Fwd: Science X Newsletter Monday, Mar 30

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Newsletter Phys.org <not-for-reply@physorg.com>
Date: Tue, Mar 31, 2015 at 3:43 AM
Subject: Science X Newsletter Monday, Mar 30
To: Pascal Alter <pascal.alter@gmail.com>

Dear Pascal Alter,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for March 30, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Quantum computers could greatly accelerate machine learning
- Rocky planets may orbit many double stars
- Comet dust—planet Mercury's 'invisible paint'
- Prototype 'nanoneedles' generate new blood vessels in mice
- Best of Last Week: Acoustic phonons have magnetic properties, universe to collapse and bioclock disruption problem
- 'Atomic chicken-wire' is key to faster DNA sequencing
- Researchers target two brain sites responsible for anxiety
- Astronomers discover likely precursors of galaxy clusters we see today
- Researchers use Mira to peer inside high-temperature superconductors
- As stars form, magnetic fields influence regions big and small
- Direct evidence for a positive feedback in climate change
- Researchers develop molecular backbone of super-slim, bendable digital displays
- Sea change: What took decades to destroy in oceans took millennia to recover
- Scientists convert microbubbles to nanoparticles
- Save Our Spuds: Scientists find shield for potato blight

Nanotechnology news

	'Atomic chicken-wire' is key to faster DNA sequencing An unusual and very exciting form of carbon - that can be created by drawing on paper- looks to hold the key to real-time, high throughput DNA sequencing, a technique that would revolutionise medical research and testing.
	Prototype 'nanoneedles' generate new blood vessels in mice Scientists have developed tiny 'nanoneedles' that have successfully prompted parts of the body to generate new blood vessels, in a trial in mice.
	Researchers develop molecular backbone of super-slim, bendable digital displays From smartphones and tablets to computer monitors and interactive TV screens, electronic displays are everywhere. As the demand for instant, constant communication grows, so too does the urgency for more convenient portable devices—especially devices, like computer displays, that can be easily rolled up and put away, rather than requiring a flat surface for storage and transportation.
	Scientists convert microbubbles to nanoparticles Biomedical researchers led by Dr. Gang Zheng at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre have successfully converted microbubble technology already used in diagnostic imaging into nanoparticles that stay trapped in tumours to potentially deliver targeted, therapeutic payloads.
	From tobacco to cyberwood Swiss scientists from ETH Zurich have developed a thermometer that is at least 100 times more sensitive than previous temperature sensors. It consists of a bio-synthetic hybrid material of tobacco cells and nanotubes.
	3-D images of tiny objects down to 25 nanometres Scientists at the Paul Scherrer Institute and ETH Zurich (Switzerland) have created 3D images of tiny objects showing details down to 25 nanometres. In addition to the shape, the scientists determined how particular chemical elements were distributed in their sample and whether these elements were in a chemical compound or in their pure state.

Physics news

	Quantum computers could greatly accelerate machine learning (Phys.org)—For the first time, physicists have performed machine learning on a photonic quantum computer, demonstrating that quantum computers may be able to exponentially speed up the rate at which certain machine learning tasks are performed—in some cases, reducing the time from hundreds of thousands of years to mere seconds. The new method takes advantage of quantum entanglement, in which two or more objects are so strongly related that paradoxical effects often arise since a measurement on one object instantaneously affects the other. Here, quantum entanglement provides a very fast way to classify vectors into one of two categories, a task that is at the core of machine learning.
	Researchers use Mira to peer inside high-temperature superconductors Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) are using supercomputing resources at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF), a DOE Office of Science User Facility, to shed light on the mysterious nature of high-temperature superconductors.
	Scientists succeed in linking two different quantum systems Physicists at the Universities of Bonn and Cambridge have succeeded in linking two completely different quantum systems to one another. In doing so, they have taken an important step forward on the way to a quantum computer. To accomplish their feat the researchers used a method that seems to function as well in the quantum world as it does for us people: teamwork. The results have now been published in the Physical Review Letters.
	Turning back time by controlling magnetic interactions In many materials, macroscopic magnetic properties emerge when microscopically small magnets align in a fixed pattern throughout the whole solid. In a publication in Nature Communications, Johan Mentink, Karsten Balzer and Martin Eckstein from the University of Hamburg at the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) and the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) have predicted that the interactions causing this alignment can be changed almost instantaneously and reversibly under the influence of a laser pulse. In future, this effect may be used for the development of faster magnetic storage. Besides this, the finding implies the highly counterintuitive consequence that the magnetic dynamics can effectively run backwards in time under the influence of a sufficiently strong time-periodic laser field.
	New idea for Dyson sphere proposed (Phys.org)—A pair of Turkish space scientists with Bogazici University has proposed that researchers looking for the existence of Dyson spheres might be looking at the wrong objects. İbrahim Semiz and Salim Oğur have written a paper and uploaded it to the preprint server arXiv, in which they suggest that if an advanced civilization were to build a Dyson sphere, it would make the most sense to build it around a white dwarf.
	Physicists report technology with potential for sub-micron optical switches A team that includes Rutgers University and National Institute of Standards and Technology scientists believes that a technology it is reporting this week in Nature Photonics could result in optical switches with sub-square-micron footprints, potentially allowing densely packed switching fabrics on a chip.
	High-tech method allows rapid imaging of functions in living brain Researchers studying cancer and other invasive diseases rely on high-resolution imaging to see tumors and other activity deep within the body's tissues. Using a new high-speed, high-resolution imaging method, Lihong Wang, PhD, and his team at Washington University in St. Louis were able to see blood flow, blood oxygenation, oxygen metabolism and other functions inside a living mouse brain at faster rates than ever before.
	Super sensitive measurement of magnetic fields There are electrical signals in the nervous system, the brain and throughout the human body and there are tiny magnetic fields associated with these signals that could be important for medical science. Researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute have just developed a method that could be used to obtain extremely precise measurements of ultra-small magnetic fields. The results are published in the scientific journal Nature Physics.
	Mist-collecting plants may bioinspire technology to help alleviate global water shortages Plants living in arid, mountainous and humid regions of the planet often rely on their leaves to obtain the moisture they need for survival by pulling mist out of the air. But how exactly they manage this feat has been a bit of a mystery—until now.
	When quantum mechanics and international relations collide Wars and atoms have, as it were, a conjugated history.
	Author provides inside look at ANL's efforts to build a 'super battery' So secretive were efforts to create the first self-sustained nuclear reaction in 1942 that physicist Enrico Fermi and his Manhattan Project team quietly toiled beneath the stands of Stagg Field and communicated with each other in code.
	UK's Neutron and Muon Facility back in action after six months of upgrades The UK's ISIS pulsed neutron and muon source at the Science and Technology Facilities Council's (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, is now back in action after considerable upgrades over the last six months.

Earth news

	Direct evidence for a positive feedback in climate change A new study has confirmed the existence of a positive feedback operating in climate change whereby warming itself may amplify a rise in greenhouse gases resulting in additional warming.
	New research identifies diverse sources of methane in shallow Arctic lakes New research into the changing ecology of thousands of shallow lakes on the North Slope of Alaska suggests that in scenarios of increasing global temperatures, methane-generating microbes, found in thawing lake sediments, may ramp up production of the potent greenhouse gas - which has a global warming potential 25 times greater than carbon dioxide.
	Good luck and the Chinese reverse global forest loss Analysis of 20 years of satellite data has revealed the total amount of vegetation globally has increased by almost 4 billion tonnes of carbon since 2003. This is despite ongoing large-scale deforestation in the tropics.
	Drought damage leads to widespread forest death The 2000-2003 drought in the American southwest triggered a widespread die-off of forests around the region. A Carnegie-led team of scientists developed a new modeling tool to explain how and where trembling aspen forests died as a result of this drought. It is based on damage to the individual trees' ability to transport water under water-stressed conditions.
	Sea change: What took decades to destroy in oceans took millennia to recover Ocean ecosystems that experience rapid upheaval because of climate change can take thousands of years to recover, according to an examination of fossilized ocean fauna on the seafloor by the University of California, Davis.
	Hidden costs: The unseen way organisms cope with climate change Scientists have found a way to measure the unseen toll that environmental stress places on living creatures—showing that they can rev up their metabolism to work more than twice as hard as normal to cope with change.
	Geologist identifies new source of methane for gas hydrates in Arctic Research led by a University of New Hampshire professor has identified a new source of methane for gas hydrates—ice-like substances found in sediment that trap methane within the crystal structure of frozen water—in the Arctic Ocean. The findings, published online now in the May 2015 journal Geology, point to a previously undiscovered, stable reservoir for abiotic methane - methane not generated by decomposing carbon - that is "locked" away from the atmosphere, where it could impact global climate change.
	Antibiotic resistance risk for coastal water users Recreational users of coastal waters such as swimmers and surfers are at risk of exposure to antibiotic resistant bacteria, according to new research published this week.
	Tsunami warning issued for parts of Pacific after earthquake A powerful earthquake rattled the South Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea on Monday, prompting officials to issue a tsunami warning for vast swathes of the Pacific and as far north as Russia.
	Citizen scientists map global forests New maps of global forest cover from the International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA)'s Geo-Wiki team provide a more accurate view of global forests. The maps were published in the journal Remote Sensing of the Environment, and are freely available for exploration and download on the Geo-Wiki Web site .
	Leaded gasoline once dominated the manmade lead emissions in South America Until it was banned, leaded gasoline dominated the manmade lead emissions in South America
	Wildfire critical in calculating carbon-payback time for biomass energy projects Accounting for wildfire is essential in achieving an accurate and realistic calculation of the carbon payback period associated with converting forest biomass into energy, according to a new study. Researchers said their analysis of carbon-accounting methods is expected to inform the scientific debate about the sustainability of such conversion projects.
	Volcanic eruptions durably impact North Atlantic climate Particles emitted during major volcanic eruptions cool the atmosphere due to a 'parasol' effect that reflects sunlight. The direct impact of these particles in the atmosphere is fairly short, lasting two to three years. However, they alter for more than 20 years the North Atlantic Ocean circulation, which connects surface and deep currents and influences the climate in Europe. This is the conclusion of a study by researchers from the CNRS, IRD, CEA and Météo‐France who combined, for the first time, climate simulations, recent oceanographic data, and information from natural climate records. Their findings are published in Nature Communications on March 30th.
	Seabed samples rewrite earthquake history near Istanbul Located in the Marmara Sea, major earthquakes along the North Anatolian Fault (NAF) system have repeatedly struck what is current-day Istanbul and the surrounding region, but determining the recurrence rate has proven difficult since the faults are offshore. Cores of marine sediment reveal an earthquake history of the Cinarcik Segment, a main branch of NAF, and suggest a seismic gap where the next earthquake is likely to rupture, as detailed in a new study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA).
	Eiffel Tower goes dark in symbolic move for Earth Hour The Eiffel Tower has gone dark briefly to mark Earth Hour, the campaign to raise awareness about climate change.
	Scientists to explore USVI reefs as part of 12-year project U.S. scientists are launching an expedition to study the underwater habitat around the U.S. Virgin Islands as part of a 12-year effort to map and help conserve Caribbean coral reefs.
	Vietnam rice boom heaping pressure on farmers, environment Rice farmer Nguyen Hien Thien is so busy growing his crops that he has never even visited Can Tho, a town only a few miles from his farm in the southern Mekong Delta.
	Flood alerts issued in Kashmir as rivers cross danger mark Hundreds of Kashmiris in both India and Pakistan moved to higher ground Monday as rain-swollen rivers swamped parts of the disputed Himalayan region placed under an emergency flood alert just six months after some 600 people died in flooding that left the region in shambles.
	Canning River breathes easy via new plant A $1 million oxygenation plant completed this month on the Canning River is expected to double the level of oxygen relief in the water 2.2km upstream of the Kent Street Weir.
	Thirty-year study looks at Bermuda grass sustainability without fertilizer In an East Texas study on sandy, low-fertility soils, Bermuda grass pastures that have not received nitrogen fertilizer since the fall of 1984 are still in production, according to Dr. Monte Rouquette, Texas A&M AgriLife Research forage physiologist, Overton.
	Technology set to revolutionise global aerosol industry Technology developed by a specialist research team at the University of Salford looks set to revolutionise the global aerosol industry, following agreements to run commercial trials of the technology by some of the industry's biggest names.
	Blooming row over cherry blossom splits China, Korea, Japan A perennial debate over the birthplace of the cherry blossom has taken a fresh turn as a Chinese industry group claims the Asian giant is the tree's true home, rather than Japan or claimant South Korea.
	LiDAR studies of the Sept. 2013 Colorado Front Range flooding and debris flows Scott W. Anderson and colleagues use repeat aerial LiDAR to quantify the erosional impact of the heavy rains that inundated the Colorado Front Range in September 2013. The five-day storm triggered more than 1,100 landslides and debris flows in a 3,430-square-kilometer area due to 200-450 mm of heavy, steady rainfall. This number of hillslope failures in a single event represents unprecedented activity for the region in its ~150 years of written history.
	NASA's ISS-RapidScat sees Typhoon Maysak's stronger winds become more uniform A tropical cyclone does not always have consistently strong winds all the way around it, and NASA's ISS-RapidScat instrument confirmed that was the case with Typhoon Maysak as it was strengthening in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. Over the course of three days, As the tropical cyclone strengthened, RapidScat saw strongest sustained winds around Typhoon Maysak expand and spread from the northern quadrant to other quadrants of the storm.

Astronomy & Space news

	Rocky planets may orbit many double stars Luke Skywalker's home in "Star Wars" is the desert planet Tatooine, with twin sunsets because it orbits two stars. So far, only uninhabitable gas-giant planets have been identified circling such binary stars, and many researchers believe rocky planets cannot form there. Now, mathematical simulations show that Earthlike, solid planets such as Tatooine likely exist and may be widespread.
	Comet dust—planet Mercury's 'invisible paint' A team of scientists has a new explanation for the planet Mercury's dark, barely reflective surface. In a paper published in Nature Geoscience, the researchers suggest that a steady dusting of carbon from passing comets has slowly painted Mercury black over billions of years.
	As stars form, magnetic fields influence regions big and small Stars form when gravity pulls together material within giant clouds of gas and dust. But gravity isn't the only force at work. Both turbulence and magnetic fields battle gravity, either by stirring things up or by channeling and restricting gas flows, respectively. New research focusing on magnetic fields shows that they influence star formation on a variety of scales, from hundreds of light-years down to a fraction of a light-year.
	Astronomers discover likely precursors of galaxy clusters we see today By combining observations of the distant Universe made with ESA's Herschel andPlanck space observatories, cosmologists have discovered what could be the precursors of the vast clusters of galaxies that we see today.
	Scars on Mars from 2012 rover landing fade—usually A series of observations from Mars orbit show how dark blast zones that were created during the August 2012 landing of NASA's Curiosity rover have faded inconsistently.
	Cassini: Return to Rhea After a couple of years in high-inclination orbits that limited its ability to encounter Saturn's moons, NASA's Cassini spacecraft returned to Saturn's equatorial plane in March 2015.
	ESA recovers IXV spaceplane ESA's recovered IXV spaceplane arrived at the Port of Livorno in Italy yesterday and is set to be taken to Turin for final analysis.
	MESSENGER completes 4,000th orbit of Mercury On March 25, the MESSENGER spacecraft completed its 4,000th orbit of Mercury, and the lowest point in its orbit continues to move closer to the planet than ever before. The orbital phase of the MESSENGER mission, which was originally designed to collect data for one Earth year, just completed its fourth year of operation around Mercury. The mission has received a final extension to allow scientists to gather specific low-altitude data over an additional several weeks.
	What drives the solar cycle? You can be thankful that we bask in the glow of a relatively placid star. Currently about halfway along its 10 billion year career on the Main Sequence, our sun fuses hydrogen into helium in a battle against gravitational collapse. This balancing act produces energy via the proton-proton chain process, which in turn, fuels the drama of life on Earth.
	It's 'full spin ahead' for NASA soil moisture mapper The 20-foot (6-meter) "golden lasso" reflector antenna atop NASA's new Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory is now ready to wrangle up high-resolution global soil moisture data, following the successful completion of a two-part procedure to spin it up to full speed.
	Twin fools NASA at brother's launch on 1-year flight Astronaut Scott Kelly's identical twin pulled a fast one on NASA right before his brother blasted off on a one-year space station mission.

Technology news

	Solar Impulse departs Myanmar for China Solar Impulse 2 took off from Myanmar's second biggest city of Mandalay early Monday and headed for China's Chongqing, the fifth flight of a landmark journey to circumnavigate the globe powered solely by the sun.
	Lightbulb using graphene is to go on sale this year The BBC reported on Saturday that a graphene bulb is set for shops, to go on sale this year. UK developers said their graphene bulb will be the first commercially viable consumer product using the super-strong carbon; bulb was developed by a Canadian-financed company, Graphene Lighting, one of whose directors is Prof Colin Bailey at the University of Manchester.
	Reality substitution on track to replace traditional virtual reality Until recently, virtual reality's widespread use, both commercially and in scientific research, has been hampered by the need to develop custom virtual worlds using labor-intensive 3D animation. Researchers and engineers from EPFL's Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and the W Science Initiative are unveiling a Reality Substitution prototype on March 30th at The Brain Forum that could change all of that. The project, known as RealiSM, has developed an easy-to-use virtual world creator that captures real-world situations to be played back in head-mounted displays (HMD). The system will soon be employed in the lab to study memory and peri-personal space (the space defined by what is within one's reach) and will have numerous clinical uses for treating phobias and PTSD therapy.
	LifePaint spray is Volvo's safety offer for cyclists For cyclists sharing the road at dark with cars and pedestrians, a useful motto is to stay safe by staying seen. Volvo, which continues to build on its brand of safety-first, has come out with LifePaint. The car manufacturer is now taking its safety-first identity beyond the driver and riders in the car and extending safety measures to those on bikes. Every year in the UK over 19,000 cyclists are involved in accidents, said a promotional video for LifePaint.
	Goodbye, range anxiety? Electric vehicles may be more useful than previously thought In the first study of its kind, scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) quantitatively show that electric vehicles (EVs) will meet the daily travel needs of drivers longer than commonly assumed. Many drivers and much prior literature on the retirement of EV batteries have assumed that EV batteries will be retired after the battery has lost 20 percent of its energy storage or power delivery capability. This study shows that the daily travel needs of drivers continue to be met well beyond these levels of battery degradation.
	Wearable technology can help with public speaking Speaking in public is the top fear for many people. Now, researchers from the Human-Computer Interaction Group at the University of Rochester have developed an intelligent user interface for "smart glasses" that gives real-time feedback to the speaker on volume modulation and speaking rate, while being minimally distracting.
	Solar Impulse lands in China after 22-hour flight from Myanmar Solar Impulse 2 landed early Tuesday in China, the world's biggest carbon emitter, as it completed the fifth leg of its landmark circumnavigation of the globe powered solely by the sun.
	Some British Airways frequent flier accounts miles breached Some British Airways frequent flier accounts have been hacked, but the airline says that most personal information is safe.
	New streaming apps could boost citizen journalism When three buildings collapsed and ignited a blaze in New York, a smartphone app brought the live video feed to anyone online wanting to watch.
	PlayStation gets Spotify, replacing Sony's own music service Spotify is coming to the PlayStation, replacing Sony's own Music Unlimited service, as the company continues to expand the game console into an entertainment hub beyond video games.
	Just how green is wind power? Wind power may have a positive image, but setting up offshore wind farms is complicated and energy-intensive. Because Siemens promises its customers and the authorities a high degree of transparency for the environmental performance of its giant turbines, it has reviewed the actual benefit of green power for the environment.
	Renewed calls to enforce a "two-person rule" on flight decks after Germanwings crash As evidence mounts that Germanwings flight 4U9525 was crashed deliberately by its co-pilot who locked the flight's captain out of the cockpit, there have been renewed calls to enforce a "two-person rule", where two members of the flight crew are on the flight deck at all times.
	Banks undermine chip and PIN security because they see profits rise faster than fraud The Chip and PIN card payment system has been mandatory in the UK since 2006, but only now is it being slowly introduced in the US. In western Europe more than 96% of card transactions in the last quarter of 2014 used chipped credit or debit cards, compared to just 0.03% in the US.
	What if our children are the screen-obsessed couch potatoes of the future? The idea of "digital addiction" has returned to the fore with UCL researchers suggesting physical activity should displace the compulsive watching of television, internet surfing and video gaming. Often it's suggested that at least gaming is more active and engaged than merely passively watching television, but the UCL study's authors regard gaming as "just a different way of sitting down and relaxing".
	China suspected as software site GitHub hit by attack (Update) The software collaboration website GitHub said Monday it was fighting off a cyber attack since late last week, and security analysts said the effort appeared to originate in China.
	Toyota cuts price of automatic braking safety devices Those pricey high-tech systems that automatically stop or slow your car if it's about to run into something are getting a lot cheaper.
	Apple Watch to spark wearable tech growth: IDC Wearable technology devices are seeing a growth surge that is likely to continue over the next few years, helped by the soon-to-be-released Apple Watch, a market tracker said Monday.
	Amazon unveils move in local services US online giant Amazon said Monday it was launching a services marketplace offering to connect consumers with businesses offering anything from home improvement to piano lessons.
	Review: New HTC One phone is strong contender HTC's flagship One phone has a lot going for it—except for strong sales.
	Ferry operator Stena Line tests running ship on methanol Swedish ferry operator Stena Line says it has converted one of its ships to enable it to run on methanol, testing the potential of the environmentally friendly fuel for the shipping industry.
	Jay Z to relaunch streaming service as battle heats up Rap mogul Jay Z was set Monday to launch a rebranding of his Tidal streaming service as he mounts a challenge to Spotify for a slice of the growing industry.
	Google unveils unified email for Android users Google said Monday it was updating its mobile Gmail app for Android device users to allow them to manage multiple email accounts from a single program.
	Tesla shares jump on Musk 'tease' in tweet Tesla Motors shares jumped Monday after co-founder Elon Musk tweeted that the company would unveil as "major" new product line next month, leaving analysts guessing.
	Israel installs solar panels at parliament to save energy Israel has installed solar panels on the roof of its parliament building, creating what it calls the largest solar field of any national assembly in the world.
	Piezoelectric effects for the suppression of material stresses The generation of electrical charges in response to mechanical deformation is a distinctive feature of piezoelectric materials. This property can be used to avoid mechanical stresses in special materials. A project currently funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF will make a key contribution to the optimisation of these "intelligent materials".
	Yet more opportunities for organic semiconductors From 'Radio frequency identification' (RFID) tags to OLED displays and photovoltaic cells, organic semiconductors' high potential is widely recognised. A Marie Curie project has set out to bring potential innovation to the next level by using nucleation agent additives to better control the physical properties of these systems.
	Internet of things should be developable for all Within the next five to ten years, around 100 billion different devices will be online. A large part of the communication takes place solely between machines, and to ensure that they can communicate, the European Commission has supported a project that over the last three years has been working on creating a common platform – a programming language, that can make everything from microwave ovens to wind meters talk to each other.
	Big data paves the way for big building and engineering projects A new UK start-up company is about to revolutionize the way in which civil engineering and construction companies choose where to build, by telling them what's under the ground before they start digging. The information could potentially save companies millions of pounds by avoiding ancient burial grounds and other archaeologically important sites.
	Individual privacy versus digital driftnets The great irony of the Abbott government's plan enforce the mandatory data retention legislation is that while this is being done to make us safer, in fact it creates new data security risks for us all.
	Cook calls 'religious objection' laws dangerous Apple CEO Tim Cook said that so-called "religious objection" legislation being introduced in a number of states is dangerous and bad for business.
	Federal agents charged with stealing digital currency (Update) Two former federal agents were charged with fraud in the theft of digital currency during an investigation into an online black market known as Silk Road that let users buy and sell drugs and other illegal items, authorities said Monday.
	No 'narsisstics': Music festivals ban fans' selfie sticks You can bring your beach towels and floral headbands, but forget that selfie stick if you're planning to go to the Coachella or Lollapalooza music festivals.
	Cuba wants more Internet access while keeping state control Cuba wants to boost public Internet access while keeping the Communist government's control over it, a senior US official close to talks with Havana on technology said Monday.

Chemistry news

	Catalyst redefines rate limitations in ammonia production Studies by researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a catalyst that is so effective at promoting dissociation of the nitrogen bond in ammonia production reactions that it is no longer the step limiting the rate of the reaction.
	Precious art analysed without damage using new laser technique Precious works of art in need of preservation or authentication could in future be studied using a new laser technique, developed by a collaboration of UK and Italian scientists, that can analyse layers of paint without causing any damage to the object itself. This new technique will be of real benefit to curators of cultural heritage who need to preserve and authenticate precious works of art without harming them.
	Small quantities of silver can serve as an efficient catalyst to convert aldehydes to acids A tiny bit of silver, combined with water and air, can convert aldehydes into acids efficiently—instead of the classical methods using stoichiometric amounts of expensive or toxic metal oxidants, according to a new study by McGill University researchers.
	The most complete review of the peptide behind Alzheimer's The hope is to be able, one day, to fight the pathogenic action of the amyloid-beta protein, whose build-up is associated with Alzheimer's disease. In the meantime, scientists—including a group from the International School for Advanced Studies, SISSA, in Trieste—have synthesized the knowledge acquired about this protein over the last few decades in a review paper that is destined to become a milestone for future research.

Biology news

	An elephant never forgets the way to the watering hole A study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B tracked the movement of elephants across the African savannah. The elephants chose the shortest distances towards watering holes, pin-pointing the location of valuable resources even when they were 50 km away. The results show that elephants have good spatial memories.
	Save Our Spuds: Scientists find shield for potato blight Scientists on Monday said they have found a gene to help protect potatoes from a blight that unleashed a devastating famine in Ireland in the 19th century.
	Hormone known for mother's milk also fosters bond between parents Research has discovered a role for prolactin, the hormone that stimulates milk production in nursing mothers, in the bond between parents.
	Clues to aging from long-lived lemurs When Jonas the lemur died in January, just five months short of his thirtieth birthday, he was the oldest of his kind. A primate called a fat-tailed dwarf lemur, Jonas belonged to a long-lived clan. Dwarf lemurs live two to three times longer than similar-sized animals.
	Climate change costing soybean farmers Even during a good year, soybean farmers nationwide are, in essence, taking a loss. That's because changes in weather patterns have been eating into their profits and taking quite a bite: $11 billion over the past 20 years.
	Study finds equality between sexes at moment of conception Every year, slightly more boy babies than girl babies are born worldwide. But back when sperm meets egg, the two sexes are conceived in equal numbers, a new study suggests.
	Breakthrough in orchard seed surrogacy Research which germinated plantlets from orchid seed 'surrogates' has boosted the survival prospects of threatened terrestrial orchids.
	Researchers seek universally applicable technique for studying microbial metabolic activities A team led by University of Vienna researchers has developed a way to identify and sort single microbial cells with the help of probes that use heavy water (laced with deuterium) and Raman microspectroscopy.
	Hunting for living fossils in Indonesian waters The Coelacanth (Latimeria menadoensis) was thought to be extinct for more than 60 million years and took the science world by storm in 1938 when it was re-discovered living in South Africa. This fish has retained its features for 400 million years. Parts of its body, such as its back and belly fins, have an additional structure that resemble amphibian feet.
	Fruit flies crucial to basic research The world around us is full of amazing creatures. My favorite is an animal the size of a pinhead, that can fly and land on the ceiling, that stages an elaborate (if not beautiful) courtship ritual, that can learn and remember… I am talking about the humble fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. By day, a tiny bug content to live on our food scraps. By night, the superhero that contributes to saving millions of human lives as one of the key model systems of modern biomedical research.
	The shortest DNA sequences reveal insights into the world's tallest trees Coast redwoods are famous for being the tallest trees in the world, but their height is not the only thing that sets them apart. Unlike most conifer trees, coast redwoods can reproduce by sprouting from cut stumps, fallen logs, and roots. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, are uncovering important information about patterns of coast redwood clones with a new DNA analysis method that could help forest management and preservation efforts.
	Equatorial fish babies in hot water Scientists have discovered that rising ocean temperatures slow the development of baby fish around the equator, raising concerns about the impact of global warming on fish and fisheries in the tropics.
	Crete's mystery croc killed by cold snap A man-eating crocodile that became an attraction on the Greek island of Crete last year after its mysterious appearance in a lake has died, probably of cold, an official said Monday.
	Bitter chocolate: Illegal cocoa farms threaten Ivory Coast primates Researchers surveying for endangered primates in national parks and forest reserves of Ivory Coast found, to their surprise, that most of these protected areas had been turned into illegal cocoa farms, a new study reports.
	Mild winters not fueling all pine beetle outbreaks in western United States Warming winters have allowed mountain pine beetle outbreaks in the coldest areas of the western United States, but milder winters can't be blamed for the full extent of recent outbreaks in the region, a Dartmouth College and U.S. Forest Service study finds.
	Compound from soil microbe inhibits biofilm formation Researchers have shown that a known antibiotic and antifungal compound produced by a soil microbe can inhibit another species of microbe from forming biofilms—microbial mats that frequently are medically harmful—without killing that microbe. The findings may apply to other microbial species, and can herald a plethora of scientific and societal benefits. The research is published online ahead of print on March 30, 2015, in the Journal of Bacteriology, a publication of the American Society for Microbiology. The study will be printed in a special section of the journal that will comprise of papers from the 5th ASM Conference on Cell-Cell Communication in Bacteria.
	Cats relax to the sound of music According to research published today in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery by veterinary clinicians at the University of Lisbon and a clinic in the nearby town of Barreiro in Portugal, music is likewise beneficial for cats in the surgical environment. But not all music is equal in this respect - cats, it seems, benefit most from classical music.
	Endangered clouded leopard kittens born in Miami zoo Two clouded leopard kittens were born this month at the Miami Zoo, a treat for the doting keepers and a victory in the fight to preserve a vulnerable species.
	Dairy farms asked to consider breeding no-horn cows Food manufacturers and restaurants are taking the dairy industry by the horns on an animal welfare issue that's long bothered activists but is little known to consumers: the painful removal of budding horn tissue from calves so farm workers or other animals don't get gored later.
	Survey of salmonella species in Staten Island Zoo's snakes For humans, Salmonella is always bad news. The bacterial pathogen causes paratyphoid fever, gastroenteritis and typhoid. But for snakes, the bacteria aren't always bad news. Certain species of Salmonella are a natural part of the snake microbial collective. However, the occasional species can cause a disease. Reptile handlers would love to know when they have a potentially problematic pathogen lurking in the midst of their snakes.
	Researcher among best in protein modeling contests A Purdue University researcher ranks among the best in the world in bioinformatics competitions to predict protein structure, docking and function, making him a triple threat in the world of protein modeling.
	Beneficial insect virus gets boost as crop pest fighter Common baking ingredients may offer a way to bolster the effectiveness of Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV), a natural insect pathogen that's been commercially formulated to kill codling moth larvae, a pest of apple, pear, walnut, and other orchard crops.
	Noninvasive procedure to determine the viability of lobsters for shipping Developing a noninvasive procedure to determine the viability of lobsters for shipping was the goal of a recent cross-discipline research project led by a University of Maine undergraduate student.

Medicine & Health news

	Researchers target two brain sites responsible for anxiety (MedicalXpress)—As distinct from a fear response to a real, immediate threat, anxiety is an expectation of future threat. The symptoms of anxiety disorders and the treatment of those symptoms are largely understood, but the neurology of anxiety is challenging to study. For instance, researchers are aware that dysregulation of the orbitofrontal and ventrolateral prefrontal cortices are implicated in anxiety and mood disorders, but the specific contributions of each region are not known.
	Rats, reasoning, and rehabilitation: Neuroscientists uncovering how we reason Even rats can imagine: A new study finds that rats have the ability to link cause and effect such that they can expect, or imagine, something happening even if it isn't. The findings are important to understanding human reasoning, especially in older adults, as aging degrades the ability to maintain information about unobserved events.
	Team finds 'exploding head syndrome' more common in young people than thought Washington State University researchers have found that an unexpectedly high percentage of young people experience "exploding head syndrome," a psychological phenomenon in which they are awakened by abrupt loud noises, even the sensation of an explosion in their head. Brian Sharpless, a Washington State University assistant professor and director of the university psychology clinic, found that nearly one in five—18 percent—of college students interviewed said they had experienced it at least once. It was so bad for some that it significantly impacted their lives, he said."Unfortunately for this minority of individuals, no well-articulated or empirically supported treatments are available, and very few clinicians or researchers assess for it," he said.
	Peer-to-peer application outperforms conventional self-help technique for easing depression, anxiety Researchers at MIT and Northwestern University have developed a new peer-to-peer networking tool that enables sufferers of anxiety and depression to build online support communities and practice therapeutic techniques.
	'Lightning bolts' in the brain show learning in action Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have captured images of the underlying biological activity within brain cells and their tree-like extensions, or dendrites, in mice that show how their brains sort, store and make sense out of information during learning.
	How immune cells facilitate the spread of breast cancer The body's immune system fights disease, infections and even cancer, acting like foot soldiers to protect against invaders and dissenters. But it turns out the immune system has traitors amongst their ranks. Dr. Karin de Visser and her team at the Netherlands Cancer Institute discovered that certain immune cells are persuaded by breast tumors to facilitate the spread of cancer cells. Their findings are published advanced online on March 30 in the journal Nature.
	Researchers develop new potential drug for rare leukemia Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a new drug that shows potential in laboratory studies against a rare type of acute leukemia. And additional studies suggest the same compound could play a role in prostate cancer treatment as well.
	Family income, parental education related to brain structure in children and adolescents Characterizing associations between socioeconomic factors and children's brain development, a team including investigators from nine universities across the country reports correlative links between family income and brain structure. Relationships between the brain and family income were strongest in the lowest end of the economic range - suggesting that interventional policies aimed at these children may have the largest societal impact. The study, led by researchers at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Columbia University Medical Center, will be published in the early online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience on March 30.
	Researchers find new link between neurodegenerative diseases and abnormal immune responses Researchers from McMaster University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York have discovered that a protein associated with neurodegenerative diseases like ALS also plays an important role in the body's natural antiviral response.
	New drug stalls estrogen receptor-positive cancer cell growth and shrinks tumors An experimental drug rapidly shrinks most tumors in a mouse model of human breast cancer, researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. When mice were treated with the experimental drug, BHPI, "the tumors immediately stopped growing and began shrinking rapidly," said University of Illinois biochemistry professor and senior author David Shapiro. "In just 10 days, 48 out of the 52 tumors stopped growing, and most shrank 30 to 50 percent."
	Publication bias and 'spin' raise questions about drugs for anxiety disorders A new analysis reported in JAMA Psychiatry raises serious questions about the increasingly common use of second-generation antidepressant drugs to treat anxiety disorders.
	Stop blaming the moon: Study highlights flaws in earlier research on hospital admissions and the lunar cycle "It must be a full moon" is a common refrain when things appear more hectic than usual.
	3-D human skin maps aid study of relationships between molecules, microbes and environment Researchers at the University of California, San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences used information collected from hundreds of skin swabs to produce three-dimensional maps of molecular and microbial variations across the body. These maps provide a baseline for future studies of the interplay between the molecules that make up our skin, the microbes that live on us, our personal hygiene routines and other environmental factors. The study, published March 30 by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may help further our understanding of the skin's role in human health and disease.
	Hip fracture patients in long-term care are less likely to receive osteoporosis therapy Hip fractures, which primarily affect the elderly, are among the most debilitating and life-threatening of osteoporotic fractures: many hip fracture patients never regain their previous level of function and as a result require long-term care. Without osteoporosis therapy the risk of further, potentially more devastating hip fractures is high.
	Britain to offer all infants meningitis B vaccine Britain says it will become the first country to offer all babies a vaccine for potentially fatal meningitis B after it reached a price deal with GlaxoSmithKline PLC.
	Gap between parental perceptions of child's weight and official classifications Parents of obese children may not be able to recognise that their child is overweight unless they are at very extreme levels of obesity, according to research led by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and UCL Institute of Child Health, research partner of Great Ormond Street Hospital.
	Fecal transplants successful for treating C. difficile infection Distasteful though it sounds, the transplantation of fecal matter is more successful for treating Clostridium difficile infections than previously thought.
	Exercise can outweigh harmful effects of air pollution New research from the University of Copenhagen has found that the beneficial effects of exercise are more important for our health than the negative effects of air pollution, in relation to the risk of premature mortality. In other words, benefits of exercise outweigh the harmful effects of air pollution.
	Natural extract shows promise for preventing breast cancer In a new study, the extract from rosehips—the fruit of the rose plant—significantly reduced the growth and migration of cells from a type of breast cancer known as triple negative. This particularly aggressive form of cancer does not respond to most available treatments and tends to affect young women as well as those who are African-American or Hispanic.
	Consuming eggs with raw vegetables increases nutritive value There is burgeoning research showing that co-consuming cooked whole eggs with your veggies can increase carotenoids absorption. With the recent scientific report from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee lessening past concern over cholesterol in eggs, this is particularly good news.
	Oral hepatitis B vaccine could become a reality In a new study, researchers report progress toward perfecting a radical new method of producing vaccines using genetically modified corn. The approach could lead to an oral hepatitis B vaccine that requires no refrigeration and costs less than $1 per dose to manufacture.
	Ozone air pollution could harm women's fertility Many urban and suburban areas have high levels of ground-level ozone, an air pollutant that can adversely affect lung and heart health. New research in mice suggests breathing high levels of ozone could also affect women's ability to conceive.
	New genetic link found for alcohol-related liver cirrhosis In most people, any liver damage that might occur from drinking alcohol is reversible. However, in 25 to 30 percent of alcoholics what begins as accumulation of fat in the liver progresses to inflammation, fibrosis and ultimately irreversible cirrhosis, for which the only treatment is a liver transplant. A new study indicates that specific gene mutations might predispose some people to irreversible liver cirrhosis.
	New compounds could offer therapy for multitude of diseases An international team of more than 18 research groups has demonstrated that the compounds they developed can safely prevent harmful protein aggregation in preliminary tests using animals. The findings raise hope that a new class of drugs may be on the horizon for the more than 30 diseases and conditions that involve protein aggregation, including diabetes, cancer, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
	New study recommends early introduction of peanuts to prevent allergies Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a dietary staple for many children. But for others, peanut products can be life-threatening and are strictly taboo. A new study released at a meeting of the American Academy and Association of Allergies and Immunology (AAAAI)  and published in the New England Journal of Medicine  suggests that peanut allergies can be prevented through early exposure.
	Could camel antibodies protect humans from MERS? Antibodies from dromedary camels protected uninfected mice from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and helped infected mice expunge the disease, according to a study published online March 18th in the Journal of Virology, a journal published by the American Society for Microbiology. MERS, which emerged in humans last year in the Saudi Arabian peninsula, causes severe respiratory disease, with a high mortality rate of 35-40 percent. No specific therapy is currently available.
	Cost–effective eye treatment bubbles to the surface Bubbles invisible to the naked eye could provide the next breakthrough in treating heart and eye problems – and present an alternate treatment for cancer and cellulite as well.
	Malnourished patients are more likely to suffer postoperative complications than morbidly obese patients Malnourished patients are more likely to have complications following total knee or hip replacement surgeries than morbidly obese patients,according to new research from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The findings are being presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in Las Vegas March 24-28.
	For heart transplant centers, accessibility may matter as much as quality About five million people in the US suffer from heart failure, and approximately half of them die within five years of being diagnosed. Only about 2,500 hundred people a year receive a heart transplant – the treatment of last resort. A new heart can be life-saving, but it is also life-changing. Even under the best conditions, the surgery is complex, and recovery carries a heavy physical and emotional burden.
	Researchers find inspirational online videos could lessen prejudices Scroll through your social media feeds or browse the Web and you're bound to see links to videos and images on sites like Buzzfeed or Mashable, many of them featuring cute animals or inspirational messages.
	Patient awareness of health care report cards gradually increases A recently published study indicates chronically ill patients are becoming more aware of comparative doctor and hospital performance reports though growth is slower than expected.
	Obesity and cancer – three things the Government should do Obesity – and the nation's expanding waistlines – are never far from the headlines.
	Hormone level predicts how the brain processes social information The hormone oxytocin is made at different levels in different people and it plays a role in regulating social behavior. A new University of Virginia study involving brain imaging finds that people with naturally higher levels of oxytocin in their blood show greater brain activity when processing social information.
	Fighting back against superbugs Antibiotics—and antibiotic resistance—are in the news once again, with announcements by McDonald's and Costco that they will eliminate antibiotics that are important to human medicine from use in the production of some of their meats and the discovery of a new class of antibiotic that scientists claim will be effective for at least three decades.
	Study finds vast regional differences in personality within the UK How exactly do we become the people we are? A study published earlier this week found that there are vast regional differences in personality within the UK.
	AncientBiotics - a medieval remedy for modern day superbugs? A one thousand year old Anglo-Saxon remedy for eye infections which originates from a manuscript in the British Library has been found to kill the modern-day superbug MRSA in an unusual research collaboration at The University of Nottingham.
	Immunotherapy delays recurrence for stage III and IV ovarian cancers Personalized medicine is getting closer to reality for women with late-stage ovarian cancer. An experimental immunotherapy is in the works that can target an individual woman's tumor and extend the time period between initial treatment and the cancer's return.
	We all feel disgust but why do some of us turn it on ourselves? Disgust is a universal emotion – we all get disgusted by things, just as we all experience other "basic" emotions, such as happiness and sadness. Disgust has many functions. It protects us from products that might cause us harm (food that has gone off), it can give us a moral compass (when we see someone being treated unfairly) and it keeps us away from things that remind us of our animal nature (dead bodies).
	Classroom behaviour and dyslexia research Bournemouth University lecturer Dr Julie Kirkby is investigating the significance of copying and note-taking in the classroom and how it affects the learning of Dyslexic children.
	Can children with egg allergy tolerate pasteurised raw egg? New research from the University of Adelaide shows pasteurised (heated) raw egg contains the same main allergens as non-pasteurised (fresh) raw egg, and is not likely to be tolerated in children with egg allergy.
	Cost of lifestyle advice during pregnancy is worth it Research from the University of Adelaide shows that the additional cost of providing  one-on-one lifestyle advice to overweight and obese women during pregnancy is offset by improved outcomes at birth.
	A specific neurotransmitter receptor supports optimal information processing in the brain Researchers have been fascinated for a long time by learning and memory formation, and many questions are still open. Bochum-based neuroscientists Prof Dr Denise Manahan-Vaughan and Dr Hardy Hagena have discovered a key building block for this complex process. A particular neurotransmitter receptor, namely the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5, is a switch for activating opposing forms of plasticity in the hippocampus, a brain region vital for memory forming. They reported in the current edition of the Journal of Neuroscience.
	Promoting maternal interaction improves growth, weight gain in preemies An intervention to teach mothers of preterm infants how to interact with their babies more effectively results in better weight gain and growth for the infants, according to a study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.
	'Google Maps' for the body: A biomedical revolution A world-first UNSW collaboration that uses previously top-secret technology to zoom through the human body down to the level of a single cell could be a game-changer for medicine, an international research conference in the United States has been told.
	A surprising source of serotonin could affect antidepressant activity Depression affects an estimated 350 million people worldwide and poses a major public health challenge, according to the World Health Organization. Researchers have discovered an unconventional way that serotonin is released from neurons that could play an important role in the mechanism through which antidepressant drugs work. The Journal of General Physiology study is highlighted in the April issue.
	New molecular clues about mysterious brain blood vessel disorder Researchers have uncovered new details about the relationship between two proteins associated with the formation of cerebral cavernous malformations, a little understood neurovascular disorder. The study appears in The Journal of Cell Biology.
	Exercising critically ill patients may help speed recovery The intensive care unit is a last frontier for physical therapy: It's hard to exercise patients hooked to ventilators.
	Only one of 32 hockey helmets tested earn 3-star rating Virginia Tech has helped change football for a decade, making the sport safer for athletes without losing the thrill of participating or watching a rugged, intense sport. Now its College of Engineering turns to the ice for hockey.
	Endoscopes linked to outbreak of drug-resistant E. coli An outbreak of a novel Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain resistant to antibiotics has been linked to contaminated endoscopes in a Washington state hospital. The study indicates that industry standard cleaning guidelines, which were exceeded by hospital staff, may not be sufficient for sterilizing endoscopes adequately. The research was published online in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
	Short bouts of high-intensity exercise before a fatty meal best for vascular health A short burst of intensive exercise before eating a high fat meal is better for blood vessel function in young people than the currently recommended moderate-intensity exercise, according to a new study from the University of Exeter.
	'Pay-for-performance' may lead to higher risk for robotic prostate surgery patients A "perverse disincentive" for hospitals that have invested in expensive technology for robotic surgery may be jeopardizing prostate cancer patients who seek out the procedure, concluded a new study led by Henry Ford Hospital researchers.
	Team identifies new gene involved in hereditary neuroendocrine tumors Researchers in the Hereditary Endocrine Cancer Group of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO)—led by Alberto Cascón and Mercedes Robledo—have described the presence of mutations in the MDH2 gene, in a family with very rare neuroendocrine tumours associated with a high hereditary component: pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas that affect the suprarenal and parathyroid glands (groups of chromaffin cells in the central nervous system), respectively. This research has been published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
	An apple a day won't keep the doctor away but maybe the pharmacist Turns out, an apple a day won't keep the doctor away but it may mean you will use fewer prescription medications, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.
	Glyburide associated with more risk of adverse events than insulin in newborns The medication glyburide, which has been increasingly used to treat gestational diabetes in pregnant women, was associated with higher risk for newborns to be admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit, have respiratory distress, hypoglycemia (low blood glucose), birth injury and be large for gestational age compared with infants born to women treated with insulin, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics.
	Percentage of children eating fast food on a given day drops A lower percentage of children are eating fast food on any given day and calories consumed by children from burger, pizza and chicken fast food restaurants also has dropped, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics.
	Worked-based wellness programs reduce weight, study finds A new study shows that workplace wellness programs can be effective in helping people lose weight by providing healthier food choices and increasing opportunities for physical activity, particularly if these efforts are designed with the input and active participation of employees. The two-year project - the results of which appear in the American Journal of Public Health - successfully reduced the number or people considered overweight or obese by almost 9 percent.
	Mother's diet influences weight-control neurocircuits in offspring Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation may prime offspring for weight gain and obesity later in life, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers, who looked at rats whose mothers consumed a high-fat diet and found that the offsprings' feeding controls and feelings of fullness did not function normally.
	Newly enlisted T-cell 'policemen' can slow down run-away immune system, scientist says In research published in the March issue of Immunity, Saint Louis University scientists led by Daniel Hawiger, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology, have discovered that potentially aggressive T-cells that might lead to auto-immune disease can instead be enlisted to help "police" over-active immune responses, via the molecule CD5.
	To stop cancer: Block its messages The average living cell needs communication skills: It must transmit a constant stream of messages quickly and efficiently from its outer walls to the inner nucleus, where most of the day-to-day decisions are made. But this rapid, long-distance communication system leaves itself open to mutations that can give rise to a "spam attack" that promotes cancer. Prof. Rony Seger of the Weizmann Institute's Biological Regulation Department and his team have now proposed a method of shutting off the overflow of information before it can get to the nucleus. If the initial promising results hold up, the method could be used to treat a number of different cancers, especially several that develop resistance to current treatments, and it might possibly induce fewer side effects than those treatments do.
	New Canadian guidelines to prevent and manage obesity in children must focus on family New guidelines from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care to help prevent and manage obesity in children and youth recommend regular growth monitoring at routine health care visits as well as a focus on family lifestyles and health behaviours. The guidelines, published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), are aimed at helping primary care practitioners address this major public health issue.
	To statin or not to statin? Report offers physicians tips to help patients make the right call Cholesterol-lowering statins have transformed the treatment of heart disease. But while the decision to use the drugs in patients with a history of heart attacks and strokes is mostly clear-cut, that choice can be a far trickier proposition for the tens of millions of Americans with high cholesterol but no overt disease.
	Low vitamin D linked to worse prognosis in type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma A new study found that people with lower vitamin D levels prior to treatment for follicular lymphoma succumb to the disease or face relapse earlier than patients with sufficient vitamin D levels in their blood.
	Panel predicts whether rare leukemia will respond to treatment Patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia have limited treatment options, and those that exist are effective only in fewer than half of patients. Now, a new study identifies a panel of genetic markers that predicted which tumor samples would likely respond to treatment.
	Blood-based biomarkers could enable simple, accurate TB tests for diagnosis and monitoring Researchers have identified blood-based biomarkers in patients with active tuberculosis (ATB) that could lead to new blood-based diagnostics and tools for monitoring treatment response and cure.
	Study debunks common misconception that urine is sterile Bacteria have been discovered in the bladders of healthy women, discrediting the common belief that normal urine is sterile. This finding and its implications were addressed in an editorial published by researchers from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (SSOM) in the latest issue of European Urology.
	Oxygen therapy in COPD patients is associated with burn injury Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have found that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease receiving home oxygen have a higher risk of burn injury. This study was published on March 30 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
	Researchers create 'Wikipedia' for neurons The decades worth of data that has been collected about the billions of neurons in the brain is astounding. To help scientists make sense of this "brain big data," researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have used data mining to create http://www.neuroelectro.org, a publicly available website that acts like Wikipedia, indexing physiological information about neurons.
	Alzheimer's study on women at risk suggests functional decline relates to deteriorating brain wiring In their latest brain imaging study on women at risk for Alzheimer's disease, York University researchers have found deterioration in the pathways that serve to communicate signals between different brain regions needed for performing everyday activities such as driving a car or using a computer.
	Fasting and less-toxic cancer drug may work as well as chemotherapy Fasting in combination with chemotherapy has already been shown to kill cancer cells, but a pair of new studies in mice suggests that a less-toxic class of drugs combined with fasting may kill breast, colorectal and lung cancer cells equally well.
	New Hepatitis C treatments cost-effective, but only for selected patients, study shows A study led by Boston Medical Center (BMC) researchers demonstrates that while new therapies to treat Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) are highly effective, they are cost-effective and provide the greatest value in specific groups of HCV-infected patients. The findings of the study, led by Benjamin P. Linas, MD, MPH, from BMC's section of infectious diseases and the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), are published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
	Electroconvulsive therapy changes key areas of the human brain that play a role in memory, emotion Although scientists know that depression affects the brain, they don't know why some people respond to treatment while others do not.
	Rate of opioid misuse is around 25 percent, addiction rate 10 percent New estimates suggest that 20 to 30 percent of opioid analgesic drugs prescribed for chronic pain are misused, while the rate of opioid addiction is approximately 10 percent, reports a study in the April issue of Pain, the official journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain.
	Teens with breast lumps may be able to avoid invasive biopsy If a lump is found in the breast of an adolescent girl, she often will undergo an excisional biopsy. However, breast cancer is rare in adolescents, and the vast majority of teenage breast lumps turn out to be benign masses that are related to hormones and often go away over time.
	Study looks at social media impact on mental healthcare, treatment Tweet it. Snap it. Pin it. Post it...or however else you want to share it with the masses scouring the Internet searching for common ground connectivity. But, should doctors peer behind the privacy curtain of potential patients to help avert or discover more severe problems?
	Spanish hospital conducts complex face transplant A Spanish hospital said Monday it has successfully carried out the world's most complex face transplant, reconstructing the lower face, neck, mouth, tongue and back of the throat of a man terribly disfigured by disease.
	Vitamin D can affect pain, movement in obese osteoarthritis patients Got milk? If you are overweight and have osteoarthritis, you may want to bone up on your dairy products that have vitamin D. According to a University of Florida study, higher levels of vitamin D may decrease pain and improve function in obese individuals with osteoarthritis.
	Breast cancer is not one disease, experts say (HealthDay)—Breast cancer isn't the same for every woman, even at the cellular level, according to a new statement from four major medical groups focused on the disease.
	Report shows progress in America's war on cancer (HealthDay)—America is making slow but steady progress against cancer, with a continuing decline in cancer deaths, according to a new report.
	Milliliter-only dosing recommended for kids' meds (HealthDay)—Time to toss out the teaspoon and tablespoon when it comes to sick kids: The best way to measure liquid medications for children is in metric milliliters, a leading group of U.S. pediatricians says.
	Individual short-term responses to antiplatelet therapy vary (HealthDay)—For patients with ischemic heart disease, responses to antiplatelet therapy (APT) vary between pre-discharge and one week after discharge from hospital, according to a study published online March 21 in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
	Food poisoning sickens hundreds of Cambodian pupils More than 600 Cambodian villagers, mostly school children, fell ill after eating contaminated food provided to a school during an anti-child labour event, health officials said Saturday.
	Third Minnesota turkey farm hit by bird flu outbreak An outbreak of a bird flu strain that's deadly to poultry deepened Saturday when state and federal officials confirmed a third Minnesota turkey farm has been infected, this time in one of the state's top poultry producing counties.
	Guinea president declares 45-day Ebola 'emergency' in five regions Guinean President Alpha Conde has declared a 45-day "health emergency" in five regions of the Ebola-hit nation in a bid to stem the spread of the deadly disease.
	Prevention of costly hip fractures should be a priority in UK A new study presented today at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases reveals the high cost of first and subsequent hip fractures to the healthcare system in the UK.
	UN Ebola head warns against complacency as fight enters last lap The head of the UN's Ebola fighting force on Sunday warned against complacency as the battle against the disease entered its final lap while also hailing Guinea for tightening surveillance.
	Morocco confronts abortion taboo with proposed reform It was just 7 a.m. and Hoda was walking alone to a clinic in the Moroccan coastal city of Agadir. She skipped breakfast: the Senegalese doctor had told her that the abortion would be better done on an empty stomach.
	Sierra Leone ends anti-Ebola lockdown after three days Sierra Leoneans were once again allowed to leave their homes Sunday evening after the government announced the end of a three-day nationwide lockdown aimed at preventing a resurgence of the deadly Ebola virus.
	Harnessing the power of microbes as therapeutics A new report recently released by the American Academy of Microbiology discusses how specific microbes can be modified to enhance their therapeutic potential for treating human diseases such as cancer and antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. Bacteria and viruses are not always categorized as harmful microorganisms.
	Researchers observe major hand hygiene problems in operating rooms An observational study by Sahlgrenska Academy researchers at a large Swedish hospital found 2,393 opportunities for hand disinfection and/or aseptic techniques. Doctors and nurses missed 90% of the opportunities.
	Future GPs could benefit from longer training Newly-qualified GPs could be better prepared for practice by increasing the variety and duration of their training programme, according to research being published in the April 2015 issue of the British Journal of General Practice.
	Women with ovarian cancer gain extra months with addition of drug to standard chemotherapy Medical researchers are always looking for ways to prevent or cure cancer. Given the complexity of this disease, reaching these milestones has been difficult. Nevertheless, improvements in treatment outcomes are an important stepping-stone along the way. For women with ovarian cancer, a particularly deadly form of gynecologic cancer, even improvements in treatment outcomes have been elusive. In a study presented today at a meeting of women's cancer specialists, overall survival for women who received standard chemotherapy treatment plus bevacizumab was a median five months longer than for women who received the standard chemotherapy treatment alone.
	UnitedHealth bulks up for prescription drug cost battle The nation's largest health insurer, UnitedHealth, will muscle up for its fight against rising prescription drug costs by spending more than $12 billion to buy pharmacy benefits manager Catamaran Corp.
	Teva buying Auspex for $3.2 billion Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is buying Auspex Pharmaceuticals Inc. for about $3.2 billion in a move to strengthen its position on central nervous system condition treatments.
	GNC reaches deal with NY AG over Herbal Plus products (Update) GNC Holdings Inc. said Monday that it has reached a deal with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman over its Herbal Plus products.
	Horizon Pharma buying Hyperion for about $1.1 billion Horizon Pharma is buying Hyperion Therapeutics for about $1.1 billion, gaining two treatments for genetic disorders.
	Two different fat graft techniques have similar effects on facial skin Two approaches to fat grafting—injection of fat cells versus fat-derived stem cells—have similar effects in reversing the cellular-level signs of aging skin, reports a study in the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
	Early stage NSCLC patients with low tumor metabolic activity have longer survival Low pre-surgery uptake of a labeled glucose analogue, a marker of metabolic activity, in the primary tumor of patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is associated with increased overall survival and a longer time before tumor recurrence. Patients with high labeled glucose uptake may benefit from additional therapy following surgery.
	What is the best measure of depression severity in adolescents? At present the key symptom for diagnosing major depressive disorder (MDD) in adolescents is irritability. However a new study has found that the severity of anhedonia (the inability to gain pleasure from experiences that usually are enjoyable) rather than of irritability is associated with more severe MDD and worse clinical outcomes and suicide scores. Results of the study are published in Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology (JCAP), and is available free on the JCAP website until April 30, 2015.
	Fat grafting technique improves results of breast augmentation In women undergoing breast augmentation, a technique using transplantation of a small amount of the patient's own fat cells can produce better cosmetic outcomes, reports a study in the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
	US Ebola patient's health improves again An American healthcare worker who contracted the dangerous Ebola virus while working in Sierra Leone has improved and is now listed in fair condition, hospital officials said Monday.
	Identification of drug combinations that reverse HIV-1 latency There are almost 40 million people throughout the world living with HIV-1/AIDs. While current antiretroviral therapies are able to reduce the amount of virus in the blood, HIV remains present in a latent state within T cells. Reactivation of latent HIV-1 in combination with potent antiviral drugs has potential as a strategy to eradicate the virus from infected individuals.
	Odds of reversing ICU patients' preferences to forgo life-sustaining care vary, study finds Intensive care units across the United States vary widely in how they manage the care of patients who have set preexisting limits on life-sustaining therapies, such as authorizing do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders and prohibiting interventions such as feeding tubes or dialysis, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Their work is published in the current issue of JAMA Internal Medicine.
	Guinea shuts border with Sierra Leone in effort to end Ebola Guinea closed its border with Sierra Leone on Monday as part of new efforts to stamp out Ebola, an official said.
	Study shows short and long-term cost-savings associated with minimally invasive surgery Adding to the clinical benefits and improved patient outcomes associated with minimally invasive surgery, Medtronic highlighted a study published in the March 25 online edition of JAMA Surgery. The new study demonstrated that patients who underwent laparoscopic colectomy procedures required fewer days of health care utilization and the health care system spent less on their acute and follow-up care than those who underwent traditional open surgery.
	Oral drug normalizes blood potassium in 98 percent of kidney patients Patients with chronic kidney disease may be treated with a class of medications called Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone System inhibitors (RAASI's). Although these drugs protect the heart and kidney, a significant percentage of patients develop a dangerous side effect—high potassium levels in the blood (hyperkalemia).
	Consumption of peanuts with a meal benefits vascular health A study of peanut consumption showed that including them as a part of a high fat meal improved the post-meal triglyceride response and preserved endothelial function.
	Amid bird flu outbreak, turkey farmers increase security Poultry producers in the nation's top turkey state are taking extra steps to protect their flocks after a devastating strain of bird flu was confirmed at two Minnesota farms in as many days last week, a disease that had already slammed the doors shut on some key export markets.

Other Sciences news

	Best of Last Week: Acoustic phonons have magnetic properties, universe to collapse and bioclock disruption problem It was another good week for physics as researchers at Ohio State University conducted a landmark study that proved that magnets can control heat and sound—they demonstrated a magnetic field reducing the amount of heat flowing through a semiconductor, proving that acoustic phonons have magnetic properties. In another study, a combined team of researchers from the University of Belgrade and MIT revealed a technique they had developed that allowed for entangling 3,000 atoms using a single photon, representing a new milestone in the number of particles that have been entangled at one time. Also a team of researchers at Griffith University ran an experiment that demonstrated entanglement of a single particle—showing that the collapse of the wave is a real effect.
	System clusters similar student programs together, so instructors can identify broad trends In computer-science classes, homework assignments consist of writing programs. It's easy to create automated tests that determine whether a given program yields the right outputs to a series of inputs. But those tests say nothing about whether the program code is clear or confusing, whether it includes unnecessary computation, and whether it meets the terms of the assignment.
	In social hierarchies, moral stigma spreads down more than up Moral suspicion trickles down social hierarchies, making a top leader's ethical transgressions especially damaging for the careers and reputations of colleagues and subordinates, according to new Stanford research.
	From here to infinity: 3-D map plots every color farther than the eye can see All Virginia Commonwealth University professor Robert Meganck wanted was a better technique to teach color theory to his students.
	Study finds assisted housing works, but it could be improved Two researchers from the University of Kansas Department of Urban Planning have just completed a study on the locations of assisted housing units and assisted households across the nation. It examines one of the key issues that drives the design of federal low-income housing programs, which is how well federal rental assistance helps people move out of impoverished neighborhoods into safer places with access to better schools and jobs. The study updates a similar one done in the late 1990s.
	Do government technology investments pay off? Studies confirm that IT investments in companies improve productivity and efficiency. University of Michigan professor M.S. Krishnan wondered if the same was true for government.
	New study of freelance workers examines link between their well-being and hours worked A new study of freelance workers has discovered key factors that affect their well-being – either making them happier or increasing anxiety and risking depression.

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