacy, however, is plagued by fake "Pollocks" and even experts often have trouble distinguishing the genuine from the counterfeit. Now, a machine vision approach described in a forthcoming issue of International Journal of Arts and Technology has demonstrated 93 percent accuracy in spotting true Pollocks.
	Flipboard magazines not just for mobile anymore Smartphones and tablets have been pushing the personal computer aside, thanks in part to popular apps made by mobile-first entrepreneurs like Flipboard CEO Mike McCue.
	Twitter exec's account fires off spam posts An official Twitter account for the company's chief financial officer unleashed a barrage of spam posts on Tuesday in what may have been a hack or a glitch.
	Chinese spy team hacks Forbes.com: security firms US cyber security firms on Tuesday said that a Chinese espionage team hacked Forbes magazine to hunt defense contractors, financial firms, and other unsuspecting prey visiting the popular news website.
	Apple becomes first company worth over $700 bn Apple became the first company to reach a market value of $700 billion Tuesday as shares vaulted amid upbeat news on the US tech giant's gains in the smartphone market and soon-to-arrive smartwatch.
Apple building big solar energy farm in California Apple will spend $850 million on a massive solar energy project that will generate enough power for the computer giant's new office campus, retail stores and its other California operations.
	Cybersecurity students discover security gaps in 39,890 online databases Anyone could call up or modify several million pieces of customer data online including names, addresses and e-mails. According to the Center for IT-Security, Privacy and Accountability (CISPA) in Saarbrücken, Germany, three of its students were able to show this for 40,000 online databases in both Germany and France. The cause is a misconfigured open source database upon which millions of online stores and platforms from all over the world base their services.
	Lower-cost metal 3-D printing solution available 3D printing of plastic parts to prototype or manufacture goods is becoming commonplace in industry, but there is an urgent need for lower-cost 3D printing technology to produce metal parts. New substrate release solutions that offer easy, less expensive alternatives to aluminum parts removal during gas metal arc weld 3D printing are described in an article in 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing.
	Russia, Egypt say they aim to build nuclear power plant The presidents of Egypt and Russia on Tuesday said the two countries would build Egypt's first nuclear power plant together and boost natural gas trade and other ties.
Pentagon No. 2 sounds alarm over tech erosion The Pentagon's second-ranking official sounded alarm bells Tuesday about an erosion of America's military technological edge, warning that a return to automatic budget cuts would be an "unmitigated disaster" for the Pentagon.
Obama seeks $2 billion in private dollars for clean energy President Barack Obama is setting a goal of raising $2 billion from the private sector for investments in clean energy.
	On the menu for Yelp: Ordering takeout with Eat24 (Update 2) Competition for online takeout orders is heating up with Yelp's purchase of Eat24.
	FBI probes Newsweek hack following threats The FBI is investigating the hijacking of Newsweek's Twitter feed Tuesday by pro-Islamic hackers in which a threat was made to President Barack Obama's family, the White House said.

Chemistry news

	Google Glass app noninvasively analyzes plant health in seconds Scientists from UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute have developed a Google Glass app that, when paired with a handheld device, enables the wearer to quickly analyze the health of a plant without damaging it.
	'Microfluidics' enables production of 'shape-controllable microgels' sought for medicine, research A new, relatively simple process makes it possible to create biocompatible particles called shape-controllable microgels that could be custom-designed for specific roles such as drug delivery vehicles, tissue engineering building blocks and biomedical research.
	Novel non-stick material joins portfolio of slippery surface technologies More than 80 percent of microbial infections in the human body are caused by a build-up of bacteria, according to the National Institutes of Health. Bacteria cells gain a foothold in the body by accumulating and forming into adhesive colonies called biofilms, which help them to thrive and survive but cause infections and associated life-threatening risks to their human hosts. These biofilms commonly form on medical surfaces including those of mechanical heart valves, urinary catheters, intravenous catheters, and implants. But a new study reported in the inaugural issue of ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering demonstrates a powerful, long-lasting repellent surface technology that can be used with medical materials to prevent infections caused by biofilms.
	Making fuels and chemicals from bio-inspired sources Living cells are a hive of activity, full of tiny structures making proteins, breaking down junk, and creating energy. All of this happens through a series of chemical reactions made possible largely because of the humble cell wall.
	Arachnid Rapunzel: Researchers spin spider silk proteins into artificial silk Incredibly tough, slightly stretchy spider silk is a lightweight, biodegradable wonder material with numerous potential biomedical applications. But although humans have been colonizing relatively placid silkworms for thousands of years, harvesting silk from territorial and sometimes cannibalistic spiders has proven impractical. Instead, labs hoping to harness spider silk's mechanical properties are using its molecular structure as a template for their own biomimetic silks.
Video: Can pheromones get you a date? Is there such a thing as love at first smell?
	Water ice renders short-lived molecule sustainable "Antiaromatic compounds" is what chemists call a class of ring molecules which are extremely instable—the opposite of the highly stable aromatic molecules. Because they exist for mere split seconds, they can only be detected by extremely demanding, ultra fast methods. Together with colleagues from Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mulheim, researchers from the Cluster of Excellence RESOLV at Ruhr-Universitat Bochum have succeeded in isolating the antiaromatic fluorenyl cation at extremely low temperatures in water ice. Thus, they were able to conduct a spectroscopic analysis for the very first time.

Biology news

A first of its kind tool to study the histone code University of North Carolina scientists have created a new research tool, based on the fruit fly, to help crack the histone code. This research tool can be used to better understand the function of histone proteins, which play critical roles in the regulation of gene expression in animals and plants.
	Researchers have traced the evolution of glowing shrimp Florida International University researchers have traced the evolution of bioluminescence in deep-sea shrimps.
	Study shows parasites may resort to sabotage if there are conflicting interests with a host (Phys.org)—A pair of researchers at the Max Planck Institute has found that for at least one type of parasite existing inside one type of host, sabotage might be at play when there are competing interests. In their paper published in the journal Evolution, Nina Hafer and Manfred Milinski, describe their experiments with tapeworm parasites that live in copepods, a small crustacean and what they learned about the tapeworm's behavior.
	Engineers put the 'squeeze' on human stem cells After using optical tweezers to squeeze a tiny bead attached to the outside of a human stem cell, researchers now know how mechanical forces can trigger a key signaling pathway in the cells.
	Crocodiles just wanna have fun, too Turns out we may have more in common with crocodiles than we'd ever dream. According to research by a psychology professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, crocodiles think surfing waves, playing ball and going on piggyback rides are fun, too.
	Fatal shark attacks rare in Australia despite deaths: experts A hunt was underway Tuesday for a large shark that killed a Japanese surfer on Australia's east coast, as experts said fatal attacks remained rare despite three deaths in as many months.
Fighting animal cruelty in LatAm, one tweet at a time Veterinarian Carmen Soto is gently swabbing what is left of Grecia the toucan's bright beak, preparing to fit him with a prosthesis to replace the part hacked off by vandals.
	The winter-to-spring cankerworm cycle It is the time of the year when you might be thinking of snuggling up with hot chocolate and your favorite book, but female cankerworm moths are hard at work – laying the foundation for an invasion that you won't notice until this spring.
	Scientists reveal rapid New Zealand penguin extinction and arrivals An international research team led by scientists from the University of Otago's Department of Zoology has documented one of the most rapid biological transition events ever found.
	Avian malaria also affects wild birds in Austria Avian malaria is not uncommon in Central Europe, as many endemic wild birds are infected with species of Plasmodium, which cause avian malaria. In most cases these blood parasites, transmitted by mosquitoes, do not produce any symptoms in endemic birds, as they have adapted to the parasites. A team of pathologists at the Vetmeduni Vienna recently showed for the first time that native birds, too, are susceptible to avian malaria. The data collected was published in the journal Parasitology Research.
	End of CRISPR-CAS9 controversy The IBS research team (Center for Genome Engineering) has successfully confirmed that CRISPR-Cas9 has accurate on-target effects in human cells, through joint research with the Seoul National University College of Medicine and ToolGen, Inc.
	The princess and the pea: Cells' ultra-sensitivity for strong molecular forces Knowing how cells exert force and sense mechanical feedback in their microenvironment is crucial to understanding how they activate a wide range of cellular functions, such as cell reproduction, differentiation and adhesion—basic physiological processes that underlie embryo development, tumor metastasis, wound healing and many other aspects of human health and disease.
	Worms in space: Exploring health effects of microgravity Humans may inevitably explore other planets, moons, and asteroids within our solar system. And although life on Earth has adapted to our planet's gravitational field, this looming possibility begs the question: How will animals and humans adapt to different gravitational environments?
Predicting plant responses to drought A new U.S. Geological Survey study shows how plants' vulnerability to drought varies across the landscape; factors such as plant structure and soil type where the plant is growing can either make them more vulnerable or protect them from declines.
	With a little help from robotic, researchers investigate the communications behind swarming Living in groups affords several benefits for animals, including better feeding opportunities and reduced risks from predators—situations in which critical information is transmitted nonverbally throughout the group. While scientists know that information is shared during coordinated maneuvers, those interactions are only a small subset of the complex behavioral repertoire displayed by the animal groups.
	South Africa weighs legal rhino horn trade South Africa has appointed a panel of experts to examine the viability of a legal rhino horn trade, the environmental affairs ministry said Tuesday as poaching of the species spiked to record levels.
Suspended soils maintain rainforest ecosystems Scientists from the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) believe that the bird's nest fern, a plant commonly found in many of our homes, has a critical place in maintaining the biodiversity and the ecosystems of the world's rainforests.
	US continues global leadership to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing In its 2015 biennial report to Congress on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU), NOAA has identified six nations—Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Nigeria, Nicaragua, and Portugal—as engaging in the practice. IUU fishing and seafood fraud undermine international efforts to sustainably manage and rebuild fisheries, and creates unfair market competition for fishermen playing by the rules, like those in the United States.
	Too much of a good thing: Extra genes make bacteria lethal We, as most animals, host many different beneficial bacteria. Being beneficial to the host often pays off for the bacteria, as success of the host determines the survival and spread of the microbe. But if bacteria grow too much they may become deadly. In a new study published in the latest edition of the scientific journal PLOS Biology, a research team from Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia (IGC; Portugal) found that a single genomic change can turn beneficial bacteria into pathogenic bacteria, by boosting bacterial density inside the host.
Adult fish facility opens Oregon's South Santiam basin to threatened salmon and steelhead Oregon's Foster Dam just got an upgrade, one that is proving vital to the survival of threatened Upper Willamette River spring Chinook salmon and winter steelhead. A new facility ensures fish can bypass the 126-foot flood control structure in better condition as they migrate upstream, improving the odds they reach their spawning grounds high in the Willamette Valley's South Santiam basin.

Medicine & Health news

	Of cancer and chaos: Single base mutation induces cancer-like gene profile and major unexpected impact on phenotype (Medical Xpress)—In chaos theory – the study of dynamical systems highly sensitive to initial conditions – was first described in 1890 by Henri Poincaré1, followed by work by Jacques Hadamard in 1898 and Pierre Duhem in 1908. Then, in his 1963 paper2, meteorologist Edward N. Lorenz theoretically demonstrated how in deterministic nonlinear systems, slightly differing initial states can evolve into very different later states – an effect commonly known as the butterfly effect. (While Lorenz did not use the term in his paper – it was previously introduced by Ray Bradbury in his 1952 science fiction story, A Sound of Thunder – it is attributed to him: the title of his talk at the 139th meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1972, Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?, was anecdotally coined by fellow meteorologist Philip Merilees.) That said, while chaotic behavior in many natural systems can be studied through analysis of a chaotic mathematical model or analytical techniques such as recurrence plots and Poincaré maps, there is not universal agreement that weather systems are so exquisitely sensitive to initial conditions, with alternative explanations including model error and oversimplified Lorenz equations.
	Researchers use closed-loop feedback from the brain to improve attention abilities (Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers at Princeton University has found a way to improve the attention span of volunteers in a study. In their paper published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the team describes how they used fMRI machines to provide feedback to volunteers having their attention abilities tested and the impact it had on them.
	Grey matter loss from smoking may be reversible, study finds Damage to the brain's outer layer caused by smoking may be reversible after quitting, but it could take years, a study said Tuesday.
	Plant extract fights brain tumour Silibinin has an outstanding safety profile in humans and is currently used for the treatment of liver disease and poisoning. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich discovered in collaboration with scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München in cell cultures, animal models and human tumor tissue that silibinin can be applied to treat Cushing Disease, a rare hormone condition caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland in the brain. The researchers have filed a patent and now plan clinical trials using silibinin as a non-invasive treatment strategy. Thus, in future, patients might not have to undergo brain surgery anymore.
	Genetic guides to epigenetics Dirk Schübeler and his group at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) identify determinants that set epigenetic marks along the genome. The new study, published in Nature, shows that genetic activity and DNA sequence play a greater role in the regulation of epigenetic marking than previously thought. This questions the popular idea that gene expression can be influenced by external factors via epigenetic marking.
	New screening tool could speed development of ovarian cancer drugs University of Chicago Medicine researchers have built a model system that uses multiple cell types from patients to rapidly test compounds that could block the early steps in ovarian cancer metastasis. Their three-dimensional cell-culture system, adapted for high-throughput screening, has enabled them to identify small molecules that can inhibit adhesion and invasion, preventing ovarian cancers from spreading to nearby tissues.
	Babies can identify complex social situations and react accordingly In the social world, people constantly gather information through visual cues that are used to evaluate others and interact. A new study from researchers at the University of Missouri determined that babies can make sense of complex social situations, and that they expect people to behave appropriately.
	Protein linked to longevity and enhanced cognition protects against Alzheimer's symptoms Scientists from the Gladstone Institutes and the University of California, San Francisco report in the Journal of Neuroscience that raising levels of the life-extending protein klotho can protect against learning and memory deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Remarkably, this boost in cognition occurred despite the accumulation of Alzheimer-related toxins in the brain, such as amyloid-beta and tau.
	Unwanted impact of antibiotics broader, more complex than previously known Researchers at Oregon State University have discovered that antibiotics have an impact on the microorganisms that live in an animal's gut that's more broad and complex than previously known.
	Study shows brain area involved in eye movements, heading An area of the brain involved in eye movements also plays an important role in establishing our direction and navigating our environment, a Dartmouth College study finds.
	Panel asks: What defines chronic fatigue syndrome? (HealthDay)—Chronic fatigue syndrome is about to get a new clinical definition, with the hope that it will help physicians better diagnose people afflicted with the mysterious and complex disorder.
	No link seen between oxytocin-assisted labor and ADHD (HealthDay)—Mothers who get an extra boost during labor with the medication oxytocin don't face a higher risk of having a child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new study says.
	Residential treatment program helps obese kids lose weight, study finds (HealthDay)—Extremely obese kids in an intensive 10-month residential treatment program lost more weight than their counterparts, and appeared to reverse artery damage that could lead to clogged arteries and heart disease, according to a new study from Belgium.
Lucentis approved for diabetic retinopathy (HealthDay)—A drug to treat the most common eye disease among diabetics has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
	AMA provides key messages for patients about vaccination (HealthDay)—Physicians should be prepared for questions about the safety of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to an article published by the American Medical Association (AMA). The AMA has offered advice for answering patient questions on vaccination.
	One-quarter of adnexal masses in youth are malignant (HealthDay)—For children and adolescents with an adnexal mass, about 25 percent of masses are malignant, according to a study published online Feb. 4 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
	Review: Some nonpharmacologic Tx effective in peds GI disorders (HealthDay)—Certain nonpharmacologic treatments are effective in pediatric abdominal pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorders (AP-FGIDs), according to a review published online Feb. 9 in Pediatrics.
	Tobacco-smoking moms and dads increase diabetes risk for children in utero Children exposed to tobacco smoke from their parents while in the womb are predisposed to developing diabetes as adults, according to a study from the University of California, Davis and the Berkeley nonprofit Public Health Institute.
Lung cancer may be treatable with use of SapC-DOPS technology, research shows Lung cancer is the most common and the deadliest type of cancer worldwide, with about 221,000 new cases and an estimated 158,000 deaths in 2015 in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society.
	Exposure to mercury, seafood associated with risk factor for autoimmune disease One of the greatest risk factors for autoimmunity among women of childbearing age may be associated with exposure to mercury such as through seafood, a new University of Michigan study says.
Growing number of donor hearts rejected, need for transplants rises, study finds Surgeons and transplant centers nationwide increasingly have rejected hearts donated for transplantation despite a growing need for them, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Simple blood test can predict risk of dementia Scientists at Rigshopitalet, Herlev Hospital and the University of Copenhagen identify a new biomarker that can predict the risk of developing dementia by way of a simple blood test. In the long term, this could mean better prevention and thus at least postponement of the illness and at best evading the development all together. The study was recently published in an internationally acclaimed journal, the Annals of Neurology.
	Confidence not accurate measure of prescribing competence (HealthDay)—For medical students, self-reported confidence in prescribing only weakly correlates with actual competence, according to a study published online Feb. 4 in The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
French charity attacks Gilead patent for hepatitis drug French charity Medecins du Monde (MdM) on Tuesday said it was contesting a European patent awarded to a hepatitis drug made by US firm Gilead Sciences, arguing the treatment was too costly.
Qatar tackles weighty problem with national sport day More than a million Qataris were given a day off work Tuesday to take part in a nationwide day of sport amid growing concern at obesity levels in the super-rich Gulf state.
	How a drug for ADHD is being used to fight binge eating The US Food and Drug Administration has just approved the use of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate for the treatment of binge eating disorder. Licensed under the brand name Vyvanse, lisdexamfetamine is the first and only FDA-approved medication for this condition.
	Researcher explores complex relationship between color perception and memory As the time-honored tradition goes, many lovebirds may be seeing red this Valentine's Day. The color of blood and fire, red has long been synonymous with intense emotions, such as love, passion, desire, strength, and vitality.
	Scientists find link between clear memories, brain connectivity Research from the Center for Vital Longevity (CVL) at UT Dallas sheds new light on how memories are successfully recollected.
Do adults need booster shots? When we think of vaccinations, the image of children getting their shots at a health clinic comes to mind, but there are many reasons adults need to think about vaccinations, as well.
	Predicting which misbehaving teens may become troubled adults It's not surprising that teens involved in fighting, vandalism, theft and other bad behaviors often have problems later in life as adults.
	Bio-inspired robotic sock that promotes blood circulation and prevents blood clots in legs Patients who are bedridden or unable to move their legs are often at risk of developing Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), a potentially life-threatening condition caused by blood clots forming along the lower extremity veins of the legs. A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Faculty of Engineering has invented a novel sock that can help prevent DVT and improve survival rates of patients.
Depression and anxiety may be the first manifestations of a medical disease In the current issue of P&P, Fiammetta Cosci and other italian investigators have analyzed the data available on depression and anxiety as early manifestations of medical disease.
	Mum and Dad's genes battle over baby's body shape Scientists from

2015년 2월 10일 화요일

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