Science X Newsletter Monday, Mar 16

Phys.org Newsletter for March 16, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Half-millimeter-thick battery could be worn in a wrinkle-smoothing patch 
- Successful in vivo test of breakthrough Staphylococcus aureus vaccine 
- Researchers change human leukemia cells into harmless immune cells 
- New clues from the dawn of the solar system 
- A second minor planet may possess Saturn-like rings 
- Second natural quasicrystal found in 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite 
- Colorful life-form catalog will help discern if we are alone 
- Uncovering the secrets of super solar power perovskites 
- Moral decisions can be manipulated by eye tracking 
- Frequency of tornadoes, hail linked to El Nino, La Nina 
- Confirming Einstein, scientists find 'spacetime foam' not slowing down photons from faraway gamma-ray burst (Update) 
- Symmetry matters in graphene growth 
- Cyborg beetle research allows free-flight study of insects 
- Molecular ruler sets bacterial needle length 
- Materials theory combines strength, stiffness and toughness of composites into a single design map 

Nanotechnology news

	Materials theory combines strength, stiffness and toughness of composites into a single design map Mother-of-pearl, the iridescent layer in the shells of some mollusks, inspired a Rice University study that will help scientists and engineers judge the ultimate strength, stiffness and toughness of composite materials for anything from nanoscale electronics to buildings.
	Symmetry matters in graphene growth What lies beneath growing islands of graphene is important to its properties, according to a new study led by Rice University.
	Nano piano's lullaby could mean storage breakthrough Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated the first-ever recording of optically encoded audio onto a non-magnetic plasmonic nanostructure, opening the door to multiple uses in informational processing and archival storage.

Physics news

	Uncovering the secrets of super solar power perovskites The best hope for cheap, super-efficient solar power is a remarkable family of crystalline materials called hybrid perovskites. In just five years of development, hybrid perovskite solar cells have attained power conversion efficiencies that took decades to achieve with the top-performing conventional materials used to generate electricity from sunlight.
	Confirming Einstein, scientists find 'spacetime foam' not slowing down photons from faraway gamma-ray burst (Update) One hundred years after Albert Einstein formulated the general theory of relativity, an international team has proposed another experimental proof. In a paper published today in Nature Physics, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Open University of Israel, Sapienza University of Rome, and University of Montpellier in France, describe a proof for one of the theory's basic assumptions: the idea that all light particles, or photons, propagate at exactly the same speed.
	Second natural quasicrystal found in 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite A team from Princeton University and the University of Florence in Italy has discovered a quasicrystal—so named because of its unorthodox arrangement of atoms—in a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite from a remote region of northeastern Russia, bringing to two the number of natural quasicrystals ever discovered. Prior to the team finding the first natural quasicrystal in 2009, researchers thought that the structures were too fragile and energetically unstable to be formed by natural processes.
	A photonic crystal fibre generates light from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared The light generated by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen is more colourful than a rainbow. The scientists couple a low-energy, infrared laser pulse into a photonic crystal fibre (PCF) which is tailor-made so that the spectrum of the pulse broadens significantly to become white light: the generated spectrum spans from the deep-ultraviolet region to the mid-infrared region – a world record at such low input energy. The researchers from MPL in Erlangen are the first to produce microstructured glass fibres from a material that is particularly resistant to ultraviolet light, unlike conventional quartz glass. This material (ZBLAN) is actually extremely difficult to draw fibres from, and up until now it was regarded as impossible to draw photonic crystal fibres from it. In such fibres, a 2D periodic structure of hollow channels surrounds the fibre core, and runs along the entire length the f! ibre. The light produced with the world-record spectrum, could facilitate many investigations in biomedical research, in physics and chemistry, or even make new ones possible in the first place.
Scientists move closer to 'two for one deal' on solar cell efficiency The underlying mechanism behind an enigmatic process called "singlet exciton fission", which could enable the development of significantly more powerful solar cells, has been identified by scientists in a new study.
	Humble neutron is valuable tool in geology With the ability to analyse the properties of the Earth's internal components to the atomic scale in conditions only found kilometres below our feet, recent studies have allowed geoscientists to study our planets internal working, as well as those of worlds further afield, at new fundamental levels. And all from the relative comfort of the laboratory! Only last year, for example, researchers from Bath University used neutron techniques to map structural changes within oxide glasses and liquids - research that could provide a new tool to investigate the environmental conditions that melt the Earth's interior and produce volcanism at the surface.
New remote control for molecular motors In the eyes of physicists, magnetic molecules can be considered as nanoscale magnets. Remotely controlling the direction in which they rotate, like spinning tops, may intuitively be difficult to achieve. However, Russian physicists have just demonstrated that it is theoretically possible to do so. They have shown that a change of direction in the circular polarisation of an external magnetic field leads to a change in the direction of the mechanical rotation of the molecule.
	Team offers new insights into radiation damage evolution Two reports from Los Alamos National Laboratory this week in the Nature journal Scientific Reports are helping crack the code of how certain materials respond in the highly-damaging radiation environments within a nuclear reactor.

Earth news

	Frequency of tornadoes, hail linked to El Nino, La Nina Climate scientists can spot El Niño and La Niña conditions developing months ahead of time, and they use this knowledge to make more accurate forecasts of droughts, flooding and even hurricane activity around the world. Now, a new study shows that El Niño and La Niña conditions can also help predict the frequency of tornadoes and hail storms in some of the most susceptible regions of the United States. The study appears in the current issue of the journal Nature Geoscience.
	Seismic study aims to map Earth's interior in 3-D When a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck central China's Sichuan province in 2008, seismic waves rippled through the region, toppling apartment houses in the city of Chengdu and swaying office buildings 1,000 miles away in Shanghai.
	Finding fault: New information may help understand earthquakes New modeling and analyses of fault geometry in the Earth's crust by geoscientist Michele Cooke and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are advancing knowledge about fault development in regions where one geologic plate slides past or over another, such as along California's San Andreas Fault and the Denali Fault in central Alaska.
	Past warming increased snowfall on Antarctica, affecting global sea level A new study confirms that snowfall in Antarctica will increase significantly as the planet warms, offsetting future sea level rise from other sources - but the effect will not be nearly as strong as many scientists previously anticipated because of other, physical processes.
	Cropping Africa's wet savannas would bring high environmental costs With the global population rising, analysts and policymakers have targeted Africa's vast wet savannas as a place to produce staple foods and bioenergy groups at low environmental costs. But a new report published in the journal Nature Climate Change finds that converting Africa's wet savannas into farmland would come at a high environmental cost and, in some cases, fail to meet existing standards for renewable fuels.
	East Antarctica melting could be explained by oceanic gateways Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin's Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) in the Jackson School of Geosciences have discovered two seafloor gateways that could allow warm ocean water to reach the base of Totten Glacier, East Antarctica's largest and most rapidly thinning glacier. The discovery, reported in the March 16 edition of the journal Nature Geoscience, probably explains the glacier's extreme thinning and raises concerns about how it will affect sea level rise.
	Solar could meet California energy demand three to five times over In the face of global climate change, increasing the use of renewable energy resources is one of the most urgent challenges facing the world. Further development of one resource, solar energy, is complicated by the need to find space for solar power-generating equipment without significantly altering the surrounding environment.
	Microbes in the seafloor: Little nutrients, lots of oxygen About one quarter of the global seafloor is extremely nutrient poor. Contrary to previous assumptions, it contains oxygen not just in the thin surface layer, but also throughout its entire thickness. The underlying basement rocks contain oxygen as well. An international research team made these new discoveries through analysis of drill cores from the South Pacific Gyre.
	Study details importance of methane seeps in microbial biodiversity of sea floor The University of Delaware's Jennifer Biddle has co-authored an article detailing the important role methane seeps play in microbial biodiversity of the sea floor in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on March 16.
	New NASA mission to study ocean color, airborne particles and clouds NASA is beginning work on a new satellite mission that will extend critical climate measurements of Earth's oceans and atmosphere and advance studies of the impact of environmental changes on ocean health, fisheries and the carbon cycle.
	New research measures pulse of planet Earth The University of East Anglia is part of an international research team to use a method, normally employed by heart surgeons, to reveal the pulse of planet Earth.
	SMAP almost ready to map frozen soil Those who feel as though they've been living in the never-ending winter of the movie "Frozen" this year may be glad to hear that the spring thaw is now typically arriving up to two weeks earlier in the Northern Hemisphere than it did 20 to 30 years ago. But the changing date of the spring thaw has consequences far beyond reducing the number of mornings when you have to scrape off your windshield.
	Listen to the pulse of Chile's erupting Villarrica volcano Rucapillan—house of the spirit—it's called by indigenous Chileans known as the Mapuche. And what a spirit it has, this volcano in south-central Chile that's perhaps best known as Villarrica.
	Climate change to result in tasteless, poor-quality food Appetite for Change, a report prepared by leading climate scientists David Karoly and Richard Eckard at the University of Melbourne, reveals the impact that shifting rainfall patterns, extreme weather, warming oceans, and climate-related diseases will have on the production, quality and cost of Australia's food in the future.
	Farmers can use free online system to map fields and reduce soil erosion Dean Patches' to-do list has no end.
Biodiversity protected areas in Indonesia ineffective in preventing deforestation Establishing protected areas in forests is one way to keep deforestation at bay and safeguard biodiversity. However, a study led by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has revealed that such a measure is ineffective in the case of biodiversity-focused protected areas in Indonesia.
	Tropical Cyclone Bavi moving through Philippine Sea NASA's Aqua satellite captured visible and infrared data on Tropical Cyclone Bavi as it moved in a westward motion through the Philippine Sea.
	NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Nathan moving south and strengthening The MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Nathan east of the Queensland coast on March 16 at 0:00 UTC. The image showed a rounded circulation with bands of thunderstorms wrapping into the center of circulation.
	NASA sees Extra-Tropical Storm Pam moving away from New Zealand Pam, a once powerful Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale is now an extra-tropical storm moving past northern New Zealand. NASA's Aqua satellite and the ISS-RapidScat instrument provided a look at the storm's structure and wind speed.

Astronomy & Space news

	Colorful life-form catalog will help discern if we are alone While looking for life on planets beyond our own solar system, a group of international scientists has created a colorful catalog containing reflection signatures of Earth life forms that might be found on planet surfaces throughout the cosmic hinterlands. The new database and research, published in the March 16 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, gives humans a better chance to learn if we are not alone.
	New clues from the dawn of the solar system A research group in the UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory has found evidence in meteorites that hint at the discovery of a previously unknown region within the swirling disk of dust and gas known as the protoplanetary disk - which gave rise to the planets in our solar system.
	A second minor planet may possess Saturn-like rings There are only five bodies in our solar system that are known to bear rings. The most obvious is the planet Saturn; to a lesser extent, rings of gas and dust also encircle Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. The fifth member of this haloed group is Chariklo, one of a class of minor planets called centaurs: small, rocky bodies that possess qualities of both asteroids and comets.
	Scientists fly kites on Earth to study Mars An unconventional research method allows for a new look at geologic features on Earth, revealing that some of the things we see on Mars and other planets may not be what they seem.
	New desktop application has potential to increase asteroid detection, now available to public A software application based on an algorithm created by a NASA challenge has the potential to increase the number of new asteroid discoveries by amateur astronomers.
	"Mini supernova" explosion could have big impact In Hollywood blockbusters, explosions are often among the stars of the show. In space, explosions of actual stars are a focus for scientists who hope to better understand their births, lives, and deaths and how they interact with their surroundings.
	Scientists discuss new results from MESSENGER's low-altitude campaign NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission, now nearing the end of its fourth and final year of orbital operations at Mercury, is well into a low-altitude campaign that is returning images and measurements of the planet's surface and interior that are unprecedented in their resolution. MESSENGER scientists will discuss new findings from the low-altitude campaign and their implications for Mercury's geological evolution and the planet's geophysical and geochemical characteristics at a press briefing today at the 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Technology news

	Half-millimeter-thick battery could be worn in a wrinkle-smoothing patch (Phys.org)—As the batteries under development in today's research labs are looking less like large blocks of metal and more like pieces of plastic wrap, their novel applications are coming closer to reality. One of the latest flexible batteries is thinner than a credit card, and could be integrated into various applications such as wrinkle-smoothing patches, smart cards, and watch straps.
	'Sharenting' trends: Do parents share too much about kids on social media? Some of social media's greatest stars aren't even old enough to tweet: Pictures of kids playing dress up, having meltdowns and even in the bathtub adorn Facebook walls. Diaper-donning toddlers dancing to the likes of Beyonce and Taylor Swift rack up YouTube views. Countless blogs share stories about everything from potty training to preschool struggles.
	WaterNest 100: A pod-shaped vision of floating household An article adaptation (from Environment@Harvard Volume 3, Issue 2) on the Harvard University Center for the Environment website said "Around the world, oceans are warming and expanding. Vast ice sheets are crumbling and melting into the sea. The result is global sea-level rise, which will be one of the most dramatic and destructive consequences of climate change." In the future, homes will increasingly be on water.
	China's Alibaba shows off pay-with-your-face technology at IT fair China's Internet tycoon Jack Ma, founder of giant online merchant Alibaba, gave a glimpse of the future when he demonstrated a new e-payment system using facial recognition at the CeBIT IT fair in Germany.
China's ambitious IT sector lays claim to global role China's huge IT sector is out in force in Germany this week, signalling to the world it is ready to not just copy but lead as a tech superpower.
	Robot capable of sorting through and folding piles of rumpled clothes Advancements in robotics have enabled humankind to automate a whole range of industrial processes, leading to more efficient and safer production and helping to expand our knowledge through scientific discovery. Why is it, however, that we can send a robot into space to take samples of Martian rocks, but still can't delegate the ironing to a household robot?
	Encryption for everyone In the wake of the revelations that intelligence agencies have been engaged in mass surveillance activities, both industry and society at large are looking for practicable encryption solutions that protect businesses and individuals. Previous technologies have failed in practice because they were too expensive or not user friendly enough. Fraunhofer has launched an open initiative called "Volksverschlüsselung" with the aim of bringing end-to-end encryption to the masses. Fraunhofer researchers will be presenting a prototype of their easy-to-use software and the infrastructure concept behind it at CeBIT 2015 (Hall 9, Booth E40).
	Don't want NSA to spy on your email? 5 things you can do More than half of Americans are worried about the U.S. government's digital spies prying into their emails, texts, search requests and other online information, but few are trying to thwart the surveillance.
	Facebook moves to curb spread of terror, hate speech (Update 2) Facebook said Monday it won't allow the social network to be used to promote terrorism or hate speech as it unveiled a wide-ranging update of its "community standards."
	Americans eye ways to skirt online snooping: survey Americans have been stepping up efforts to keep their data private since the revelations about vast US government surveillance programs, a survey showed Monday.
	Trending at SXSW: Mind cloning, off-the-grid messaging As a plane with a Grumpy Cat flag flew overhead, courtesy of Friskies, the Technorati flooded into panel discussions and happy hour spots at the annual tech festival South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, on Sunday.
	Team develops underwater robot to assist in oil-spill cleanup One big challenge facing cleanup crews during an offshore oil spill—such as 2010's Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico—is determining just how much oil is involved. Researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary, have now developed a remotely operated underwater vehicle to someday assist in this key aspect of the oil-spill response.
	Researchers increase energy density of lithium storage materials An interdisciplinary team of researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and KIT-founded Helmholtz Institute Ulm pushes the further development of lithium ion batteries: The researchers developed a new cathode material based on a new storage principle, as a result of which energy storage densities can be increased beyond those of systems known so far. The researchers now present the new material in the journal Advanced Energy Materials.
	Pinterest raises $367 mn in latest round The online bulletin-board style social network Pinterest disclosed Monday it had raised $367 million in new capital, pushing its valuation to a reported $11 billion.
	Study: China has grown to world's third-biggest arms exporter China has overtaken Germany to become the world's third-biggest arms exporter, although its 5 percent share remains small compared to the combined 58 percent of exports from the U.S. and Russia, a new study says.
Cablevision hopes to attract Internet customers with HBO Now Cablevision is offering the new HBO Now online service to its Internet customers, even though the service could persuade more people to drop their cable TV packages.

Chemistry news

Catalyst destroys common toxic nerve agents quickly Northwestern University scientists have developed a robust new material, inspired by biological catalysts, that is extraordinarily effective at destroying toxic nerve agents that are a threat around the globe. First used 100 years ago during World War I, deadly chemical weapons continue to be a challenge to combat.
	Researchers discover new catalysts to generate renewable fuels For the last seven years, Yale PhD student Staff Sheehan has been working on splitting water. Now, a paper just published in Nature Communications reveals how one of the methods he and his team have uncovered for this process—using a specific iridium species as a water oxidation catalyst—could aid in the development of renewable fuels. The process which Sheehan is investigating is known as artificial photosynthesis—storing energy from the sun as plants do, but more efficiently. "Artificial photosynthesis has been widely researched," Sheehan says, "but water oxidation is the bottleneck—it's usually the most difficult reaction to perform in generating fuel from sunlight." Yale coauthors include Julianne Thomsen, Ulrich Hintermair (currently at the University of Bath), Robert Crabtree, Gary Brudvig, and Charles Schmuttenmaer.
Spherical nucleic acids set stage for new paradigm in drug development A research team led by Northwestern University nanomedicine expert Chad A. Mirkin and Sergei Gryaznov of AuraSense Therapeutics is the first to show spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) can be used as potent drugs to effectively train the immune system to fight disease, by either boosting or dampening the immune response. The initial treatment triggers a cell-specific immune response all over the body.
Sugar key to cellular protein protection and viability A Simon Fraser University laboratory's breakthrough in understanding how a specialized sugar regulates protein levels in our cells could generate new targets for therapies to treat diseases caused by improper protein regulation. Cancer and various neurodegenerative diseases are among these diseases. In the case of Alzheimer's disease, the levels of toxic forms of two proteins build up in our brains.
	Protein mimic shows promise as tissue engineering glue Researchers have demonstrated the potential of a "synthetic protein mimic" to promote the adhesion of brain cells in a laboratory setting. This feat could help overcome a major challenge in nerve tissue engineering.
	Toward better prediction of the effects of substances at very low doses A public and scientific discussion is currently taking place focusing on the question whether substances at low concentrations may lead to health impairments in humans. For this reason, an increasing number of experimental studies to test such effects are currently conducted using different chemicals. It was possible to demonstrate, for example, that even low quantities of benzo[a]pyrene can have effects on the protein pattern and hence the metabolism and signal pathways in cells, even though the concentration is a hundred times below what is required to drive cells directly into apoptosis. This is the conclusion of studies undertaken by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Dresden University of Technology, and the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). These studies have now been published in the Journal of Proteome Research. The analysis of interlinked signal pathways taking advantage of different so-called "omics" technologies seems much more suitable for describing and monitoring unwanted effects than then previously used individual biomarkers.
By land and by sea: Scientists find differences in tanning treatments for materials Cod liver oil and willow bark extract used in the tanning of skins for clothing and other products offer notable differences in treatment, a study by a team of scientists shows. Their findings show the promise of a technique that may be used to identify the aging behavior of materials and to examine delicate works of art.
	Video: Craft beer chemistry It's been around for centuries but it seems like beer has never been more popular. Microbreweries are cranking out special stouts, IPAs, lagers and pilsners. And the flavors and aromas of each of those brews all come down to chemistry.
Products that reversibly change shape with temperature may revolutionize medicine New research highlights the capability of reversible shape-memory polymers to change their shape when heated to body temperature and then switch back to their original shape when cooled to room temperature.

Biology news

	Cyborg beetle research allows free-flight study of insects Hard-wiring beetles for radio-controlled flight turns out to be a fitting way to learn more about their biology. Cyborg insect research led by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is enabling new revelations about a muscle used by beetles for finely graded turns.
	Molecular ruler sets bacterial needle length When a salmonella bacterium attacks a cell, it uses a nanoscopic needle to inject it with proteins to aid the infection. If the needle is too short, the cell won't be infected. Too long, and the needle breaks. Now, University of Utah biologists report how a disposable molecular ruler or tape measure determines the length of the bacterial needle so it is just right.
	Light pollution shown to affect plant growth and food webs Artificial night time light from sources such as street lamps affects the growth and flowering of plants and even the number of insects that depend on those plants for food, a study published today confirms.
	Rare glimpse into how coral procreates could aid future conservation A rare and threatened Caribbean coral species has for the first time been successfully bred and raised in the lab, according to research published in the open access journal BMC Ecology.
	Biofuels and chemicals that don't cut into the food supply Emma Master's team spent the last two years studying plant cell walls, the part of the cell that gives trees and other flora their structural strength. The wall itself is built from a tight complex of sugars and polymers, and Master wants to isolate these components so they can be used to create renewable fuels, high-value chemicals, and novel bio-based materials.
	Researchers activate ancient mammalian sex development gene University of Queensland scientists have brought a retired sex gene in mammals back to life, proving it can still switch on male development in mice despite not having done so for millions of years.
	New research finds oceanic microbes behave in synchrony across ocean basins Researchers from UH Mānoa and colleagues found that microbial communities in different regions of the Pacific Ocean displayed strikingly similar daily rhythms in their metabolism despite inhabiting extremely different habitats – the nutrient-rich waters off California and the nutrient-poor waters north of Hawai'i. Furthermore, in each location, the dominant photoautotrophs – light-loving bacteria that need solar energy to help them photosynthesize food from inorganic substances – appear to initiate a cascade effect wherein the other major groups of microbes perform their metabolic activities in a coordinated and predictable way.
	Research pair find nitric oxide governs fight-or-flight response in crickets (w/ video) (Phys.org)—A pair of researchers working in Germany has found that the chemical nitric oxide has a profound impact on the fight-or-flight response of fighting crickets. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, Paul Stevenson and Jan Rillich describe experiments they conducted with crickets and nitric oxide, what they observed and their conclusions.
	Consistency is the key to success in bread baking and biology Whether you're baking bread or building an organism, the key to success is consistently adding ingredients in the correct order and in the right amounts, according to a new genetic study by University of Michigan researchers.
	Jailbreaking yeast could amp up wine's health benefits, reduce morning-after headaches University of Illinois scientists have engineered a "jailbreaking" yeast that could greatly increase the health benefits of wine while reducing the toxic byproducts that cause your morning-after headache.
	Life scientists streamline cutting-edge technique to edit mosquito genome Life science researchers at Virginia Tech have accelerated a game-changing technology that's being used to study one of the planet's most lethal disease-carrying animals.
Scientists confirm key targets of new anti-cancer drug candidates Ribosomes, ancient molecular machines that produce proteins in cells, are required for cell growth in all organisms, accomplishing strikingly complex tasks with apparent ease. But defects in the assembly process and its regulation can lead to serious biological problems, including cancer.
	New technique to chart protein networks in living cells A new approach for studying the behaviour of proteins in living cells has been developed by an interdisciplinary team of biologists and physicists in the Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, the Ellenberg Laboratory and the Advanced Light Microscopy Facility at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg.
	Scientists find DNA is packaged like a yoyo To pack two meters of DNA into a microscopic cell, the string of genetic information must be wound extremely carefully into chromosomes. Surprisingly the DNA's sequence causes it to be coiled and uncoiled much like a yoyo, scientists reported in Cell.
	Baboon friends swap gut germs The warm soft folds of the intestines are teeming with thousands of species of bacteria. Collectively known as the gut microbiome, these microbes help break down food, synthesize vitamins, regulate weight and resist infection.
	Supercomputers help solve puzzle-like bond for biofuels One of life's strongest bonds has been discovered by a science team researching biofuels with the help of supercomputers. Their find could boost efforts to develop catalysts for biofuel production from non-food waste plants.
	Wealth and power may have played a stronger role than 'survival of the fittest' The DNA you inherit from your parents contributes to the physical make-up of your body—whether you have blue eyes or brown, black hair or red, or are male or female. Your DNA can also influence whether you might develop certain diseases or disorders such as Crohn's Disease, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia or neurofibromatosis, to name a few.
Switch off the lights for bats New research has discredited the popular belief that street lighting is attractive to common bats. The study, carried out by scientists from the University of Exeter and Bat Conservation Ireland, found that bat activity was generally lower in street-lit areas than in dark locations with similar habitat. The findings have important implications for conservation, overturning the previous assumption that common bats benefited from street-lights because they could feed on the insects that congregated around them.
	Spider monkeys point to new understanding of hand dominance Spider monkeys aren't the hook-handed primates scientists always believed they were.
	Measuring the pulse of trees I read many years ago that if you wanted a tree to recognise you, you would need to sit quietly at its base for a week. Very Zen!
	Doubling fish biomass without increasing food supply or food quality To increase the biomass of fish, contemporary ecological theory predicts that either the amount of food or the quality of the food has to increase. In a recent experiment, researchers at Umeå University doubled the fish biomass under identical food supply and food quality by only controlling how much of total food supply that was channelled to juvenile and adult fish, respectively. The results have major implications for the exploitation (harvest) of fish populations and the coexistence of predatory fish and their prey.
	Rediscovering Ireland's rich history of wild plants​ Ireland lost one million souls to hunger and disease during the potato famine and another million to immigration. But that's not all, says Peter Wyse Jackson, PhD, president of the Missouri Botanical Garden and the George Engelmann Professor of Botany at Washington University in St. Louis.
	Single gene points to separate bird species The scarlet robin (Petroica boodang) may be classified into separate eastern and western Australian species following thousands of years of evolution separated by natural geographical barriers including the Nullarbor Plain.
	Territorial overlap led to cognitive advance The myriad challenges involved in animal groups sharing territory has been shown to be a key driver in the march towards higher intelligence in primates, including humans.
	The devil's helmet for a legendary tiger moth The Menetries's tiger moth (Borearctia menetriesii) is the most rare and enigmatic representative among the Palearctic Arctiinae. During an expedition in almost inaccessible wild taiga area of Eastern Siberia, Russian scientists had the luck to encounter it. During their studies they also recorded feeding larva of this mysterious species on a native devil's helmet host plant for the first time. The study was published in the open access journal Nota Lepidopterologica.
	Development of a carnivorous pitcher leaf Carnivorous plants have strange-shaped leaves, and they can grow on nutrient-poor environments by trapping and eating small animals. Charles Darwin, often called "the father of evolution", was also interested in carnivorous plants, and he wrote a book titled "Insectivorous Plants" published in 1875. Since then a lot of researches have been done, but how such strange-shaped leaves were altered during evolution remained unknown.
No reason to believe Yeti legends to be inspired by an unknown type of bear A Venezuelan evolutionary biologist and a US zoologist state that they have refuted, through mitochondrial DNA sequencing, a recent claim, also based on such sequencing, that unknown type of bear must exist. in the Himalayas and that it may be, at least in part, the source of yeti legends. Their study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.
	These 15 animal species have the lowest chance for survival: Researchers urge to act Climbing rats, seabirds and tropical gophers are among the 15 animal species that are at the absolute greatest risk of becoming extinct very soon. Expertise and money is needed to save them and other highly threatened species.
Study reveals value of zoos and aquariums in boosting biodiversity understanding Zoos and aquariums around the world have a crucial role to play in helping people understand how they can protect animals and their natural habitats, new research from the University of Warwick, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and Chester Zoo has found.
	Florida conservationists report record numbers of manatees Conservationists making an annual count of Florida's manatees said Monday they have tallied a record 6,000—a number that reflects years of effort to protect the marine mammals.
	Milk protein comparison unveils nutritional gems for developing babies Human babies appear to need more of a nutritional boost from breast-milk proteins than do infants of one of their closest primate relatives, suggests a study comparing human milk with the milk of rhesus macaque monkeys.
	Rare albino wallaroos call Aussie race track home "There she is, there she is!" In the distance beyond the outstretched finger of conservation biologist Daniel Ramp stood a rare white animal, rising slowly as her ears stiffened and eyes focused on him.
	Starving sea lion pups stranding on California beaches (Update) The starving sea lion pup was so tiny that it looked like a rock at the base of the seaside cliff until it struggled to raise its head as humans approached.
	Wheat varieties make way to breads and malt beverages Getting a product from research lab to the marketplace can be a long-term process. But two varieties of wheat, Appalachian White and NuEast, released for production in 2009 by a group led by an Agricultural Research Service scientist, have now become valued ingredients in products made by two North Carolina businesses.
	NOAA announces novel feeder for juvenile and larval fish NOAA Fisheries researchers have developed a fish feeder that allows fish farmers to automatically feed young fish on a recurrent basis while protecting the feed from oxidation and clumping. The patent-pending Microparticulate Feeder for Larval and Juvenile Fish was developed at NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Washington and is now available for licensing by a qualified U.S. company.
Can mechanisms used during hibernation help animals colonize new habitats? Heterothermy, the ability of some animals to lower their metabolism and body temperature, is traditionally seen as an effective adaptation to predictable seasonal bottlenecks of unproductive cold periods. A new review suggests that the use of heterothermy may have been used as a response to acute emergency situations in animals that colonized Madagascar.

Medicine & Health news

	Successful in vivo test of breakthrough Staphylococcus aureus vaccine (Medical Xpress)—One of the largest problems in clinical medicine is the growing prevalence of multidrug-resistant, disease-causing strains of Staphylococcus aureus. Penicillin resistance is now extremely common across a spectrum of staph strains, and although a few new antibiotic approaches show promise, the general availability of these new drugs still lies years in the future.
	Moral decisions can be manipulated by eye tracking Moral decisions can be influenced by tracking moment to moment movements of the eyes during deliberation, finds new research from Lund University, Sweden, University College London and University of California Merced.
	Researchers change human leukemia cells into harmless immune cells Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that when a certain aggressive leukemia is causing havoc in the body, the solution may be to force the cancer cells to grow up and behave.
	Motor neurone disease: Researchers identify new group of gene suspects Researchers have identified a new host of gene variants that could make people vulnerable to sporadic motor neurone disease, according to a report published today in the journal, Scientific Reports.
	New images of the brain show the forgetful side effect of frequent recall A new study from the University of Birmingham and the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences unit in Cambridge has shown how intentional recall is beyond a simple reawakening of a memory; and actually leads us to forget other competing experiences that interfere with retrieval. Quite simply, the very act of remembering may be one of the major reasons why we forget.
	Genetic discovery provides clues to how TB may evade the immune system The largest genetic study of tuberculosis (TB) susceptibility to date has led to a potentially important new insight into how the pathogen manages to evade the immune system. Published today in the journal Nature Genetics, the study advances understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in TB, which may open up new avenues to design efficient vaccines for its prevention.
	Scientists make surprising finding in stroke research Scientists at The University of Manchester have made an important new discovery about the brain's immune system that could lead to potential new treatments for stroke and other related conditions.
	Exercise slows tumor growth, improves chemotherapy in mouse cancers One way many cancers grow resistant to treatment is by generating a web of blood vessels that are so jumbled they fail to provide adequate oxygen to the tumor. With oxygen starvation, the tumor gains a sort of cloaking device that protects it from the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs and radiation, which are designed to seek out well-oxygenated tissue.
Investigators find window of vulnerability for STIs to infect female reproductive tract Charles R. Wira, PhD, and colleagues at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine have presented a comprehensive review of the role of sex hormones in the geography of the female reproductive tract and evidence supporting a "window of vulnerability" to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Published in Nature Reviews in Immunology, Wira's team presents a body of work that National Institutes of Health evaluators called, "a sea change" for research in the female reproductive tract (FRT).
Studies boost hopes for new class of cholesterol medicines New research boosts hope that a highly anticipated, experimental class of cholesterol drugs can greatly lower the risk for heart attacks, death and other heart-related problems.
	Oncologists reveal reasons for high cost of cancer drugs in the US, recommend solutions Increasingly high prices for cancer drugs are affecting patient care in the U.S. and the American health care system overall, say the authors of a special article published online in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
	Coke a healthy snack? How company gets its message out If a column in honor of heart health suggests a can of Coke as a snack, you might want to read the fine print.
	Combining stem-cell therapy with anti-scarring agent may heal injured kidneys Researchers have made a discovery that could see patients with kidney disease no longer having to resort to dialysis or kidney transplants.
Mothers help young people with arthritis through the tough times Young people with arthritis rely heavily on their mums for support during times of change and uncertainty – despite claiming to be independent, according to new research from Arthritis Research UK.
Researchers search for telltale signs of ovarian cancer This year, ovarian cancer will claim over 125,000 lives worldwide. The deadly disease remains the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality in U.S. women, killing about 15,000 per year.
	Endurance sport causes strain in right side of the heart Otherwise healthy people who exercise strenuously for more than 90 minutes suffer from a post-exercise drop in heart performance, but only in the right side of the heart, according to researchers at the University of Adelaide.
End of life care alters medical student attitudes to practice Earlier exposure to palliative care can enhance junior doctors' professionalism, focus on and communication with all patients, and other important aspects of care, according to a study from the University of Adelaide.
	New study links aging with increased trust and well-being Hollywood has given movie-goers many classic portrayals of grumpy old men—American Movie Classics even maintains a list of the top fifteen film curmudgeons.
Tests to diagnose coronary artery disease come with similar costs A new type of CT scan initially costs slightly less than the traditional stress test to diagnose blocked coronary arteries in patients with chest pain, but its lower cost did not translate into medical care savings over time, according to an analysis by Duke Medicine researchers.
High dose zinc acetate lozenges may help shorten cold symptoms According to a meta-analysis published in BMC Family Practice, high dose zinc acetate lozenges shortened the duration of common-cold associated nasal discharge by 34%, nasal congestion by 37%, scratchy throat by 33%, and cough by 46%.
	Why human eyes are wired backwards The human eye is optimised to have good colour vision at day and high sensitivity at night. But until recently it seemed as if the cells in the retina were wired the wrong way round, with light travelling through a mass of neurons before it reaches the light-detecting rod and cone cells. New research presented at a meeting of the American Physical Society has uncovered a remarkable vision-enhancing function for this puzzling structure.
Doctoral student presents research on social media and consent to sexual activity A University of Arkansas doctoral student's research suggests college students perceive they can assess whether someone would consent to sexual activity by looking at a person's social media profile. Kelley Rhoads said this is problematic because sexual consent should be a negotiation that occurs between the individuals engaging in sexual activity. These perceptions based on social media could lead to preconceived notions, which can quickly turn into negative consequences, she said.
HPV vaccination rates lower among the wealthy Parents in higher socio-economic areas are less likely to allow their children to be vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), new research from Massey University indicates.
	Curcumin proved effective at combating cancer WA scientists have helped re-affirm that curcumin, a chemical compound found in turmeric, is a safe and promising treatment for most cancers and other inflammation-driven diseases.
	Making water first for thirst Nutrition scientists issued their findings to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last month on the proposed 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. During the open comment period, which ends April 8, the University of California Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) is encouraging the public to ask the government to make water the drink of choice in its final version of the 2015 guidelines and add a symbol for water on MyPlate.
	Veterinary researcher validates human tracheal/bronchial-cell model for influenza A infections of trachea A recently hired veterinary pathologist is bringing multiple skills to her new position in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University, including experience with a human primary cell line used for modeling human influenza infections.
	What we talk about when we talk about obesity In philosophy classes, one of the first lessons in logic that students learn is what fallacies are and how to avoid them. One of my favorites is the false dichotomy, mainly because of its crystal-clear examples: you're either for us or against us; it's my way or the highway. Of course, the dichotomies are false, because each scenario has more than just the two possible options provided. Political rhetoric is filled with false dichotomies, which provides ample fodder for lighthearted classroom discussion about ways reasoning can go wrong.
New possibilities for the treatment of breast cancer arise, with the help of mathematics A means of reprogramming a flawed immune response into an efficient anti-tumoral one was brought to light by the results of a translational trial relating to breast cancer. Thanks to the innovative combination of mathematical modelisation and experimentation, only 20 tests were necessary, whereas traditional experimentation would have required 596 tests to obtain the same results.
	Smart textiles system prevents the development of pressure ulcers in wheelchair users The European research project PUMA (Pressure Ulcer Measurement and Actuation) technically coordinated by the Biomechanics Institute (IBV) has developed an innovative portable and non-invasive device to prevent and early detect the risk of pressure ulcer (PU) development and revert its onset for tetraplegic spinal cord injured (T-SCI) individuals relying on wheelchairs.
	Pollution levels linked to stroke-related narrowing of arteries Air pollution has been linked to a dangerous narrowing of neck arteries that occurs prior to strokes, according to researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center.
	How NORE1A acts as a barrier to tumor growth Researchers reveal how cells protect themselves from a protein that is a key driver of cancer. The study appears in The Journal of Cell Biology.
Survey finds doctors want to learn more about diet and cardiovascular disease prevention Most physicians are aware of the importance of lifestyle factors in preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD)—and believe diet is as important as statin therapy and exercise, according to a new survey from NYU Langone Medical Center.
Long-term ticagrelor cuts risk of future events after heart attack Adding the antiplatelet drug ticagrelor to aspirin as long-term therapy after a heart attack significantly reduced the rate of subsequent death from cardiovascular causes, heart attack or stroke, with the benefit appearing to accrue for nearly three years, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
No real cost difference between types of tests that look for heart disease A study comparing the overall economics of computed tomographic angiography with functional stress tests for evaluating patients with symptoms suggestive of possible blocked coronary arteries found no significant differences in costs over three years. The study was presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
Heart CT scans show slight benefits over functional tests for heart disease Patients with symptoms of heart disease have similar outcomes in terms of death and major cardiac conditions regardless of whether they undergo a functional stress test or a computed tomographic scan, but the scan may be better at ruling out the need for subsequent tests and procedures in patients who are free of heart disease, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session in San Diego.
	When cancer cells stop acting like cancer Cancer cells crowded tightly together suddenly surrender their desire to spread, and this change of heart is related to a cellular pathway that controls organ size. These two stunning observations are reported today by researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in the journal Oncogene.
Low vaccination rates fuel the 2015 measles outbreak Inadequate vaccine coverage is likely a driving force behind the ongoing Disneyland measles outbreak, according to calculations by a research team at Boston Children's Hospital. Their report, based on epidemiological data and published online by JAMA Pediatrics, indicates that vaccine coverage among the exposed populations is far below that necessary to keep the virus in check, and is the first to positively link measles vaccination rates and the ongoing outbreak.
Review suggests vitamin D supplementation not associated with lower blood pressure A review of clinical trial data suggests vitamin D supplementation was ineffective at lowering blood pressure (BP) and should not be used as an antihypertensive, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.
Study examines memory and effects on the aging brain A study of brain aging finds that being male was associated with worse memory and lower hippocampal volume in individuals who were cognitively normal at baseline, while the gene APOE ?4, a risk factor for Alzheimer disease, was not, according to an article published online by JAMA Neurology.
	Risk patterns identified that make people more vulnerable to PTSD Researchers have built a new computational tool that identifies 800 different ways people are at increased risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), permitting for the first time a personalized prediction guide.
Researchers devise powerful new approach to drug design and demonstrate its potential against cancer cells Exploring the fundamental mechanism by which a cell-surface receptor transmits its signal, an international team of Ludwig researchers and their colleagues has established proof of concept for an entirely new approach to drug design. They report that a class of synthetic molecules known as diabodies can, from outside the cell, latch onto a target receptor and manipulate it in such a manner as to induce distinct and varying effects within cells and tissues. Led by Christopher Garcia of Ludwig Stanford, the researchers show in lab experiments how this might work, using a diabody to stall the growth of cancer cells isolated from patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms.
CT scans appear to dramatically improve diagnosis of heart disease Use of computed tomography coronary angiography, which provides 3-D images of the heart, coupled with standard care allows doctors to more accurately diagnose coronary artery disease in patients presenting with chest pain, therefore, leading to more appropriate follow-up testing and treatments, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session. Data also showed a trend toward a lower incidence of heart attacks among the group receiving the tests, known as CT scans, compared to usual care.
Novel anti-clotting therapy in halted trial no better than existing agents A novel therapy that would allow doctors to turn the body's blood-clotting ability off and on in a more controlled way was about as effective as established anticoagulants in patients undergoing angioplasty but was associated with higher rates of moderate to severe bleeding, according to an analysis of data from a terminated Phase III trial presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session. The study was officially halted in August due to an excess of severe allergic reactions, so authors caution that the data should be considered exploratory given the early termination.
	Scans for clinic patients may cut heart attack risk, study finds Routine heart scans for patients referred to cardiac clinics with chest pain could reduce heart attack rates, research suggests.
Bendavia does not reduce scarring from angioplasty after heart attack Patients who received the new drug Bendavia before undergoing angioplasty or receiving a stent to clear blocked arteries after a heart attack showed no significant reduction in scarring as compared to patients given a placebo, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
	Cancer researchers identify new function in an old acquaintance Cells have two different programs to safeguard them from getting out of control and developing cancer. One of them is senescence (biological aging). It puts cancer cells into a permanent sleep so they no longer divide and grow in an uncontrolled way. Now the research group led by Professor Walter Birchmeier (Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, MDC, Berlin-Buch) has discovered that an enzyme known to be active in breast cancer and leukemia blocks this protection program and boosts tumor growth. They succeeded in blocking this enzyme in mice with breast cancer, thus reactivating senescence and stopping tumor growth.
Study of veterans finds family support during deployment reduces suicidal thoughts Family support during deployment is an important protective factor against post-deployment suicidal ideation according to a new study in the journal Anxiety, Stress and Coping.
	Cancer drug may reduce bleeding in patients with rare genetic disorder, HHT A cancer drug that helps keep tumors from growing blood vessels may help patients with a rare genetic condition in which malformed vessels increase their risk for bleeding and anemia.
	A breakfast of champions for diabetics Our modern epidemic of obesity has led to an alarming rise in the incidence of diabetes. More than 382 million people on the planet suffer from diabetes, predominantly type-2 diabetes. For these people, blood sugar surges—glucose spikes after meals—can be life threatening, leading to cardiovascular complications.
Mental health misdiagnosis twice more likely for socially disadvantaged groups The shooting of an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, MO, has ignited a global discussion about implicit racial bias. One group of people you might think would be immune from this hidden bias is clinical therapists, people trained to understand the human mind. But a new field study finds that the social identities of patients and their therapists affect the accuracy of the diagnosis: Therapists were twice as likely to misdiagnose mental illness when their patients were members of a disadvantaged, compared to an advantaged, group.
	Researchers find 'affinity switch' for proteasome assembly process in cells A Kansas State University-led study is helping uncover the intricate workings of how a specific "molecular machine" inside of cells is assembled. Fully understanding this process may present new target sites for drugs and may lead to better treatments for neurological diseases, cancers and other disorders.
	Genetics: No evidence of role in racial mortality gap There is still no evidence of genetic difference between blacks and whites to account for the health disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a new study by McGill University researchers. Published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the researchers suggest that after a decade of genetic studies, factors such as lifestyle, education and socio-economics - not genetics - are more promising avenues to understanding racial health disparities.
	Penn vet team points to new colon cancer culprit Colon cancer is a heavily studied disease—and for good reason. It is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and its numbers are on the rise, from 500,00 deaths in 1990 to 700,000 in 2010.
No mortality benefit of bypass surgery compared to latest generation of drug-coated stents Newer drug-coated stents that keep arteries open have similar long-term rates of death compared with traditional bypass surgery for patients with more than one diseased coronary artery.
	Spring allergies coming into bloom (HealthDay)—With winter loosening its icy grip on most of the United States, it's time to think about spring allergies, a doctor says.
	Could your child have migraines? (HealthDay)—Determining if your child has migraine headaches may be difficult because the symptoms aren't always obvious, experts say.
Rebooting cell programming can reverse liver failure It might be possible to heal cirrhotic liver disease by rebooting the genes that control liver cell function, according to researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. If validated in human studies, the game-changing strategy, described today in the online version of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could potentially treat patients who are too sick for liver transplantation and, in the future, reduce the need for transplants.
Targets identified for developing therapies for IBMPFD IBMPFD is a rare and deadly genetic disorder that has devastated entire families, robbing many of their members of their ability to talk, walk and think clearly.
Study finds baroreflex activation therapy effectively treats heart failure Results of a clinical trial announced today at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session show a new type of therapy is safe and effective for symptomatic advanced heart failure patients who are already receiving optimum drug and device therapy. The study also published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology Heart Failure.
Routine clot removal after heart attack not beneficial, may have risk The largest study ever of its kind, led by researchers from McMaster University and the University of Toronto, has found that a routine strategy of blood clot removal during treatment for heart attacks was not beneficial and was associated with an increased risk of stroke.
Ablation during mitral valve surgery reduces atrial fibrillation Patients with atrial fibrillation who received ablation while they were already undergoing surgery to correct a leaky heart valve had fewer episodes of atrial fibrillation a year later compared to patients who had the valve surgery alone, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
ACP releases High Value Care advice for one of the most common diagnostic tests in US Physicians should not screen for cardiac disease in adults at low risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) with resting or stress electrocardiography, stress echocardiography, or stress myocardial perfusion imaging, the American College of Physicians (ACP) advises in a paper published today in Annals of Internal Medicine.
	Kidney transplant tolerance mechanism identified Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have pinpointed the immune system mechanism that allows a kidney transplant to be accepted without lifelong immunosuppressive drugs, a significant step toward reducing or eliminating the need for costly and potentially toxic immunosuppressant drugs and improving long-term transplant success. The findings were published in the Jan. 28 online issue of Science Translational Medicine.
Study identifies 'lethal' subtype of prostate cancer A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal Cancer Research defines a new, distinct subtype of "lethal" prostate cancer marked by the loss of two genes, MAP3K7 and CHD1. Overall about 10 percent of men with prostate cancer will die from the disease. The study shows that of prostate cancer patients with combination MAP3K7 and CHD1 deletions, about 50 percent will have recurrent prostate cancer, which ultimately leads to death. About 10 percent of all prostate cancers harbor combined MAP3K7-CHD1 deletions.
Can watching porn make you better in bed? Does a predilection for porn mean bad news in bed? That's the conclusion of many clinicians and the upshot of anecdotal reports claiming a man's habit of viewing sex films can lead to problems getting or sustaining an erection.
	Tips provided for residents applying to fellowship training (HealthDay)—The process of selecting and preparing for a fellowship training program, specifically pulmonary and/or critical care medicine, should begin early in residency, according to an article published online March 5 in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
	High satisfaction for ablative fractional skin resurfacing (HealthDay)—Patients express high satisfaction with ablative fractional skin resurfacing for photoaged skin, despite having high pretreatment expectations, according to a study published in the February issue of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.
	Handoff tool alone insufficient to handle nighttime clinical issues (HealthDay)—A handoff tool, which has been widely adopted in hospitals, seems not to be sufficient for addressing nighttime clinical issues, according to research published in the March issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
	CDC releases estimates of cancer incidence, survival for 2011 (HealthDay)—Estimates of cancer incidence for 2011 in the United States show that about two-thirds of those with cancer survive five or more years after diagnosis, according to a report published in the March 13 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
	HCPs lack knowledge and awareness of sex trafficking (HealthDay)—Health care providers demonstrate significant knowledge gaps regarding sex trafficking (ST), according to research published online March 16 in Pediatrics.
UK approves plain cigarette packaging for 2016 Britain will become the first European Union nation to introduce plain packaging on cigarette packets after members of the House of Lords rubber-stamped a new law on Monday.
Team finds direct evidence of gadolinium deposition in brain tissues Mayo Clinic research finds direct evidence of gadolinium deposition in neuronal tissues following intravenous administration of gadolinium-based contrast agents used in MRI exams. The findings were recently published online in the journal Radiology.
	Nanotechnology shows promise for more accurate prostate cancer screening, prognosis A Northwestern University-led study in the emerging field of nanocytology could one day help men make better decisions about whether or not to undergo aggressive prostate cancer treatments.
Minimally invasive spinal fusion: Less pain, faster recovery, smaller scar A minimally invasive spinal fusion back surgery results in less blood loss, less postoperative pain, smaller incisions, a shorter hospital stay and faster recovery and return to work.
Even high-risk patients can benefit from aortic aneurysm repair Minimally invasive surgery can prevent a fatal rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
	As diagnosis codes change, data lost in translation—in both directions Changes in how medical diagnoses are coded under the latest international disease classification system - known as the ICD-10 codes - may complicate financial analysis, research projects and training programs that depend on look-back comparisons of health care data, report researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
New hepatitis C drugs will place strain on health care system The cost of treating people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) with newly approved therapies will likely place a tremendous economic burden on the country's health care system. The prediction comes from a cost-effectiveness analysis led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The findings, reported in the March 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, predict that the cost of providing patients their daily regimens could total $136 billion over five years - 10 percent of the country's annual prescription drug spending.
	Can 'off the shelf' stem cell therapy treat heart failure patients? UB researcher aims to find out After a heart attack, cardiac stem cell therapy stimulates the growth of new heart cells, but exactly how that happens is unclear. The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $2 million grant to a researcher at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to do a preclinical study to find out. The answer will help determine which type of cardiac stem cell therapy will be most effective in treating patients with heart failure.
	Valeant ups Salix bid to $11.11B and Endo ends quest (Update) Valeant raised its offer for Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. by more than $1 billion Monday, forcing rival bidder Endo International out of the running.
Universal public drug coverage would save Canada billions Canada could save $7.3 billion annually with universal public coverage of medically necessary prescription drugs.
Benefits seen for first-in-field brain shield used with TAVR An investigational device that deflects debris away from the brain during transcatheter aortic valve replacement seems to improve in-hospital safety outcomes and cognitive scores at discharge, according to preliminary findings from a small randomized study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
The 10-point guide to the integral management of menopausal health Elsevier journal Maturitas, today announced the publication of a position statement by the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) covering the ten- point guide to the integral management of menopausal health. This has been written to mark the 10th EMAS Congress in Madrid May 20-22, 2015.
MitraClip valve repair continues to show benefit in commercial setting The commercial track record with transcatheter mitral valve repair, approved for patients at high risk for surgery, compares favorably with pre-approval reports, according to findings from a U.S. registry presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
Self-expanding TAVR widens advantage over surgery at two years Two-year data show a continued survival advantage for self-expanding transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) over standard surgery in high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
SAPIEN valve, surgery equivalent at five-years Five-year data suggest that the SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve is a feasible option for patients with severe aortic stenosis deemed to be at high risk for open-heart surgery, though valve leakage was more common with the first-generation valve evaluated in this study than with surgery, according to research from PARTNER I presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
SAPIEN 3 improves 30-day outcomes for major endpoints The SAPIEN 3 heart valve demonstrated lower death, stroke and paravalvular leak rates than earlier generation devices in patients at high risk for surgery and showed encouraging results in intermediate-risk patients, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
Researchers develop groundbreaking approach to evaluate sleep disorders Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have developed a groundbreaking approach to determine sleep quality using their new breath sound analysis (BSA). This is less expensive and invasive than current polysomnography (PSG) technology, according to a new study published on PLOS Online.
	New system for detecting adverse effects of medications using social media Researchers at Carlos III Universidad de Madrid have developed a system for detecting adverse effects of pharmaceutical drugs by tracking information generated by patients on specialized blogs or social networks such as Twitter in real time.
Label design may affect risk of medication errors in OR Special redesigned labels for intravenous (IV) medication bags may help to prevent serious medication errors in the operating room, reports a study in the March issue of the Journal of Patient Safety. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.
Research calls for new policies to support women veterans' health care needs As more women veterans seek health care in the Veterans Administration (VA) system, effective approaches are needed to ensure that their unique needs are recognized and met. A special April supplement to Medical Care collects new studies from an ongoing research initiative to inform health care policy for women veterans. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.
Heart failure patients fare better with catheter ablation than Amiodarone Among patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation, those who underwent catheter ablation were less likely to die, be hospitalized or have recurrent atrial fibrillation than patients taking a heart rhythm regulating drug, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
Remote ischemic preconditioning fails to improve heart bypass outcomes Patients who underwent a simple conditioning procedure involving the inflation and deflation of a blood pressure cuff on the upper arm before coronary artery bypass grafting, known as heart bypass surgery, had no better long-term health outcomes than bypass patients who did not receive the conditioning, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session in San Diego.
France aims to criminalize advertising with anorexic models France's health minister says she supports plans to criminalize the use of advertising with anorexic models in France.
Study finds imaging tool to diagnose heart conditions is more accurate and safer New heart imaging technology to diagnose coronary heart disease and other heart disorders is significantly more accurate, less expensive and safer than traditional methods, according to a new study by researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City.
	Obama administration: 16.4M have gained health insurance More than 16 million Americans have gained coverage since President Barack Obama's health care law took effect five years ago, the administration said Monday. But an independent expert who used some of the same underlying data had the much lower estimate of 9.7 million.
Heart bypass surgery outperforms new generation stents Despite the advent of a new generation of stents, patients with multiple narrowed arteries in the heart who received coronary artery bypass grafting fared better than those whose arteries were opened with balloon angioplasty and stents in a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
Losing weight substantially reduces atrial fibrillation Obese patients with atrial fibrillation who lost at least 10 percent of their body weight were six times more likely to achieve long-term freedom from this common heart rhythm disorder compared to those who did not lose weight, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
Overhaul of European and US medical device safety recommended by leading diabetes associations Two major diabetes associations have joined forces to recommend a comprehensive overhaul of medical device safety, involving regulators, manufacturers, doctors and the associations themselves. The recommendations come from a joint committee of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and will be published simultaneously in Diabetes Care, the journal of the ADA, and Diabetologia, the journal of the EASD, on Monday, March 16. The authors include Professor John Petrie, Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK, and Professor Anne Peters, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
US Ebola patient 'critical,' says hospital The condition of an American healthcare worker who was sickened with Ebola in Sierra Leone has worsened and is now critical, hospital officials said Monday.
	Designing a better way to study stomach flu Rice University bioengineers are teaming with colleagues from Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center to apply the latest techniques in tissue engineering toward the study of one of the most common and deadly human illnesses—the stomach flu.
World Trade Center workers at increased risk of developing autoimmune diseases A new study has found a strong link between prolonged work at the World Trade Center (WTC) site following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the development of various autoimmune diseases including arthritis and lupus.
Sufficient sleep is important for healthy sexual desire In a study of 171 women, those who obtained more sleep on a given night experienced greater sexual desire the next day. Reflecting sleep's impact on sexual desire, each additional hour of sleep increased the likelihood of sexual activity with a partner by 14%.
	Finger lengths may indicate risk of schizophrenia in males Research suggests that the ratio of the lengths of the index finger and the ring finger in males may be predictive of a variety of disorders related to disturbed hormonal balance. When the index finger is shorter than the ring finger, this results in a small 2D:4D ratio, pointing to a high exposure to testosterone in the uterus.
New targets for rabies prevention and treatment Researchers have identified genes that may be involved in determining whether an individual is sensitive or resistant to rabies virus infection.

Other Sciences news

	Best of Last Week—Transferring quantum states, wireless energy breakthrough and a drug that helps Alzheimer's patients It has once again been an interesting week for physics—a team working in China demonstrated a quantum communication scheme that transferred quantum states without transmitting physical particles. They showed it was possible, using entanglement, to send quantum information between two distant points without having to send anything else. Also, a team of astrophysicists has found a possible loophole in cosmological theory that offers insight into the "lithium problem." Actual measurements used to calculate the total amount of lithium in the universe have not jibed with theory, and now a team at Université Savoie Mont Blanc is suggesting that the problem may be connected to the theory of electromagnetic cascades.
	Persuasive power: Members of Congress can sway the public Members of the U.S. Congress really do have the power to persuade their constituents in several different ways, according to a first-of-its kind national study.
	Barely noticed, 1.3 million spend their youth caring for adults An estimated 1.3 million children and teens help care for family members with serious health conditions, a number likely to swell as baby boomers age.
	Pi Day is silly, but π itself is fascinating and universal Math students everywhere will be eating pies in class this week in celebration of what is known as Pi Day, the 14th day of the 3rd month.
Richard III videos made available to public The University of Leicester is making a suite of documentary footage available to media and the public ahead of the reburial of King Richard III.
	A more tolerant America? As the nation's headlines turn more and more to issues of tolerance—race, religion, free speech, same sex marriage—research by San Diego State University Psychology Professor Jean M. Twenge shows that Americans are actually more tolerant than ever before.
Depictions of race on TV news can influence perception of police Research shows that depictions of race on television news programs can strongly influence support for police among non-white viewers. The study was conducted by researchers at North Carolina State University, the University of Utah, Indiana University and the University of California, Los Angeles.
How Millennials get their news Millennials are anything but "newsless," passive, or uninterested in civic issues, according to a new comprehensive study of the information habits of people age 18-34. The research looks closely at how members of the Millennial generation learn about the world on different devices and platforms.
Winter months SAD for US Treasury securities, study reveals The best time to invest in U.S. Treasury securities may be spring, thanks to seasonal variations in investor risk tolerance linked to depression.
	Survival gardening goes global via cellphone animations Subsistence farmers in Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean are learning how to construct raised planting beds and install drip irrigation systems to boost their agricultural productivity, conserve water and perhaps even halt the rapid advance of desertification in some drought-prone regions.
Die-hard college sports fans defy expectations When March Madness kicks off this week, you might expect the bleachers to be filled with alumni and students from the competing colleges. In fact, only about a third of die-hard college sports fans are alumni of their teams' universities, and another third never attended college at all, according to a new Duke University study.
	Laughter is an effective catalyst for new relationships If you want someone to open up to you, just make them laugh. Sharing a few good giggles and chuckles makes people more willing to tell others something personal about themselves, without even necessarily being aware that they are doing so. These are among the findings of a study led by Alan Gray of University College London in the UK, published in Springer's journal Human Nature.
	Police not prepared for death investigations Police are ill-equipped to investigate non-criminal deaths and face a challenge to avoid re-traumatising bereaved families as well as emotionally protecting themselves, according to QUT research.
	How do students use video in higher education? A new SAGE white paper out today reveals the types of educational videos that appeal to students and where they go to find them. Titled "Great Expectations: Students and Video in Higher Education," the paper includes suggestions for librarians as they connect the video resources found in their libraries with researchers, instructors, and students.
How does prison time affect relationships? A new study highlights the complicated spillover effects of incarceration on the quality of relationships.