Fwd: Science X Newsletter Monday, Feb 9

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Newsletter Phys.org <not-for-reply@physorg.com>
Date: Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 3:11 AM
Subject: Science X Newsletter Monday, Feb 9
To: Pascal Alter <pascal.alter@gmail.com>

Dear Pascal Alter,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for February 9, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- No Big Bang? Quantum equation predicts universe has no beginning
- Electricity from biomass with carbon capture could make western US carbon-negative
- Model of 'virtual bumps' could lead to feeling a keyboard on your touchscreen
- Bionic leaf: Researchers use bacteria to convert solar energy into liquid fuel
- F-bombs notwithstanding, all languages skew toward happiness
- On quantum scales, there are many second laws of thermodynamics
- Electrochromic polymers create broad color palette for sunglasses, windows
- Team finds earliest evidence of large-scale human-produced air pollution in South America
- Best of Last Week – new look at Schrodinger's cat, a large floating wind turbine and why red wine might help memory
- Amber fossil links earliest grasses, dinosaurs and fungus used to produce LSD
- Earth's surprise inside: Geologists unlock mysteries of the planet's inner core
- Corning plans to light Phire on display covers
- Google offers mail payment service in the UK
- Hotel robots in Japan will perform a range of tasks
- Cat shelter findings: Less stress with box access

Astronomy & Space news

	SpaceX calls off launch of space weather satellite (Update) SpaceX called off Sunday's planned launch of a deep-space observatory—and a revolutionary rocket-landing attempt—after a critical radar-tracking system failed.
	Planets orbiting red dwarfs may stay wet enough for life Small, cold stars known as red dwarfs are the most common type of star in the Universe, and the sheer number of planets that may exist around them potentially make them valuable places to hunt for signs of extraterrestrial life.
	Stellar partnership doomed to end in catastrophe Astronomers using ESO facilities in combination with telescopes in the Canary Islands have identified two surprisingly massive stars at the heart of the planetary nebula Henize 2-428. As they orbit each other the two stars are expected to slowly get closer and closer, and when they merge, about 700 million years from now, they will contain enough material to ignite a vast supernova explosion.The team of astronomers, led by Miguel Santander-García (Observatorio Astronómico Nacional, Alcalá de Henares, Spain; Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (CSIC), Madrid, Spain), has discovered a close pair of white dwarf stars—tiny, extremely dense stellar remnants—that have a total mass of about 1.8 times that of the Sun. This is the most massive such pair yet found and when these two stars merge in the future they will create a runaway thermonuclear explosion leading to a Type Ia supernova.
	SpaceX poised to launch resurrected space weather satellite A $340 million sun-observing spacecraft that was initially dreamed up by former US vice president Al Gore is finally poised to launch Sunday after being kept in storage by NASA for years.
	Let's send a private mission to Europa, expert says Jupiter's icy moon Europa puzzles astrobiologists and sparks the imagination of extraterrestrial life seekers. It is believed that the moon has a subsurface ocean of liquid water, where life could possibly be similar to microbial life forms on Earth. The likely presence of liquid water has ignited persisting calls to send a probe there. Currently NASA and ESA plan their own missions to the potentially habitable moon. Europa Clipper mission has just got approved for $30 million in the 2016 NASA budget and ESA's Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE) is scheduled for launch in 2022. But an astrobiology expert, Christopher Impey of the University of Arizona, thinks that the private sector could also take part in the race to Europa. "I think the private sector could step in. If Google or Amazon wanted to fund a more ambition mission and 'brand' what would potentially be the first detection of life beyond Earth, it would be an enormous coup! ," Impey told astrowatch.net. He is the author of popular books about astrobiology: 'The Living Cosmos: Our Search for Life in the Universe', 'Talking About Life: Conversations on Astrobiology', and 'Frontiers of Astrobiology'.
Moon phase and libration, from the other side A number of people who've seen the annual lunar phase and libration videos have asked what the other side of the Moon looks like, the side that can't be seen from the Earth. This video answers that question.
	Image: Hubble's little sombrero Galaxies can take many shapes and be oriented any way relative to us in the sky. This can make it hard to figure out their actual morphology, as a galaxy can look very different from different viewpoints. A special case is when we are lucky enough to observe a spiral galaxy directly from its edge, providing us with a spectacular view like the one seen in this picture of the week.
Video: The strange way fluids slosh on the International Space Station The next time you pour yourself a glass of water, pause before you drink it. First, swirl the clear liquid around the glass. Gently slosh it back and forth. Tap the glass on the tabletop, and watch the patterns that form on the surface.
	How big is the biggest star we have ever found? The universe is such a big place that it is easy to get baffled by the measurements that astronomers make. The size of UY Scuti, possibly one of the largest stars we have observed to date, is certainly baffling.
	The Moon was a first step, Mars will test our capabilities, but Europa is the prize The icy moon Europa is perhaps the most tantalising destination in our solar system. Scientists have been trying for years to kickstart a mission to Jupiter's most enigmatic moon, with very Earth-like concerns over costs keeping missions grounded until now.
	Why meteors light up the night sky Meteors have been seen since people first looked at the night sky. They are comprised of small pieces of debris, typically no larger than a grain of dust or sand, which continually crash into the Earth's atmosphere.
	Soviet cosmonauts carried a bear-killing shotgun into space Anything can happen during a launch or landing of a crewed spacecraft, and just in case the crew would end up stranded in a remote area of the world, astronauts and cosmonauts undergo survival training and carry survival kits. The kits contain items such as food rations, water, extra clothing, items for making a shelter and other miscellaneous survival gear.
	How do we study the Sun? A quick think about optical astronomy would have you imagine that most of it takes place at night. Isn't that when the stars and galaxies come out to play? Well, that assumption makes at least one glaring error: Earth happens to be close to a star that is worthy of study. It's called the Sun, and it only appears during the day.
	Mars is the next step for humanity – we must take it Elon Musk has built a US$12 billion company in an endeavour to pave the way to Mars for humanity. He insists that Mars is a "long-term insurance policy" for "the light of consciousness" in the face of climate change, extinction events, and our recklessness with technology.
	SpaceX launch of observatory, landing test off until Tuesday A deep-space observatory has to wait yet another day before flying.
	Sun's activity in 18th century was similar to that now Counting sunspots over time helps in knowing the activity of our star but the two indices used by scientists disagree on dates prior to 1885. Now an international team of researchers has tried to standardise the historical results and has discovered that, contrary to what one may think, the solar activity of our times is very similar to that of other times, such as the Enlightenment.
After 45 years, souvenirs from Apollo 11 come to light More than 40 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, a cloth satchel full of souvenirs brought back by Neil Armstrong has come to light.

Medicine & Health news

	F-bombs notwithstanding, all languages skew toward happiness In 1969, two psychologists at the University of Illinois proposed what they called the Pollyanna Hypothesis—the idea that there is a universal human tendency to use positive words more frequently than negative ones. "Put even more simply," they wrote, "humans tend to look on (and talk about) the bright side of life." It was a speculation that has provoked debate ever since.
	Model of 'virtual bumps' could lead to feeling a keyboard on your touchscreen What if the touchscreen of your smartphone or tablet could touch you back? What if touch was as integrated into our ubiquitous technology as sight and sound?
	Twists, turns, eventually lead to promising Ebola vaccine It took 16 years of twists and turns. Over and over, Dr. Nancy Sullivan thought she was close to an Ebola vaccine, only to see the next experiment fail.
	Study yields insight into generating antibodies that target different strains of HIV Through an investigation of a fundamental process that guides the maturation of immune cells, researchers have revealed new insights into possible ways to vaccinate people to generate potent antibodies of the type that are predicted to offer protection against diverse strains of the highly mutable HIV.
	Researchers determine existence of 'fat' flavour There is conclusive evidence that there is a fat taste, according to Deakin University sensory science researchers.
	New insights into the function of transporters in the brain implicated in stroke and neurodegenerative disease Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College and Cornell University have gained new insights into the function of biological machines that scoop up glutamate, the most common neurotransmitter in the brain, from the nerve synapse. Their findings may offer investigators new strategies to develop more effective treatments for stroke, traumatic injury and neurodegenerative diseases.
	What autism can teach us about brain cancer Applying lessons learned from autism to brain cancer, researchers at The Johns Hopkins University have discovered why elevated levels of the protein NHE9 add to the lethality of the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, glioblastoma. Their discovery suggests that drugs designed to target NHE9 could help to successfully fight the deadly disease.
Mechanistic finding may help deal with side effects of lifespan-extending drug rapamycin Rapamycin, an FDA-approved drug, extends lifespan in mice up to 30%, making it of major interest to researchers intent on slowing the aging process in humans in order to extend healthspan, the healthy years of life. But long term use of rapamycin, approved for use in several disease indications, has side effects - raising questions about its use to prevent the chronic diseases of aging. In a study, now published online in Aging Cell, researchers at the Buck Institute have discovered new insights into how rapamycin inhibits the nutrient signaling pathway mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) - a finding that could provide a way to avoid or eliminate side effects of the drug.
	HPV vaccination not linked to riskier sex Receiving the human papillomavirus vaccine does not increase rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in adolescent females. The vaccine, which can prevent cervical cancer in women, has had a low uptake, partly because of concerns about how it will affect adolescent sexual activity.
	Computer model of blood development could speed up search for new leukaemia drugs The first comprehensive computer model to simulate the development of blood cells could help in the development of new treatments for leukaemia and lymphoma, say researchers at the University of Cambridge and Microsoft Research.
	Study shows why some targeted cancer drugs lose effectiveness A protein called YAP, which drives the growth of organs during development and regulates their size in adulthood, plays a key role in the emergence of resistance to targeted cancer therapies, according to a new study led by UC San Francisco researchers.
	New opportunity to treat drug-resistant leukemia discovered A study led by researchers at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland FIMM and Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki and the Helsinki University Central Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center, in close collaboration with researchers at Pfizer, has identified a previously unrecognized action of Pfizer's axitinib as a potent inhibitor of the dominant mutation that confers drug resistance to all well tolerated treatments in patients with certain types of leukemia. The findings of this international joint effort were published online today, 9 February, 2015, in the journal Nature.
	Pick a card, any card: Researchers show how magicians sway decision-making Magicians have astonished audiences for centuries by subtly, yet powerfully, influencing their decisions. But there has been little systematic study of the psychological factors that make magic tricks work.
	Novel 'smart' insulin automatically adjusts blood sugar in diabetic mouse model For patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D), the burden of constantly monitoring their blood sugar and judging when and how much insulin to self-inject, is bad enough. Even worse, a miscalculation or lapse in regimen can cause blood sugar levels to rise too high (hyperglycemia), potentially leading to heart disease, blindness and other long-term complications, or to plummet too low (hypoglycemia), which in the worst cases can result in coma or even death.
	Researchers trace origins of colorectal cancer tumor cells For the first time, Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) cancer researchers have traced the origins of colorectal cancer cells, finding important clues to why tumor cells become "good" or "bad," with the potential of stopping them before they start.
	Inherited gene variations tied to treatment-related hearing loss in cancer patients St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have discovered inherited genetic variations that are associated with rapid hearing loss in young cancer patients treated with the drug cisplatin. The research appears in the current online issue of the scientific journal Nature Genetics.
	Molecular tag explains differences in brain's response to anger, fear When people perceive anger and fear in others, a region of the brain called the amygdala sends signals throughout the rest of the brain that allow us to prepare for potentially threatening situations.
	Serotonin-deficient brains more vulnerable to social stress Mice genetically deficient in serotonin—a crucial brain chemical implicated in clinical depression—are more vulnerable than their normal littermates to social stressors, according to a Duke study appearing this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
University of California system to require measles shots (AP)—Students entering the University of California system in 2017 will have to be vaccinated against measles and other diseases under new immunization rules announced Friday.
	Soy food, isoflavone intake not linked to endometrial cancer (HealthDay)—Soy food/isoflavone intake is not associated with endometrial cancer risk in Japanese women, according to a study published in the February issue of BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
	Better daily dental routine could help retain youthful looks (HealthDay)—Lifestyle factors, including personal effort in oral hygiene, can have long-term effects on perceived facial age, according to a study published online Jan. 27 in the British Journal of Dermatology.
	Motivational interviewing can help reach nonadherent patients (HealthDay)—Motivational interviewing can be a useful approach for reaching noncompliant patients, according to an article published Jan. 22 in Medical Economics.
	Prevent tooth loss and dental work with good gum care (HealthDay)—Taking care of your gums plays an important role in protecting your teeth.
New research underlines the importance of getting help before chronicity sets in A study led by Howard Steiger, PhD, head of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute Eating Disorders Program (EDP), in Montreal, in collaboration with Linda Booij, a researcher with Sainte-Justine Hospital and an assistant professor at Queen's University, is the first to observe effects suggesting that the longer one suffers from active anorexia nervosa (AN), the more likely they are to show disorder-relevant alterations in DNA methylation.
	Researchers simulate the complete outer envelope of a flu particle for the first time By combining experimental data from X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, cryoelectron microscopy and lipidomics (the study of cellular lipid networks), researchers at the University of Oxford have built a complete model of the outer envelope of an influenza A virion for the first time. The approach, known as a coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation, has allowed them to generate trajectories at different temperatures and lipid compositions - revealing various characteristics about the membrane components that may help scientists better understand how the virus survives in the wild or find new ways to combat it.
	What's next in diets: Chili peppers? Don't go chomping on a handful of chili peppers just yet, but there may be help for hopeful dieters in those fiery little Native American fruits.
Promising peptide for TBI, heart attack and stroke Strokes, heart attacks and traumatic brain injuries are separate diseases with certain shared pathologies that achieve a common end - cell death and human injury due to hypoxia, or lack of oxygen. In these diseases, a lack of blood supply to affected tissues begins a signaling pathway that ultimately halts the production of energy-releasing ATP molecules - a death sentence for most cells.
Study identifies eight signs associated with impending death in cancer patients Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified eight highly specific physical and cognitive signs associated with imminent death in cancer patients. The findings, published in the journal Cancer, could offer clinicians the ability to better communicate with patients and families. They may also guide both the medical team and caregivers on complex decision making, such as discontinuation of tests and therapy, plans for hospital discharge and hospice referral.
Awkward positions, distractions and fatigue may trigger low back pain New research reveals the physical and psychosocial factors that significantly increase the risk of low back pain onset. In fact results published in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), show that being engaged in manual tasks involving awkward positions will increase the risk of low back pain by eight times. Those who are distracted during activities or fatigued also significantly increase their risk of acute low back pain.
	Preemies may have psychiatric problems as adults The good news is that people born as extremely low birth weight babies are less likely than others to have alcohol or substance use disorders as adults. The less encouraging news is that they may have a higher risk of other types of psychiatric problems.
Indian 'woman' has twins despite discovery she is mostly male An Indian "woman" who discovered she had mostly male chromosomes has given birth to healthy twins after intensive treatment in what doctors said Monday was the "rarest of rare cases".
	Study counters stereotypes of black men most at risk for HIV/AIDS A new study by researchers at Yale School of Public Health and George Mason University provides an in-depth look at the positive aspects of sexual encounters among black men who have sex with men (MSM) versus MSM of other races in the United States.
	Monitoring epilepsy in the brain with a wireless system A new system of wireless microelectrodes aims to detect the location of epilepsy in the brain with high precision. This technique, under development at EPFL, is much less invasive than the current method. It will allow patients to go about their daily life while their brain activity is being monitored.
Pathological progression of multiple sclerosis documented—possible new treatment options The Centre for Brain Research at the MedUni Vienna is regarded as a world leader in researching the mechanisms involved with multiple sclerosis (MS). Now, in a paper published in the highly respected journal Lancet Neurology, an international team of researchers from Edinburgh, Cleveland and Vienna, under the leadership of Hans Lassmann, Head of the Department of Neuroimmunology at the MedUni Vienna, has for the first time documented the pathological progress of the disease from its early to late stage and also shown that inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes have a role to play. This raises the possibility of new treatment options.
	Forcing wounds to close A collaborative study led by scientists from the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has revealed the mechanical forces that drive epithelial wound healing in the absence of cell supporting environment. This research was published in Nature Communications in January 2015.
Scientists identify new population of regulatory T-cells When the mucosal surfaces in the lungs of healthy people come into contact with allergenic substances, so-called regulatory T cells also known as Treg cells, are activated. These are capable of actively preventing the development of allergies. However, if these regulatory mechanisms malfunction the cells of the immune system attack innocuous substances which enter the body from the environment, ultimately leading to the development of atopic diseases such as allergic asthma. In western countries, asthma is the most common chronic disease in children under the age of 15 years.
	Bacterial DNA from the Black Death found in teeth Biologists at the University of Oslo are now making a giant effort to identify the relationship between climate change, rat infestations, and the many major plague epidemics throughout history. The knowledge may be used to predict the next plague outbreak.
	Childhood injuries linked to deprivation but better data collection is needed for prevention In a recent study Dianna Smith and Graham Kirkwood, of QMUL's Blizard Institute, found there were more childhood injuries in areas of deprivation but, they write, with a thorough recording process better prevention can take place.
	Imagery and language influence exercise endurance in study Now that we're in to February, are you struggling to stick to your New Year's resolution exercise plan? There may be more to your success or failure than meets the eye.
	A tour of neural reinforcement learning It is often said that people who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Not being one of those people requires a network of different brain regions to work in concert.
	More doctors means more competition and more antibiotics According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two million people become infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria each year, leading to at least 23,000 deaths. And these infections cost a lot – US$20billion in extra health care costs each year. To combat the problem, the White House is requesting $1.2 billion in the 2016 budget for diagnostics, new antibiotics, outbreak surveillance – and stewardship, which is how antibiotics are prescribed and used.
Energy drinks significantly increase hyperactivity in schoolchildren Middle-school children who consume heavily sweetened energy drinks are 66% more likely to be at risk for hyperactivity and inattention symptoms, a new study led by the Yale School of Public Health has found.
Primary care-based program helps overweight, middle-aged women increase physical activity Getting help from the family doctor may be a better way for overweight, middle-aged women to increase their physical activity, rather than trying to go it alone, according to a trial led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Obesity and physical inactivity are significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease in middle-aged women.
Problem FDA inspection findings in trials seldom reflected in medical literature When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identifies problems in its inspections of clinical sites where biomedical research is performed on human subjects, those findings seldom are reflected in peer-reviewed literature later written about the research, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.
Immune biomarkers help predict early death, complications in HIV patients with TB Doctors treating patients battling both HIV and tuberculosis (TB)—many of whom live in Africa—are faced with the decision when to start those patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) while they are being treated with antibiotics for active TB disease. Some patients fare well on both interventions, with the immune system in check and the TB controlled. Others undergo complications from TB, such as paradoxical immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), a worsening of TB symptoms despite response to therapy, while still others experience immune failure and early death. The best way to determine which patients go on to develop IRIS or die after treatment begins is not fully understood.
	Feeling unloved? Like this post Insecure? Craving attention and needing to feel good about yourself? Chances are Facebook is your friend. A new study suggests that people who are generally insecure in their relationships are more actively engaged on the social media site - frequently posting on walls, commenting, updating their status or "liking" something - in hopes of getting attention.
Shorter medical resident duty hours: Worse for patients, slightly better for residents Shorter duty hours for medical residents, although marginally better for residents themselves, may result in worse patient care, according to a randomized trial assessing resident duty hour schedules in the intensive care unit (ICU), which is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
	Stress may partly explain worse heart attack recovery in young and middle-aged women Stress may partly explain why young and middle-aged women have a worse recovery after heart attack, according to new research published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
Is there harm in sexting? Researcher offers tips, says harm is in the distribution of images A new book released this week by a researcher at the University of Colorado Denver examines the social conversations around sexting. In her book "Sexting Panic" Dr. Amy Hasinoff, a professor of Communication at CU Denver, discusses how teenage sexing - sending sexually explicit images or text messages over cell phones and social media - is thought about, talked about, and regulated.
	'Jekyll and Hyde'protein both prevents and spreads cancer Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson tapped into primal fears when he penned "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," a 19th century novel about a sinister physician, raising the question, "Can evil and good exist in the same person?"
Sunlight and vitamin D levels higher for coastal populations People living close to the coast in England have higher vitamin D levels than inland dwellers, according to a new study published in the journal Environment International.
	How tumor-causing cells are recruited in cancers linked to chronic inflammation Chronic inflammation is directly associated with several types of cancer, yet the reasons as to why this happens at a cellular level remain unclear. Now, an international team of scientists led by researchers at The Wistar Institute has identified a multistep process showing not only how these cancers develop but also potentially discovering new therapeutic targets that could halt the formation and progression of tumor cells.
	Does alcohol-related activity on Facebook promote drinking? The more a Facebook user gets involved in alcohol-related pages or posts - whether it's a like, share or comment - the more likely that person is to consider drinking alcohol.
	A pediatric diabetes gamechanger Anyone who lives with Type 1 diabetes is all too familiar with the sheer amount of effort—and often round-the-clock attention—required to manage the disease. Food intake is closely monitored, as is physical activity, and the period between meals is carefully tracked in order to calculate appropriate insulin dosages, which have to be delivered at the right time.
Do clothes make the doctor? Researchers report on patient perceptions based on attire What should doctors wear? And how does something as simple as their choice of a suit, scrubs or slacks influence how patients view them?
	Brain develops abnormally over lifespan of people who stutter A region of the brain thought to control speech production develops abnormally in children who stutter—a pattern that persists into adulthood, according to new University of Alberta research.
Chronic narcotic use is high among kids with IBD Chronic narcotic use is more than twice as prevalent in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), compared with children without this disease, according to a new study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.
	LGBT teens who come out at school have better self-esteem, study finds Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender adolescents who come out at school have higher self-esteem and lower levels of depression as young adults, compared to LGBT youth who don't disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity at school, according to a new study led by University of Arizona researcher Stephen Russell.
Behavioral therapy effective against pica in children with autism spectrum disorder Intensive behavioral intervention can be effective at eliminating pica, which is the repeated ingestion of inedible substances, researchers from Marcus Autism Center report.
Treadmill desks offer limited benefits, pose challenges in the workplace, study shows Treadmill desks can help overweight or obese office workers get out of their chairs and get moving, but a 12-week study by an Oregon State University researcher found that the increase in physical activity was small and did not help workers meet public health guidelines for daily exercise.
	Using big data to detect disease outbreaks: Is it ethical? Personal information taken from social media, blogs, page views and so on are used to detect disease outbreaks, however, does this violate our privacy, consent and trust?
	Latest measles count: 121 cases in 17 states and D.C. (HealthDay)—The number of measles cases in the United States has reached 121 patients in 17 states and the District of Columbia, federal health officials reported Monday.
Team finds DNA repair is high in heart, nonexistent in brain Nova Southeastern University (NSU) researchers recently discovered that, contrary to prior belief, tissues of different mammalian organs have very different abilities to repair damage to their DNA.
Study finds psychedelic drug prevents asthma development in mice Research led by Charles Nichols, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at the LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, has found that a psychedelic drug, (R)-DOI, prevents the development of allergic asthma in a mouse model. The effects are potent and effective at a concentration 50-100 times less than would influence behavior. The research was published in the January 15 issue of the American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology.
	Lung screening guidelines improve on study findings A set of guidelines developed to help standardized lung cancer screening would have generated considerably fewer false-positives than the National Lung Screening Trial produced, according to a new retrospective study.
	Could there be a gleevec for brain cancer? The drug Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) is well known not only for its effectiveness against chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but also for the story behinds its development. The drug was specifically designed to target an abnormal molecule—a fusion of two normal cell proteins—that fueled a tumor's growth.
Akt Pathway 'ramp ups' effects of transplanted umbilical cord cells used in stroke therapy Researchers have known that transplanted human umbilical cord cells (HUCBCs) can have a restorative effect on the brain and brain function following a stroke. However, just how the cells exert their therapeutic effects has not been clear. Now, a research team from the University of South Florida using animal models of stroke has found that the HUCBCs are most beneficial in preventing neuron loss when the Akt signaling pathway is activated by secretions from the HUCBCs and that Akt activation subsequently impacts a specific gene involved in reducing inflammation. A reduction in inflammation can help neural cell survival following a stroke.
	Cancer's ability to 'hijack' regulatory mechanism increases metastasis When skyscrapers go up, contractors rely on an infrastructure of steel beams and braces. Some cancers grow the same way, using a biological matrix from which the tumor can thrive and spread.
	FDA approves new device aimed at easing stroke risk (HealthDay)—A new technology designed to reduce stroke risk in certain patients has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency announced Monday.
	Case series addresses spine tumors in pregnancy (HealthDay)—For most pregnant patients with benign spine tumors, surgery can be postponed until after delivery, according to a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of Spine.
Historic US and UK dietary advice on fats 'should not have been introduced' National dietary advice on fat consumption issued to millions of US and UK citizens in 1977 and 1983, to cut coronary heart disease incidence, lacked any solid trial evidence to back it up, and "should not have been introduced," concludes research published in the online journal Open Heart.
	Colorado rejects right-to-die legislation (AP)—Colorado lawmakers rejected a proposal to give dying patients the option to seek doctors' help ending their lives, concluding a long day of emotional testimony from more than 100 people.
Many mastectomy patients with locally advanced breast cancer do not get postop radiation Breast cancer patients who undergo a mastectomy should receive subsequent radiation treatment if their cancer has spread to four or more nearby lymph nodes, however, according to a new study, only 65 percent of these women are getting the recommended postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT). The researchers looked at nearly 57,000 cases of breast cancer, and their study has been published as an "article in press" on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website in advance of print publication this spring.
	Homosexuals in Tanzania excluded from HIV prevention efforts Homosexuality has been illegal in Tanzania since colonial times. This legislation is still in force, and during the first 30 years of the HIV epidemic homosexuals were almost never mentioned in HIV prevention campaigns. Today, a growing number of homosexuals in the country have taken up the fight for equal health rights.
Condoms scarce in teen pregnancy-plagued Venezuela Condoms are the latest item to become scarce—and costly—in Venezuela.
Beating high blood pressure with a combination of coconut oil and physical exercise Coconut oil is one of the few foods that can be classified as a "superfood." Its unique combination of fatty acids can have profound positive effects on health, including fat loss, better brain function and many other remarkable benefits.
Study finds no reason for cancer survivors to be excluded in advanced stage lung cancer trials The common practice of excluding patients with a prior cancer diagnosis from lung cancer clinical trials may not be justified, according to a study by researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Infants with rare bone disease improve bone formation after cell transplantation Recent research carried out by a team of researchers in Japan has investigated the use of bone marrow transplants (BMTs) to treat hypophosphatasia (HPP). In this study, the researchers carried out BMT for two infants with HPP in combination with allogenic (other-donated) mesenchymal stem cell transplants (MSCTs). The allogenic MSC donors were a parent of the infant.
Blood vessel cells improve the conversion of pluripotent stem cells to blood lineages Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) can differentiate into all of the different types of cells that comprise the blood and immune cell lineages. HSC transplantation is the only effective treatment for certain blood disorders; however, sources of HSCs are limited. Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), such as induced PSCs, can differentiate into multiple types of cell lineages, but they do not readily reconstitute the population of cells in blood.

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