Fwd: Science X Newsletter Thursday, Apr 2

RESPEKT!

Nanoparticles may exploit tumor weaknesses to selectively attack cancers

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Newsletter Phys.org <not-for-reply@physorg.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 3, 2015 at 3:26 AM
Subject: Science X Newsletter Thursday, Apr 2
To: Pascal Alter <pascal.alter@gmail.com>

***************************************************

Dear Pascal Alter,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for April 2, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Using DNA to assemble a protein lattice
- VLA images 18 years apart show dramatic difference in young stellar system
- DNA can't explain all inherited biological traits, research shows
- Model shows how gas giants could have survived and spun away from their star
- Plant found to prefer pollination during the full moon
- Black holes don't erase information, scientists say
- Personalized melanoma vaccines marshal powerful immune response
- Ants' intruder defense strategy could lead to better email spam filters, biologist finds
- Algae from wastewater solves two problems
- With geomagnetic compass hooked to the brain, blind rats act like they can see
- Researchers create artificial link between unrelated memories
- 'Open' stem cell chromosomes reveal new possibilities for diabetes
- Age-discrimination during cell division maintains the 'stem' in stem cells
- Mitochondria are altered in human cell model of Parkinson's disease
- An 'evolutionary relic' of the genome causes cancer

Nanotechnology news

Nanoparticles may exploit tumor weaknesses to selectively attack cancers Delving into the world of the extremely small, researchers are exploring how biodegradable nanoparticles can precisely deliver anticancer drugs to attack neuroblastoma, an often-deadly children's cancer.

Physics news

	Black holes don't erase information, scientists say The "information loss paradox" in black holes—a problem that has plagued physics for nearly 40 years—may not exist.
	New breakthrough in thermoelectric materials A joint South Korean and American research group has developed a scalable production method for a state of the art alloy for the use in solid state thermoelectric devices. This new alloy is nearly twice as efficient as existing materials and may lead to a new host of applications. Uses include refrigeration, consumer electronics, transportation as well as novel devices which have not been produced yet do to the inefficiencies of existing materials.
	Particle smasher set for weekend startup, says CERN The world's biggest particle collider is set to restart this weekend after a two-year upgrade, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) said Thursday.
	Physicists energized about restart of Large Hadron Collider When Kevin McDermott and Susan Dittmer talk about what they might discover when their particle detector goes back online in Switzerland, it's a little like talking to a 5-year-old on Christmas Eve.
	Researchers observe new charge transport phenomenon Researchers of Aalto University in Finland and the German University of Marburg have collaborated in the study of the movement of charges over interfaces of semiconductor materials. The group noticed a new kind of transport phenomenon for charges. In the phenomenon, a pair formed by a negative electron and a positive charge moves onto an interface, after which its 'message' is passed on to the other side of the interface, where it is carried on by a similar pair. The new theoretical result opens up interesting prospects for carrying out logical operations in electronics.
	Revisiting the mechanics of the action potential The action potential is widely understood as an electrical phenomenon. However, a long experimental history has documented the existence of co-propagating mechanical signatures.

Earth news

	Major study shows biodiversity losses can be reversed Most people would probably agree that human pressures on the land are bad news for wildlife. Practices such as agriculture can introduce pollutants to the environment, force out wildlife, and change local ecosystems forever.
	Plowing prairies for grains: Biofuel crops replace grasslands nationwide Clearing grasslands to make way for biofuels may seem counterproductive, but University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers show in a study today (April 2, 2015) that crops, including the corn and soy commonly used for biofuels, expanded onto 7 million acres of new land in the U.S. over a recent four-year period, replacing millions of acres of grasslands.
	Winter runoff into streams on par with ocean salinity Examining nearby creeks and outflows, Cornell students have found that the amount of road salt in winter and spring runoff that flushes into streams is of near-oceanic salinity levels, according to a new, unpublished report from Cornell's Soil and Water Lab in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering.
	California Tuolumne snowpack 40 percent of worst year New NASA data find the snowpack in the Tuolumne River Basin in California's Sierra Nevada—a major source of water for millions of Californians—currently contains just 40 percent as much water as it did near this time at its highest level of 2014, one of the two driest years in California's recorded history. The data were acquired through a partnership with the California Department of Water Resources, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Turlock and Modesto irrigation districts.
	Engineering undergraduates characterize sulfur emissions from Hawaiian volcano Since 1983, the 180,000 residents of the Big Island of Hawaii have lived in the wake of the pollution caused by the active shield volcano Kilauea. The destructive nature of the volcanic smog ("vog") has imprinted a significant ecological footprint on the surrounding infrastructure, vegetation, and human health.
	New data allows broad view of human influence on Pacific ecosystems As man-made threats to coral reefs mount, and interest in conserving reef ecosystems grows, scientists have turned to studying extremely remote and uninhabited reefs in an effort to understand what coral reefs would be like in the absence of humans. A number of islands and atolls in the Pacific Ocean remain virtually untouched by human influence, situated hundreds of kilometers from the nearest human populations.
	Boom or bust in a jelly bloom market The earth's climate is changing and extreme weather events are on the rise. Hurricanes are wreaking havoc with more ferocity, summers are getting warmer and winters colder. But what about our oceans? They, too, are warming.
	Exxon CEO talks Arctic oil drilling, risks, lessons The Arctic is the next great frontier for oil and gas—and one of the most environmentally fragile places on earth.
	New study finds natural oil dispersion mechanism for deep-ocean blowout A first-of-its-kind study observed how oil droplets are formed and measured their size under high pressure. They further simulated how the atomized oil spewing from the Macondo well reached the ocean's surface during the Deepwater Horizon accident. The findings from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and University of Western Australia research team suggest that the physical properties in deep water create a natural dispersion mechanism for oil droplets that generates a similar effect to the application of chemical dispersants at oil spill source.
	Off Channel Islands, scientists explore how coral lives in a more acidic sea Five hundred feet beneath the ocean's surface, a robotic submarine is bumping into a grove of bone-white coral in the waters off the Channel Islands.
	Drywall makes good composting material, study shows It's not out of a zombie film but it's close: used drywall can help bring dead soils back to life, according to a new University of Alberta study.
	Beluga concerns nix Quebec oil terminal, delays pipeline Pipeline builder TransCanada announced Thursday it will not build a marine terminal at Cacouna, Quebec, saying increased tanker traffic in the region would have harmed a pod of beluga whales.
	TRMM satellite makes direct pass over Super Typhoon Maysak The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite delivered a remarkable image of Super Typhoon Maysak on March 31. TRMM obtained an image straight over the top of a super typhoon with a double eye-wall, Super Typhoon Maysak, as it roared through the warm waters of the West Pacific south of Guam. This image with the TRMM Precipitation Radar or PR was taken at 14:15 UTC (10:15 a.m. EDT) on March 31, 2015 and shows the rain intensities within the very heart of Super Typhoon Maysak as it undergoes an eye wall replacement cycle.
	NASA's ISS-RapidScat: Typhoon Maysak's strongest winds tightly wound The RapidScat instrument that flies aboard the International Space Station saw Typhoon Maysak's strongest winds wrapped tightly around its center, extending outward to over 30 miles from the eye. Maysak weakened as a result of increasing wind shear.
	Ohio governor signs new rules to help reduce Lake Erie algae Ohio's efforts to slow the spread of toxic algae in Lake Erie will soon force some farmers to change how they handle livestock manure and require more testing for pollutants at the state's largest wastewater treatment plants.

Astronomy & Space news

	Model shows how gas giants could have survived and spun away from their star (Phys.org)—A new model developed by a team of researchers with member affiliations in Argentina, France and Mexico, depicts a possible scenario to explain why gas giants do not migrate into the star they are orbiting during their early stages. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the researchers note that prior efforts to build a model that could explain gas giant growth and behavior did not take tidal effects into account and thus could not show why they survived. Martin Duncan of Queen's University offers a News & Views piece on the work done by the team in the same journal issue.
	VLA images 18 years apart show dramatic difference in young stellar system A pair of images of a young star, made 18 years apart, has revealed a dramatic difference that is providing astronomers with a unique, "real-time" look at how massive stars develop in the earliest stages of their formation.
	OSIRIS-REx mission passes critical milestone NASA's groundbreaking science mission to retrieve a sample from an ancient space rock has moved closer to fruition. The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission has passed a critical milestone in its path towards launch and is officially authorized to transition into its next phase.
	NASA's Curiosity eyes prominent mineral veins on Mars Two-tone mineral veins at a site NASA's Curiosity rover has reached by climbing a layered Martian mountain offer clues about multiple episodes of fluid movement. These episodes occurred later than the wet environmental conditions that formed lake-bed deposits the rover examined at the mountain's base.
	Life needs an atmosphere, but how much is too much? How much atmosphere is too much for life? As scientists discover more super-Earths and mini-Neptunes, the question becomes more relevant.
	Amateur stargazers find supernovas in distant galaxies More than 40,000 amateur astronomers have classified two million unidentified heavenly bodies found by the SkyMapper telescope at The Australian National University (ANU).
	Scary times for Europe's comet-chaser Rosetta (Update) Europe's pioneering probe Rosetta battled breakdowns with navigation and communication with Earth after it ran into blasts of dust and gas from the comet it is tracking, mission control said Thursday.
	Hubble finds phantom objects near dead quasars NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed a set of wispy, goblin-green objects that are the ephemeral ghosts of quasars that flickered to life and then faded.
	Jupiter moon Ganymede found to have a large bulge at equator (Phys.org)—A pair of space scientists, one with the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston Texas the other with Washington University in St. Lois, has found evidence of a large bulge on Ganymede—the largest satellite in our solar system. In their presentation at this year's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Paul Schenk and William McKinnon outlined what they had observed and offered possible explanations for the existence of the bulge. As noted by National Geographic, the bulge, or protuberance, is approximately the size of Ecuador and about half the height of Mount Kilimanjaro.
	Suzaku studies supernova 'crime scene,' shows a single white dwarf to blame Using archival data from the Japan-led Suzaku X-ray satellite, astronomers have determined the pre-explosion mass of a white dwarf star that blew up thousands of years ago. The measurement strongly suggests the explosion involved only a single white dwarf, ruling out a well-established alternative scenario involving a pair of merging white dwarfs.
	Aliens have never invaded Japan: defence minister Alien spaceships have never entered Japanese airspace, the country's defence minister has told parliamentarians, after being questioned about a possible aerial invasion by little green men.
	The southern lights in Indigenous oral traditions Parts of Australia have been privileged to see dazzling lights in the night sky as the Aurora Australis – known as the southern lights – puts on a show this year.
	Behind the scenes images of the final Hubble servicing mission Photographer Michael Soluri was granted unprecedented access to document the people and events behind the final Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4, STS-125, which launched in 2009. He has published these images in a new book, "Infinite Worlds: People & Places of Space Exploration." Soluri has provided Universe Today with an exclusive gallery of images from the book, and also told us about his experiences in being able to follow for three years the behind the scenes lead-up to the mission.

Technology news

	Affordable 3D printer heating up on Kickstarter When the printing site 3DPrint.com heard of a company planning to promote a printer affordable to many, "we had flashbacks from last year when a number of incredibly cheap machines launched crowdfunding campaigns only to close up shop before their campaigns even got off the ground," said Brian Krassenstein. A certain measure of skepticism is healthy when the pricetag is below $200, he said, because certain components within a 3D printer which are required" will "put a floor under its production costs."
	Autonomous car completes 3,400-mile US road trip An autonomous car's recent 3,400-mile U.S. road trip proves there's at least one thing computers do better than humans: Follow the speed limit.
	Facebook's enthusiasm and Oculus technology aside, virtual reality still faces challenges If you believe the folks at Facebook, virtual reality is about to become the next big thing.
	Japan's mobile app Line reviving IPO plans Line, the popular messaging app launched in the aftermath of Japan's earthquake and tsunami, is set for an initial public offering as early as this year, a report said Thursday, after shelving plans for a listing in 2014.
	China blasts Google security move as 'unacceptable' A Chinese cyberspace bureau on Thursday denounced Google for deciding not to recognise the agency's authority after a Beijing-linked security breach, calling the US Internet giant's action "unacceptable and unintelligible".
	Passive cooling for buildings with green roofs Researchers from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and Università Politecnica delle Marche have found that green roofs with high vegetation density are 60% more efficient than non-green roofs.
	E-commerce in groceries lags, but ready to take off Will your milk and eggs become part of the Internet-of-things? So far, e-commerce in the grocery and consumer packaged goods sector has lagged behind the rest of retail.
	Explaining 5G wireless technology If you take a stroll outside today, you'll see a lot of people with mobile phones, phablets or tablets in their hands making calls, using the internet to catch up on the news, watch videos, or interacting with others via Facebook, Tumblr or Twitter.
	Know instantly how much privacy a website visit costs you Providers do not keep secret how their websites use your personal information – it's always shown in their privacy policy. But hardly anybody ever reads that information. That's why PhD candidate Elisa Costante of TU/e has developed algorithms that analyze the privacy policy of websites and calculate their 'privacy costs'. She has also developed a tool that detects abnormal behavior in databases with personal data, to prevent abuse of the data they contain. Costante gained her PhD on Tuesday 31 March.
	Solar cooling system keeps water at nine degrees Celsius for up to three months Maintaining food in places where high temperatures prevail, using little energy at a low cost, is now possible with Mexican technology, thanks to the creation of a solar cooling system designed by Susana Elvia Toledo Flores.
	A safer way to deal with raw sewage in the developing world In 2011, an engineering student came up with an idea to help people in the developing world deal with raw sewage. His goal was to use technology to help save lives by limiting people's exposure to the pathogens in human waste. Four years and several countries later, he's still working on it – and the technology is beginning to come into focus.
	Battery energy storage project shows promise for electricity network With rising electricity prices one of the biggest issues facing households, Griffith University (Australia) research into energy storage and supply holds the promise of cheaper, better quality power for the low voltage (LV) electricity distribution network.
	Taiwan expanding into indoor LED-lit, pesticide-free farms Chang Chen-kai is part of Taiwan's new generation of high-tech farmers that is harnessing the island's technological edge in light-emitting diodes to grow vegetables indoors under bright LED lights.
	Modular brains help organisms learn new skills without forgetting old skills New research suggests that when brains are organized into modules they are better at learning new information without forgetting old knowledge. The findings—published this week in PLOS Computational Biology—not only shed light on the evolution of intelligence in natural animals, but will also accelerate attempts to create artificial intelligence (AI).
	Google says Android malware cut in half Google said Thursday that malware infections on Android devices have been cut in half in the past year following security upgrades for the mobile platform.
	Co-founder feuds at LA tech startups show how handshake deals can blow up Two Stanford University undergraduates shook hands in their dormitory in early 2011, agreeing to partner on what they hoped would be the next big technology startup.
	Will Apple Watch bridge the gender divide? Forget the Mickey Mouse face, the communication tricks and the steadfast timepiece, which ticks within mere milliseconds of the global standard.
	Review: Set up the new Amped Wireless router with just one finger Over the last few years, I've watched my parents move from a Windows PC to a Mac mini to iPads for their Internet access.
	California's shift toward renewables makes energy harder to manage California's electrical grid has a problem - a nice problem, but a problem nonetheless: The state often has too much power.
	Music streaming showdown looms as Spotify competition heats up This week's all-star launch of US rapper Jay Z's streaming music service may not have caused Spotify's management to lose sleep—but analysts predict tough days ahead as tech giant Apple prepares to enter the fray.
	Snapchat shows data requests in transparency report Snapchat, the social network for users who like the security of disappearing messages, released its first transparency report Thursday showing hundreds of requests from US and foreign law enforcement agencies.
	Stock split could cost Google over $500 million An unorthodox stock split designed to ensure Google CEO Larry Page and fellow co-founder Sergey Brin retain control of the Internet's most profitable company could cost Google more than half a billion dollars.
	Accelerating delivery of smarter cities and districts to achieve energy goals Making substantial reductions in energy demand, green house gas emissions and incorporating renewable technologies at district and city level is a tricky task. A new community of cities is discovering real solutions with real impact as part of the CITyFiED project
	Havana wants Internet for 'all Cubans' by 2020 Havana announced Thursday it wants "all Cubans" to be connected to the Internet by 2020, a goal the United States says will be difficult given the government's communications monopoly.

Chemistry news

	Using DNA to assemble a protein lattice (Phys.org)—Living systems have ready-made catalysts, known as enzymes, for many types of reactions. What if these enzymes could be snapped together like Lego pieces to make a lattice structure? An ideal procedure for accomplishing this would be versatile enough to work with any protein, regardless of its identity, and would maintain the protein's native functionality while in the lattice structure.
	Scientists develop perfume which smells better the more you sweat The first-ever perfume delivery system to ensure the more a person sweats, the better they will smell, has been developed by scientists at Queen's University Belfast.
	Findings on how electrons are solvated in water widen the range of potential influences on chemical reactions Chemistry can be quite confusing. In order for the desired substance to be produced in a reaction or for two substances to interact - or not - chemists have to take into account a number of factors. Researchers at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin can now offer them additional access. They have measured how strongly electrons are bound when they are put into water – namely right at the start as soon as the negative charge carriers are released by, for instance, a potential reaction partner. Electrons are the actual players in chemical reactions, as they are moved between different atoms during this process. Whether that happens depends on their binding energy to the different components. And in reactions in aqueous solutions, the binding energy of an electron at the beginning of the solvation process is a key factor. Now that it is known, chemists can consider it when planning or preventing reactions.!
	Researchers use silk to cultivate organ tissues in the lab Few organs in the body are as complicated as the human brain, a tight spiderweb of neurons that shoots electrical signals across synapses to control all our thoughts and movements. When something goes wrong—as it does when a person suffers a traumatic brain injury—the effects can be devastating. But for decades, scientists have been stymied in trying to study the living brain in the laboratory.
	Scientists synthesize molecules that absorb any color of sunlight, from the oranges through the near-infrared In 2005, scientists studying tiny sac-like creatures called sea squirts found bacteria containing two types of chlorophyll (a and b) in cavities inside the squirts' tissues. These two pigments were soaking up most of the sunlight—the violets, indigos, blues, green, yellows and oranges.
	Small RNA plays big role suppressing cancer The micro RNA miR-22 has long been known for its ability to suppress cancer. However, questions remain about how it achieves this feat. For example, which molecules are regulating miR-22, and which are miR22 targets?
	Optics, nanotechnology combined to create low-cost sensor for gases Engineers have combined innovative optical technology with nanocomposite thin-films to create a new type of sensor that is inexpensive, fast, highly sensitive and able to detect and analyze a wide range of gases.
	Improved methods provide insight into the nature of substrate, ligand and lipid interactions Membrane proteins account for up to 30% of the proteins present in an organism, though relatively few are well characterised compared to their soluble protein counterparts. This is largely due to their instability when extracted from membranes using detergent, which hampers their study. Methods are required to assess the integrity of extracted protein, which are not always straightforward or reliable.

Biology news

	Ants' intruder defense strategy could lead to better email spam filters, biologist finds To kill spam, email filters might need to act a bit more like ants.
	Plant found to prefer pollination during the full moon (Phys.org)—A pair of researchers with Stockholm University has discovered a species of Ephedra—a plant that is dependent on the full moon for pollination. In their paper published in The Royal Society Biology Letters, Catarina Rydin and Kristina Bolinder describe how they came upon their findings nearly by accident and the research they conducted afterwards that backed up their suspicions.
	DNA can't explain all inherited biological traits, research shows Characteristics passed between generations are not decided solely by DNA, but can be brought about by other material in cells, new research shows.
	Research demonstrates shared rules of development can predict patterns of evolution in different species The evolution and development of structures as diverse as limbs, fingers, teeth, somites and vertebrae may have more in common than once believed, according to a new study by UMass Dartmouth Biology faculty member Kathryn Kavanagh, PhD, and UC San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine Assistant Professor Nathan Young, PhD.
	Protein determines life or death fate of stressed cells Researchers discovered a new protein involved in the process that determines the fate of cells under stress and whether they fight to survive or sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
	Microbes scared to death by virus presence The microbes could surrender to the harmless virus, but instead freeze in place, dormant, waiting for their potential predator to go away, according to a recent study in mBio.
	'Open' stem cell chromosomes reveal new possibilities for diabetes Stem cells hold great promise for treating a number of diseases, in part because they have the unique ability to differentiate, specializing into any one of the hundreds of cell types that comprise the human body. Harnessing this potential, though, is difficult. In some cases, it takes up to seven carefully orchestrated steps of adding certain growth factors at specific times to coax stem cells into the desired cell type. Even then, cells of the intestine, liver and pancreas are notoriously difficult to produce from stem cells. Writing in Cell Stem Cell April 2, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered why.
	With geomagnetic compass hooked to the brain, blind rats act like they can see By attaching a microstimulator and geomagnetic compass to the brains of blind rats, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on April 2 found that the animals can spontaneously learn to use new information about their location to navigate through a maze nearly as well as normally sighted rats. Researchers say the findings suggest that a similar kind of neuroprosthesis might also help blind people walk freely through the world.
	Age-discrimination during cell division maintains the 'stem' in stem cells A team of Whitehead Institute scientists has discovered that during division, stem cells distinguish between old and young mitochondria and allocate them disproportionately between daughter cells. As a result, the daughter cell destined to remain a stem cell receives predominantly young mitochondria, while the cell meant to differentiate into another cell type carries with it a higher compliment of the aged organelles.
	Algae from wastewater solves two problems In one of the first studies to examine the potential for using municipal wastewater as a feedstock for algae-based biofuels, Rice University scientists found they could easily grow high-value strains of oil-rich algae while simultaneously removing more than 90 percent of nitrates and more than 50 percent of phosphorous from wastewater.
	Lobster growth rates to decline under increasing ocean acidification conditions The growth and molting rates of juvenile lobsters are likely to decrease significantly as the oceans become increasingly acidic from climate change, making the animals more vulnerable to predation and leading to fewer adult lobsters being available for harvest.
	Researchers survey microbes that influence plant health When driving past a sunlit field of grapes, we miss the frenzy of activity that is invisible to the human eye. Vines and roots teem with bacteria, and viruses and fungi all impact how those grapes will grow.
	Birth during a drought correlated with poor health in baboons The saying "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" may not hold up to scientific scrutiny.
	Ozone 'vaccine' protects tomatoes against fungal attack Exposing fruit to a burst of ozone gas is similar to 'vaccinating' them against fungal attack, scientists at Newcastle University have found.
	Some shape-shifting animals that can morph to fool others Animals come in all different shapes and sizes, but only a few can change their shapes. Researchers in Ecuador recently reported a new species of frog that can change its skin texture from spiny to smooth – the first ever case of a shape-shifting vertebrate.
	Tropical seagrass examined for light pressures Research into seagrass susceptibility to dredging activities has revealed exactly how fragile some of the tropical marine plants species are when faced with a decreased level of light.
	Countryside changes 'more damaging' to bees than urban sprawl Under-threat bees have suffered more from changes to rural landscapes over the past century than from expanding towns and cities, a new report has found.
	Red kites 'commute' into suburbs to be fed A rare bird of prey, once almost extinct in Britain and Ireland, has made a spectacular return to the skies above UK towns thanks to people feeding them, new research has found.
	Butterflies fall victim to mosquito control South Florida's butterflies have become the unintended victim of insecticide control, according to FIU researchers.
	Rapid increase in neonicotinoid insecticides driven by seed treatments Use of a class of insecticides, called neonicotinoids, increased dramatically in the mid-2000s and was driven almost entirely by the use of corn and soybean seeds treated with the pesticides, according to researchers at Penn State.
	Bridging the gap between biodiversity data and policy reporting needs Reporting under policy instruments to inform on the trends in biodiversity requires information from a range of different elements of biodiversity, from genetically viable populations to the structure of ecosystems. A new research looks into the Essential Biodiversity Variables as an analytic framework to identify ways in which gaps between biodiversity data and policy reporting needs could be bridged. The study was published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
	Through the grapevine: Molecular mechanisms behind Pinot berry color variation Variations in the color of grapevine berries within the Pinot family result from naturally-occurring genetic mutations that selectively shut down the genes responsible for the synthesis of red pigments, called anthocyanins. This has led to the emergence of Pinot blanc and Pinot gris from Pinot noir. Frédérique Pelsy and her colleagues, from the "Grapevine Health and Wine Quality" research unit at INRA Colmar, France, published these findings in PLOS Genetics on 2 April 2015.
	Scientists study rare 'Pinocchio Lizard' in effort to save it For more than 50 years, scientists thought that the horned anole lizard—sometimes called the "Pinocchio Lizard" for its long, protruding nose—was extinct. But it turns out this is a tall tale.
	Western governors tout sage grouse conservation efforts A group of Western-state governors has released a report on voluntary efforts in 11 states to conserve the habitat of sage grouse as part of an effort to avoid a federal listing of the bird under the federal Endangered Species Act.
	Virus infecting Southern Idaho wheat, barley crops, forcing tough choices for growers University of Idaho plant disease specialist Juliet Marshall is warning farmers that winter wheat and barley crops across southern Idaho are showing a disturbing echo of last summer's abnormal wet spell.
	Using gameplay to challenge our understanding of sustainable fishing A new and innovative computer game has been developed that allows players to experience and explore the complexities of sustainable fishing. The game has been used as an interactive stakeholder communication measure by the EC-funded SOCIOEC project, an initiative that was dedicated to investigating the socio economic effects of fisheries management measures of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The game allows players to directly investigate the effects of different fisheries management measures on fishermen's behaviour. It was also used to engage fishermen in discussions about possible incentives of different management measures aiming to conserve fish stocks in European waters.
	Public help needed to save Tasmanian populations of the swift parrot Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) are calling for the public to help protect three species of critically endangered birds.
	Could a tiny particle stem the plague of citrus greening? Since it was discovered in South Florida in 2005, the plague of citrus greening has spread to nearly every grove in the state, stoking fears among growers that the $10.7 billion-a-year industry may someday disappear.

Medicine & Health news

	Personalized melanoma vaccines marshal powerful immune response Personalized melanoma vaccines can be used to marshal a powerful immune response against unique mutations in patients' tumors, according to early data in a first-in-people clinical trial at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
	Key mechanism identified in tumor-cell proliferation in pediatric bone cancers A particular molecular pathway permits stem cells in pediatric bone cancers to grow rapidly and aggressively, according to researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center.
	Mechanism by which exposure to vinyl chloride may produce cancerous mutations In the 1970s, epidemiologists found that workers in factories using vinyl chloride, the key ingredient for PVC plastics, had unusually high rates of a rare form of liver cancer called angiosarcoma.
	By revealing loss of motor skills, typing patterns may help to identify early onset of Parkinson's Analyzing people's keystrokes as they type on a computer keyboard can reveal a great deal of information about the state of their motor function, according to a new study from MIT.
	Scientists make major breakthrough in understanding the 'unnoticed' senses Researchers at the University of Aberdeen have taken a step closer to understanding the nerve endings which report touch and movement to the brain - which could potentially be a powerful new drug target and save many lives in the future.
	The brain-belly connection: Team finds genetic triggers in weight-regulating brain cells The little voice inside your head that tells you to eat, or stop eating, isn't a little voice - it's actually a cluster of about 10,000 specialized brain cells. And now, an international team of scientists has found tiny triggers inside those cells that give rise to this "voice", and keep it speaking throughout life.
	Cancer's relentless evolution All living things—from dandelions to reindeer—evolve over time. Cancer cells are no exception, and are subject to the two overarching mechanisms described by Charles Darwin: chance mutation and natural selection.
	Mitochondria are altered in human cell model of Parkinson's disease Based on research in fruit flies, it has long been suspected that the most common mutation linked to both sporadic and familial Parkinson's disease (PD) wreaks its havoc by altering the function of mitochondria in neurons that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine. Using stem cells derived from patients who have PD, scientist at the Buck Institute have confirmed that finding in human cells for the first time. In research published in the April 2nd early online edition of Stem Cell Reports, Buck researchers also provide a valuable tool for testing potential treatments for the progressive, incurable neurodegenerative disease.
	An 'evolutionary relic' of the genome causes cancer Pseudogenes, a sub-class of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) that developed from the genome's 20,000 protein-coding genes but lost the ability to produce proteins, have long been considered nothing more than genomic "junk." Yet the retention of these 20,000 mysterious remnants during evolution has suggested that they may in fact possess biological functions and contribute to the development of disease.
	Researchers create artificial link between unrelated memories The ability to learn associations between events is critical for survival, but it has not been clear how different pieces of information stored in memory may be linked together by populations of neurons. In a study published April 2nd in Cell Reports, synchronous activation of distinct neuronal ensembles caused mice to artificially associate the memory of a foot shock with the unrelated memory of exploring a safe environment, triggering an increase in fear-related behavior when the mice were re-exposed to the non-threatening environment. The findings suggest that co-activated cell ensembles become wired together to link two distinct memories that were previously stored independently in the brain.
	Strong grasp of immune response dynamics will enhance checkpoint blockade Spreading the success of cancer immunotherapy beyond those patients currently enjoying powerful, long-term responses to treatment requires greater understanding of the immune response to tumors, two leaders in the field note in a review in the April 3 Science.
	Element of surprise helps babies learn Infants have innate knowledge about the world and when their expectations are defied, they learn best, researchers at Johns Hopkins University found.
	Deconstructing brain systems involved in memory and spatial skills In work that reconciles two competing views of brain structures involved in memory and spatial perception, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have conducted experiments that suggest the hippocampus - a small region in the brain's limbic system - is dedicated largely to memory formation and not to spatial skills, such as navigation. The study is published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
	Older people at higher risk of emergency cancer diagnosis People over 60 are at higher risk of being diagnosed with lung or bowel cancer as an emergency in hospital than younger people, according to a Cancer Research UK-supported report , published today by BMJ Open.
	Witnessing drug problems or domestic violence causes greater asthma incidence No home is perfect, but dysfunction in the home is now revealed to be especially dangerous for children at risk for asthma. A new study shows that children exposed to just one adverse childhood experience (ACE) had a 28 percent increased chance of developing asthma than those with no ACEs.
	Girl's massive airway tumor treated through new therapy In July 2008, when Isabella Manley was just a few weeks old, she developed rapid, raspy breathing.
	Babies with clinically suspected serious infections can be safely and effectively treated outside hospital Newborns and young infants with possible severe bacterial infections (PSBI), such as pneumonia and sepsis, whose families do not accept or cannot access hospital care, can be safely and effectively treated with simplified antibiotic regimens outside hospital, according to the results of three large trials from Africa and Bangladesh published in The Lancet and The Lancet Global Health journals.
	Sanitary freedom keeps African schoolgirls in class Sue Barnes had no problem getting sanitary pads while she grew up in South Africa. But not every girl, she came to realise, is so lucky and their periods weigh over daily life.
	Prosecutors seek congressional probe of supplement industry Fourteen attorneys general asked Congress to launch an investigation of the herbal supplements industry and to consider giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stronger oversight of the industry, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced.
	Packed with health benefits, coffee gains ground with experts Long viewed as a controversial dark substance, coffee is gaining ground among medical experts who say it can protect against heart disease, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and diabetes, even if it is decaffeinated.
	Ebola immunisation possible with just one injection A live vaccine based on the "Vesicular Stomatitis Virus" (VSV) has yielded highly promising results for the rapid development of an effective vaccine against the Ebola virus. This vaccine would only need to be injected once for long-lasting immunoprotection. These are the key findings of an international study coordinated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in which the MedUni Vienna also played an important role. In this context, Markus Müller, Vice Rector for Research and Head of the University Department of Pharmacology, is acting within the VEBCON study consortium as head of the "Data Safety Monitoring Board" and is therefore jointly responsible for checking the vaccine's safety.
	Critical windows to turn away junk food craving University of Adelaide researchers have shown there are two critical windows during the developmental pathway to adulthood when exposure to junk food is most harmful, particularly for female offspring.
	Study shows that females are more sensitive to external factors that promote alcohol use A study conducted in rats measuring risk factors that contribute to alcohol abuse suggests females are particularly sensitive to alcohol-related cues and stress which elicits a "craving" response.
	Antioxidant therapy may have promising potential in concussion treatment A new study out of West Virginia University suggests antioxidants may play a key role in reducing the long-term effects of concussions and could potentially offer a unique new approach for treatment.
	Learning disabilities commonly found in Wiedemann-Steiner Syndrome can now be investigated in the lab Wiedemann-Steiner Syndrome is a rare genetic disease. Patients typically suffer from several handicaps and physical symptoms and often struggle with cognitive deficits from childhood on. One gene (MLL1) has been recently identified as the genetic cause. However, the mechanisms of how changes in MLL1 exactly cause the syndrome have not yet been fully understood. As a result, treatment options are still not available. Researcher Mira Jakovcevski from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich has established a mouse model which enables scientists to study the disease and potential treatments.
	Raising the minimum buying age for tobacco could mean fewer people start to smoke In 2005, the Boston suburb of Needham tried a new tactic to reduce youth tobacco use: the town raised the legal age for purchasing tobacco from 18 to 21. The results were dramatic – tobacco use among high school students dropped almost in half, and Needham's decline in high school smoking rates far outpaced the surrounding suburbs.
	When a norovirus expert got norovirus Knowing about one in 15 Americans gets norovirus every year, I've had the "When the NoroCORE blogger got norovirus" post waiting in the wings for a while. I think the virus has a good sense of ironic timing.
	Researchers find bimanual exam doesn't accurately screen for ovarian cancer The most commonly performed ovarian cancer screening test—the bimanual exam—is unlikely to benefit healthy women, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Georgia.
	Marker may predict breast cancer response to tamoxifen The presence of lower-than-normal amounts of the protein TGFBR2 was associated with breast cancer resistance to treatment with the antiestrogen therapeutic tamoxifen, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
	Study touts ways to teach youths about skin cancer prevention Virtually every parent has at some point told their children to put on sunscreen before going outside. And those parents could just as likely tell you there's no more sure-fire way to make sure a child ignores your message than to deliver a lecture. A University of Kansas professor has co-authored a study that shows technology and carefully crafting the message could be the keys to getting adolescents to take skin cancer and sun exposure protection seriously.
	A new tool for understanding Parkinson's disease EPFL scientists have developed a new method that can accurately simulate the chemical modification of the protein behind Parkinson's disease. The technique, has opened a new way of understanding Parkinson's, and can be expanded to other proteins and diseases as well.
	Scientists pinpoint a protein that affects heart transplant survival The protein haptoglobin boosts inflammation in transplanted hearts, reducing their survival, according to a study led by Yale researchers. The finding may help identify new anti-inflammatory therapies to enhance organ transplant survival.
	New DNA technique means pointing the finger at the right identical twin just got easier DNA profiling (or genetic fingerprinting) has proved a revolutionary tool for forensic investigators as a means to identify potential suspects, exonerate the innocent and convict the guilty. But, like any forensic technique, it has its limitations. One limitation is in cases involving identical twins, something that has raised technical, legal and ethical problems – until now.
	High-fat dairy products linked to reduced type 2 diabetes risk Consumption of high-fat yoghurt and cheese are linked to a reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as a fifth, according to new research from Lund University in Sweden. High meat consumption, on the other hand, is linked to a higher risk.
	Eating eggs reduces risk of type 2 diabetes Egg consumption may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, according to new research from the University of Eastern Finland. The findings were published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
	Health and medical advice from your hip pocket Western Australia is one of the most remote areas in the world, this presents a range of challenges when delivering health services to those not within an easily commutable distance of Perth.
	Cancer drug shows promise for treating stroke A University of Victoria neuroscientist has discovered that a cancer drug may improve recovery rates for diabetic patients who have suffered a stroke.
	Deaths from cardiovascular disease increase globally while mortality rates decrease As the global population pushes past 7 billion and more people reach old age, the number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases is on the rise. Cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of premature death in the world, include heart attacks, strokes, and other circulatory diseases.
	Some false postive prenatal genetic screens due to mother's extra DNA segments Prenatal blood screening for extra or missing chromosomes in the fetus might give false-positive results if the mother's genome contains more than the usual number of certain DNA segments. This finding is reported April 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The article is part of a collection of papers examining screening tests now available to patients due to recent advances in genome sciences.
	Dying patients' choices not always aligned to caregivers' An illuminating study compares the willingness of stage IV cancer patients, and their caregivers; to pay to extend their lives by one year against that of other end-of-life improvements. The research, led by members of the Lien Centre for Palliative Care (LCPC) and collaborators from the National Cancer Centre Singapore, was recently published in the journal, Palliative Medicine.
	Visual objects are represented by a distributed network in the human brain LSU Psychology Professor Megan H. Papesh was part of a research team whose study appeared in the online-first edition of the Journal of Neuroscience on Wednesday, April 1. The research, jointly conducted by scientists from the Barrow Neurological Institute and Arizona State University, involves recording single-neuron activity in the brains of epilepsy patients who require electrodes implanted to monitor seizures. With the electrodes in place, processes such as perception and memory can be studied at the level of individual neurons.
	Physical activity benefits lung cancer patients and survivors Exercise and physical activity should be considered as therapeutic options for lung cancer as they have been shown to reduce symptoms, increase exercise tolerance, improve quality of life, and potentially reduce length of hospital stay and complications following surgery for lung cancer.
	Depression and insomnia are strongest risk factors for frequent nightmares A new study suggests that symptoms of depression and insomnia are the strongest predictors of having frequent nightmares.
	Liver injury in NASH leads to a leaky gut Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the more severe form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that can progress to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, is associated with leakiness of the intestinal wall, which in turn may worsen liver disease, according to research1 published in Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the new basic science journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.
	Alcohol study yields surprising results The mortality of alcohol dependent patients in general hospitals is many times higher than that of patients without alcohol dependency. In addition, they die about 7.6 years earlier on average than hospital patients without a history of alcohol addiction. This is what scientists from the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University of Bonn Hospital together with British colleagues discovered using patient data from various general hospitals in Manchester (England). The researchers are calling for earlier and more intensive psychotherapeutic support of persons with alcohol addictions. The study is published in the journal European Psychiatry.
	Accurate blood pressure measurement fundamental to early diagnosis in pregnancy Accurate blood pressure measurement (BP) is fundamental to the early diagnosis of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, says a review published 1 April, 2015, in The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist (TOG).
	Beta secretase inhibitors to treat Alzheimer's disease With each new amyloid-targeting treatment for Alzheimer's disease that has been developed, there has been a corresponding concern. For example, antibodies targeting amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) produce inflammation in the brain in some patients. Gamma secretase inhibitors tend to produce adverse effects by interacting with Notch, an important pathway for cellular signaling.
	One test can predict which kids will become nearsighted A study of 4,500 U.S. children over 20 years has identified a single test that can predict which kids will become nearsighted by the eighth grade: a measure of their current refractive error.
	Potential chemoresistance after consuming fatty acid in fish, fish oil Researchers found that consuming the fish herring and mackerel, as well as three kinds of fish oils, raised blood levels of the fatty acid 16:4(n-3), which experiments in mice suggest may induce resistance to chemotherapy used to treat cancer, according to a study published online by JAMA Oncology.
	Researchers produce iPSC model to better understand genetic lung/liver disease Using patient-derived stem cells known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) to study the genetic lung/liver disease called alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency, researchers have for the first time created a disease signature that may help explain how abnormal protein leads to liver disease.
	Dual therapy's 1-2 punch knocks out drug-resistant lung cancer Capitalizing on a rare opportunity to thoroughly analyze a tumor from a lung cancer patient who had developed resistance to targeted drug treatment, UC San Francisco scientists identified a biological escape hatch that explains the resistance, and developed a strategy in mice for shutting it down.
	Study finds new genetic clues to pediatric seizure disorders Researchers have identified a new genetic mutation at the heart of a severe and potentially deadly seizure disorder found in infants and young children. The finding, which was reported today in the journal American Journal of Human Genetics, may help scientists unravel the complex biological mechanism behind these diseases.
	Body's cancer defences hijacked to make pancreatic and lung cancers more aggressive Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that a vital self-destruct switch in cells is hijacked - making some pancreatic and non small cell lung cancers more aggressive, according to research published in Cancer Cell today.
	Pathway known to suppress tumors may also reduce burden of neurodegenerative diseases A molecular pathway known to suppress tumors appears to also be a major player in clearing cells of damaged proteins implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and certain types of dementia, new research in roundworms and human cells suggests.
	To improve bicycle safety, crash reports need to capture more data Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers are calling upon police in all states to improve their reporting of crashes involving vehicles and bicycles, according to a new study being published Thursday, April 2, 2015. Currently, details on crashes are handwritten by police on paper and there are few bicycle-relevant codes.
	HIV spreads like internet malware and should be treated earlier A new model for HIV progression finds that it spreads in a similar way to some computer worms and predicts that early treatment is key to staving off AIDS.
	Circulation of highly pathogenic avian flu in North American birds Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 viruses of Eurasian origin continue to circulate and evolve in North American wild birds.
	WebTIPS helps make surgery less scary for children—and their parents A newly developed website provides parents and children with individualized information and support—based on factors like coping style and levels of worry and fear—to help lower anxiety before outpatient surgery in children, according to a pair of articles in the April issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia.
	Adolescent drinking affects adult behavior through long-lasting changes in genes Binge-drinking during adolescence may perturb brain development at a critical time and leave lasting effects on genes and behavior that persist into adulthood.
	CDC: Imported drug-resistant stomach bug spreading in US Health officials say a drug-resistant strain of a nasty stomach bug made its way into the U.S. and spread, causing more than 200 illnesses since last May.
	Packaged grocery foods often high in salt, study finds (HealthDay)—More than half of packaged grocery store foods included in a new study contained too much added salt, U.S. health officials reported Thursday.
	More people dying of heart disease, stroke worldwide, study says (HealthDay)—Despite medical advances, a new study shows that more people are dying of heart disease and stroke worldwide than did a quarter century ago because the global population is growing, and growing older.
	Excess weight early in life linked to colon cancer risk in women (HealthDay)—Women who were overweight as children and teens may have a greater risk of colon cancer, no matter what their current weight, a new study cautions.
	MED15 involved in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HealthDay)—The mediator subunit MED15 appears to be involved in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), according to a study published in the April issue of The American Journal of Pathology.
	Recommendations issued for prevention of ovarian cancer (HealthDay)—Recommendations for prevention of ovarian cancer include oral contraceptive use and tubal sterilization, as well as genetic counseling and testing for women from high-risk families, according to a report from the Society of Gynecologic Oncology published online March 27 in Cancer.
	Patients may be modifying meds due to trouble swallowing (HealthDay)—Some patients experience difficulties swallowing and modify medication dosage forms, without necessarily consulting health professionals, according to research published in the March issue of the Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research.
	Review indicates benefits for bilateral cataract surgery (HealthDay)—Immediately sequential bilateral cataract surgery seems beneficial, with faster rehabilitation, improved visual outcome, and savings in time and costs, according to a review published online March 30 in Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology.
	Review: vegan-vegetarian diets seem safe in pregnancy (HealthDay)—Vegan-vegetarian diets appear to be safe in pregnancy, according to a review published in the April issue of BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
	Laparoscopic surgery achieves similar survival rates in rectal cancer (HealthDay)—Patients with localized rectal cancer may achieve similar survival rates by having minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, instead of more invasive open surgery, according to new research published in the April 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
	Can light therapy help the brain? Following up on promising results from pilot work, researchers at the VA Boston Healthcare System are testing the effects of light therapy on brain function in veterans with Gulf War Illness.
	Video: The science of stress It's supposed to help keep our bodies healthy in stressful situations.
	Placenta reflects arsenic exposure in pregnant women and fetuses, study shows The placenta can be used to reliably measure arsenic exposure in pregnant women and how much of the toxic metal is transferred to their fetuses, a Dartmouth College study shows.
	Study finds herpesvirus activates RIG-I receptor to evade body's immune system Using herpesvirus, molecular immunologists from the University of Southern California (USC) Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered a cellular process that activates a critical immune defense against pathogens, which could have implications for developing drugs to bolster one's immunity to infection. Some herpesvirus infections lead to cancer.
	Cigarette smoke makes superbugs more aggressive Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an antibiotic-resistant superbug, can cause life-threatening skin, bloodstream and surgical site infections or pneumonia. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now report that cigarette smoke may make matters worse. The study, published March 30 by Infection and Immunity, shows that MRSA bacteria exposed to cigarette smoke become even more resistant to killing by the immune system.
	UK death rates for children's heart surgery have almost halved over past decade Deaths within 30 days of children's heart surgery have almost halved in the UK over the past decade, despite a rise in the number and complexity of cases during that period, reveals an analysis of national data, published in the online journal Open Heart.
	France to fine those encouraging anorexia Inciting people to extreme thinness could be punishable by a year in prison and a fine of 10,000 euros ($11,000) in France after MPs voted Thursday to take aim at "pro-anorexia" websites.
	Polio vaccination: Paper highlights final steps to polio eradication April 12th 2015 marks the 60th anniversary of the publication of Jonas Salk's landmark polio vaccine trial results, which confirmed that the first vaccine against polio was safe and effective. A new review, which was published online ahead of print in Future Microbiology, provides a comprehensive overview of current polio vaccines, and highlights new and future research initiatives, such as new vaccine formulations, that could help ensure that polio is eradicated and eradication is maintained.
	Work explores social smoking on college campuses Many of those who smoke at parties don't actually consider themselves smokers, UA professor Mimi Nichter found, and that calls into question what surveys tell us about smoking in college.
	Carers deserve more credit in the retirement incomes debate Australia could not function without the enormous and mostly hidden contribution of carers. We are talking not only of parents of small children, but also of the large number of Australians who provide care for people with disability, a long-term illness or frailty due to old age. Yet because of their commitment to meeting the needs of others they are much more likely to live in poverty in their old age.
	Scientists create biodegradable membrane that accelerates burn healing Treatments to regenerate skin from burns are lengthy; however, Mexican researchers have developed a biodegradable membrane that transfers skin cells (keratinocytes) to burn wounds, when placed on the wound. The method reduces healing time by 50 percent.
	Services users and their needs to be at the centre of health care services The use of technology in daily life is getting easier all the time as people accumulate knowledge and skills in information and communications technology. However, the most important thing in developing health care services, for example, is to take into account people's day to day lives and their subjective experience of the utility of using services. For example, people's previous bad experience of using a service is reflected for a long time in their use of the service in the future, and thus the dissemination of new service models is a lot slower than might be imagined. This data was the result of research carried out at Lappeenranta University of Technology, LUT.
	Free guide from AGS, AARP helps older Chinese Americans understand health On the eve of National Minority Health Month, which helps raise awareness for disparities in health and care among minorities in the U.S., a new resource is available to help one such group, older Chinese Americans, better understand and drive their own well-being. Developed by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) with support from AARP, "Chinese American Older Adults: A Guide to Managing Your Health" is a free resource that highlights the most common health concerns in the Chinese American older adult community and ways that they can talk to healthcare providers about addressing them proactively.
	Pfizer stops China vaccine sales as import license expires Pfizer has stopped selling its Prevnar 7 pneumonia vaccine in China after its import license expired, but the U.S. drugmaker still intends to launch the world's most widely used vaccine, Prevnar 13, in that market.
	Sanford-Burnham licenses small molecule to Daiichi Sankyo for further development Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) today announced that it has signed a licensing agreement to further develop a first-in-class small molecule with Daiichi Sankyo for the treatment of cardiovascular-metabolic disease. The small molecule is based on longstanding, groundbreaking biology work by a Sanford-Burnham scientist and his laboratory team, who for decades focused their research on treating a consequence of cardiovascular-metabolic disease.
	Deadly bird flu shows up in South Dakota, 4th Minnesota farm A bird flu strain that's deadly to poultry has shown up in a commercial turkey flock in South Dakota and a fourth turkey farm in Minnesota, state and federal agencies confirmed Thursday, bringing the total number of outbreaks in the Midwest to 9 and leading to the death of 314,000 birds since early March.
	Liberia, Sierra Leone gain in Ebola crisis; Guinea struggles When will the world's largest and longest Ebola outbreak end? The West African countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia both appear to be on steady paths to ending the epidemic. The wild card is Guinea, where Ebola hasn't burned as hot but remains stubbornly entrenched.
	Medical expenses: Finding your way with a patient navigator A medical emergency leaves you with tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid hospital bills. Your health insurance company rejects coverage for an important medical test. An unexpected diagnosis requires you to find three new medical specialists.
	Hormone and bone tests may be indicative of dialysis patients' heart health Bone loss may be a sign of poor heart health in patients on dialysis, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). Monitoring bone loss in dialysis patients may therefore provide an early alert to physicians concerning cardiovascular problems.
	UTMB develops new online tool for nurses As tremendous advances are made in medicine, practitioners have new tools, but they also have more information to absorb and incorporate to provide evidence-based patient care: integrating best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient's perspectives.
	How to crowdsource the world for emergency medicine Two new studies, published online Tuesday in Annals of Emergency Medicine, illustrate the power of social media and the Internet to promote scholarly dialogue around the world and the importance of establishing criteria for what constitutes high-quality blogs and podcasts ("Global Emergency Medicine Journal Club: A Social Media Discussion About the ADJUST-PE Trial" and "Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Blogs and Podcasts: Establishing an International Consensus on Quality").
	Researchers dramatically improve ART adherence for minority PHLA Up to 60% of persons living with HIV (PLHA) in the U.S. are neither taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) nor well engaged in HIV primary care, with racial/ethnic minorities more likely to experience barriers to engagement along this HIV continuum of care than their White counterparts. In fact, only 30% of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) in the United States have achieved "viral suppression," the ultimate goal of HIV treatment. Indeed, PLHA poorly engaged in HIV primary care and/or who are not on ART are at elevated risk for a host of poor outcomes, including more frequent hospitalizations, lower quality of life, and even earlier mortality, and also run a greater risk of transmitting HIV to their partners. Further, poor engagement in HIV care and lack of ART initiation with good adherence are major drivers of high health care costs among PLHA.

Other Sciences news

	Pair of star-crossed oviraptors yield new clues about dinosaur mating habits Paleontologists at the University of Alberta have discovered evidence of a prehistoric romance and the secret to sexing some dinosaurs.
	Students drop their stereotypes of science when they 'Meet the Scientist' Young people who may have thought that scientists were 'boring' and 'nerdy' changed their minds after having an opportunity to 'Meet the Scientist' face-to-face.
	Forensic evidence offers only probabilities, not guarantees that justice will be served Scientific evidence and expert witness testimony are integral to criminal trials worldwide. Yet while we live in a scientific age of increasingly specialised expert knowledge, a growing reliance on forensic evidence is a double-edged sword.
	Statistical analysis reveals Mexican drug war increased homicide rates A new statistical analysis suggests that, in the short term, the Mexican government's war against drugs increased the average murder rate in regions subjected to military-style interventions.
	Raising retirement age would widen benefit disparities for disadvantaged The age to receive full Social Security benefits should be closer to 70, according to a report published in the journal Daedalus.
	Well-designed classrooms can boost learning progress in primary school pupils by up to 16 percent For the first time, clear-evidence has been found that well-designed primary school classrooms can boost learning progress in reading, writing and maths.
	4 out of 5 consumers declare brands don't know them as an individual, according to study IBM today announced the results of a study that found a massive perception gap between how well businesses think they are marketing and the actual customer's experience. The U.S. study, developed by Econsultancy, found that almost 90 percent of marketers agree that personalizing the customer experience is critical to their success. Despite this widespread agreement, nearly 80 percent of consumers stated that the average brand doesn't understand them as an individual.
	Hong Kong''s first identified dinosaur-era vertebrate A ~147 million-year-old Jurassic-aged osteoglossoid osteoglossomorph fish Paralycoptera from outcrops at Lai Chi Chong has been described. This fossil represents the first dinosaur-era fish - as well as vertebrate - from Hong Kong to be identified.

---

This email is a free service of Phys.org
You received this email because you subscribed to our list.
(....)
You are subscribed as pascal.alter@gmail.com