Dear Pascal Alter,
Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for June 29, 2015:
 | Microscale 'transformer' robots are joining forces to break through blocked arteriesSwarms of microscopic, magnetic, robotic beads could be scrubbing in next to the world's top vascular surgeons—all taking aim at blocked arteries. These microrobots, which look and move like corkscrew-shaped bacteria, are being developed by mechanical engineers at Drexel University as a part of a surgical toolkit being assembled by the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) in South Korea. |
 | New nanogenerator harvests power from rolling tiresA group of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers and a collaborator from China have developed a nanogenerator that harvests energy from a car's rolling tire friction. |
 | Researchers develop algorithm to help identify patient zero in an epidemic(Phys.org)—A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Croatia has developed an algorithm that is able to help pinpoint the first person who became ill when an epidemic occurred. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the team describes how they built their algorithm, how it was tested and how accurate they believe it is. |
 | Making new materials with micro-explosionsScientists have made exotic new materials by creating laser-induced micro-explosions in silicon, the common computer chip material. |
 | Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor may take smartphone security to new levelFingerprint sensor technology currently used in smartphones like the iPhone 6 produces a two-dimensional image of a finger's surface, which can be spoofed fairly easily with a printed image of the fingerprint. A newly developed ultrasonic sensor eliminates that risk by imaging the ridges and valleys of the fingerprint's surface, and the tissue beneath, in three dimensions. |
 | Scientists propose an enhanced new model of the source of a mysterious barrier to fusion known as the 'density limit'Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have developed a detailed model of the source of a puzzling limitation on fusion reactions. The findings, published this month in Physics of Plasmas, complete and confirm previous PPPL research and could lead to steps to overcome the barrier if the model proves consistent with experimental data. "We used to have correlation," said physicist David Gates, first author of the paper. "Now we believe we have causation." |
 | Physicists shatter stubborn mystery of how glass formsA physicist at the University of Waterloo is among a team of scientists who have described how glasses form at the molecular level and provided a possible solution to a problem that has stumped scientists for decades. |
 | Sandia's Z machine receives funding aimed at fusion energyA two-year, $3.8 million award has been received by Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) to hasten the day of low-cost, high-yield fusion reactions for energy purposes. |
 | Lightning research links specific atmospheric conditions to exuberant, luminous displays above thunderstormsA new study led by Florida Institute of Technology Professor Ningyu Liu has improved our understanding of a curious luminous phenomenon that happens 25 to 50 miles above thunderstorms. |
 | Earthquake not to blame for Indonesian mud volcanoNew research led by the University of Adelaide hopes to close the debate on whether a major mud volcano disaster in Indonesia was triggered by an earthquake or had man-made origins. |
 | Retreating sea ice linked to changes in ocean circulation, could affect European climateRetreating sea ice in the Iceland and Greenland Seas may be changing the circulation of warm and cold water in the Atlantic Ocean, and could ultimately impact the climate in Europe, says a new study by an atmospheric physicist from the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) and his colleagues in Great Britain, Norway and the United States. |
 | Soil water, microbes influence carbon in world's coldest desert, study findsSoil water and microbes' respiration contribute to fluctuations of carbon dioxide in the world's coldest desert, where climate change is expected to increase underground moisture and microorganisms, an Arizona State University and Dartmouth College study finds. |
 | Recent mercury pollution on the rise, but quick to changeA Dartmouth-led study using a 600-year-old ice core shows that global mercury pollution increased dramatically during the 20th century, but that mercury concentrations in the atmosphere decreased faster than previously thought beginning in the late 1970s when emissions started to decline. |
 | Atmospheric mysteries unraveling: New findings may be key to explaining mercury, much moreIt's been difficult to explain patterns of toxic mercury in some parts of the world, such as why there's so much of the toxin deposited into ecosystems from the air in the southeastern United States, even upwind of usual sources. |
 | Geologists make new discoveries about the Newport-Inglewood Fault Zone in the Los Angeles BasinUC Santa Barbara geologist Jim Boles has found evidence of helium leakage from the Earth's mantle along a 30-mile stretch of the Newport-Inglewood Fault Zone in the Los Angeles Basin. Using samples of casing gas from two dozen oil wells ranging from LA's Westside to Newport Beach in Orange County, Boles discovered that more than one-third of the sites—some of the deepest ones—show evidence of high levels of helium-3 (3He). |
Idaho aquifer decline could hinder radioactive monitoringA continued drop in underground water levels could make it more difficult to monitor the movement of radioactive contamination in an aquifer below an eastern Idaho nuclear facility, scientists say. | |
 | Project to reduce risk of harmful algal blooms in ponds and lakesA new project to help identify and remediate harmful algal blooms could make Pennsylvania ponds and lakes safer for people and animals. |
Blue carbon the unsung hero in the fight against climate changeDeakin University scientists have completed Victoria's first ever stocktake of blue carbon hot spots, revealing millions of tonnes of stored carbon, which they say is at risk of being returned to the atmosphere unless conserved. | |
 | Mankind's unprecedented transformation of EarthHuman beings are pushing the planet in an entirely new direction with revolutionary implications for its life, a new study by researchers at the University of Leicester has suggested. |
 | The Mediterranean Sea classified as the sixth highest region for the accumulation of plastic debris on the planetThe amounts of plastic debris in the Mediterranean are comparable to those reported for the great accumulation areas located in the centres of the oceans |
 | El Nino-spawned dry spell to hit Philippine food productionThe Philippines is facing an El Nino-spawned dry spell that will cut rainfall by as much as 80 percent and hit food production, a government weather forecaster warned Monday. |
 | Food for thought: Use more forages in livestock farmingSmall-scale livestock farming in the tropics can become more intensive yet sustainable if more and better forage is used to feed the animals being reared. This could benefit farming endeavours in rural South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, and see a move away from the increased reliance on grain-based feeds, say scientists at CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture) and Thomas Rudel of Rutgers University in the US, in Springer's journal Ambio. |
 | Justices rule against EPA power plant mercury limitsThe Supreme Court ruled Monday against the Obama administration's attempt to limit power plant emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants, but it may only be a temporary setback for regulators. |
 | Brazil, China, India, South Africa in push for climate financingBrazil, China, India and South Africa voiced disappointment Sunday over the failure of rich countries to come up with billions of dollars needed to help them sign on to a landmark climate change deal. |
 | China's UN climate pledges 'expected': state mediaChina is expected to unveil its long-awaited national pledges to reduce carbon emissions beyond 2020, a state-run newspaper said Monday, as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Belgium and France ahead of a Paris climate summit. |
 | Did you know 'storm spotters' in your community keep you safe during severe weather?Earlier this week, the Midwest and Northeast were slammed with tornadoes and thunderstorms that grounded planes and held up trains. Thousands of people along the Northeast corridor lost power as a result. |
An insight into future ocean carbon uptake under different climate change scenariosSeas and oceans are a key contributor to the absorption of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere caused by human activities. But does this mean we can rely on this capacity to alter ongoing climate change? And, most importantly, where does the excess CO2 from the atmosphere go to? The CARBOCHANGE project considerably advanced scientific knowledge and predictions on the matter. | |
Little faith in carbon capture in the EU and USAPessimism prevails about the future of carbon capture and storage in both the USA and EU. This is despite the fine promises that it was precisely this technology that would save the oil and gas industry. | |
 | Picturing the forecast: National Weather Service graphics developed with NCAR researchNew online graphics being rolled out this summer by the National Weather Service (NWS) are based on research by a team of risk communication experts at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) who focused on how to better convey forecast information visually. |
 | Pace of climate talks far too slow: UN chiefUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that negotiations on climate change were moving too slowly and urged governments to quicken the pace ahead of the December conference on reaching a new global deal. |
 | China to unveil UN climate pledges imminently: LiChina is about to submit its long-awaited national pledges to reduce carbon emissions beyond 2020, ahead of the Paris climate summit, Premier Li Keqiang said Monday. |
 | SpaceX rocket destroyed on way to space station, cargo lost (Update)An unmanned SpaceX rocket carrying supplies to the International Space Station broke apart Sunday shortly after liftoff. It was a severe blow to NASA, the third cargo mission to fail in eight months. |
 | Lettuce, parking gear aboard SpaceX ship for Sunday launchAn experiment to grow lettuce in space and a massive parking station for future spaceships are aboard SpaceX's unmanned Dragon cargo capsule, poised for a Sunday launch. |
 | String of cargo disasters puts pressure on space industryThe global space industry is reeling after three cargo disasters in less than a year have delivered a costly blow to efforts to supply astronauts aboard the International Space Station. |
 | Hubble view of a nitrogen-rich nebulaThis NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows a planetary nebula named NGC 6153, located about 4,000 light-years away in the southern constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion). |
 | The discovery of the molecule Si-C-Si in spaceThe space between stars is not empty—it contains a vast reservoir of diffuse material with about 5-10% of the total mass of our Milky Way galaxy. Most of the material is gas, but about 1% of this mass (quite a lot in astronomical terms) takes the form of tiny dust grains made predominantly of silicates (sand is also silicates), although grains can also be composed of carbon and other elements. The dust grains contain a large fraction of many important elements in the universe like silicon, carbon, and iron. They also play several crucially important roles. They are essential to the chemistry that takes place in the interstellar medium by providing gas molecules with a surface on which to react with other molecules. They absorb ultraviolet and optical light, re-emitting the energy as infrared light, and thus they both constrain what astronomers can see and control much of the energy balance in the interstellar medium. Not least, ! in the early stages of a star's evolution the dust can coagulate into large clumps—the first step towards forming planets. |
 | Our mostly dry planetary neighbors once had lots of water—what does that imply for us?We already knew about Venus. We had our suspicions about Mars. Now we're sure. |
 | Unexpectedly little black-hole monsters rapidly suck up surrounding matterUsing the Subaru Telescope, researchers at the Special Astrophysical Observatory in Russia and Kyoto University in Japan have found evidence that enigmatic objects in nearby galaxies - called ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) - exhibit strong outflows that are created as matter falls onto their black holes at unexpectedly high rates. The strong outflows suggest that the black holes in these ULXs must be much smaller than expected. Curiously, these objects appear to be "cousins" of SS 433, one of the most exotic objects in our own Milky Way Galaxy. The team's observations help shed light on the nature of ULXs, and impact our understanding of how supermassive black holes in galactic centers are formed and how matter rapidly falls onto those black holes. |
 | High schoolers' experiment lost again on launch failureThree high school students were going to get the science lesson of a lifetime by flying their experiment in space. |
 | Sentinel-2A completes critical first days in spaceJune 26 marked the end of Sentinel-2A's first three days in space, which saw teams on the ground working around the clock to ensure the spacecraft is ready for its 'colour vision' mission. |
 | SOFIA points telescope toward Pluto occultationThe Stratosphere Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that makes celestial observations with its German-built 100-inch telescope. The telescope is enhanced to collect infrared radiation, and is able to detect energy at a wider range of wavelengths than any other ground-based or space telescope. |
 | IRIS celebrates year two with ongoing scientific discoveriesOn June 27, 2015, NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS, mission will celebrate its second year in space. IRIS observations have advanced our understanding of what role the interface region, which lies between the sun's photosphere and corona, plays in powering its dynamic million-degree atmosphere and driving the solar wind. Since its first birthday last summer, IRIS data has revealed unexpected complexity in the interface region and investigated the source of the extremely high temperatures of the solar atmosphere, or corona. |
 | 'Cause unknown' in SpaceX rocket blastSpaceX came up empty Monday in its search to figure out why an unmanned Falcon 9 rocket exploded minutes after blasting off from a NASA launchpad with a load of space-bound cargo. |
 | Precise ages of largest number of stars hosting planets ever measuredA new study of 33 Kepler stars with solar-like oscillations to be published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The 33 Kepler stars have been selected for their solar like oscillations and a set of basic parameters have been determined with high precision showing that stars even older than 11 billion years have Earth-like planets. |
Up, up and away, in the name of science educationUS researchers extol the virtues of high-altitude balloons for science education in a research paper published in the International Journal of Learning Technology. According to Jeremy Straub of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, "High-altitude balloons can carry student and scientific payloads to the boundaries of space." | |
 | Image: Watching meteors from the space stationstronaut Ron Garan, Expedition 28 flight engineer, tweeted this image from the International Space Station in August, 2011 with the following caption: "What a `Shooting Star' looks like from space, taken yesterday during Perseid Meteor Shower." |
 | New plan proposed to send humans to MarsA new, cost-constrained U.S. strategy to send humans on Mars, could be achieved within projected NASA budgets by minimizing new developments and relying mainly on already available or planned NASA assets. This approach is described in "A Minimal Architecture for Human Journeys to Mars," published in New Space. |
 | System fixes bugs by importing functionality from other programs—without access to source codeAt the Association for Computing Machinery's Programming Language Design and Implementation conference this month, MIT researchers presented a new system that repairs dangerous software bugs by automatically importing functionality from other, more secure applications. |
 | Robot Hadrian can lay enough bricks for a house in two daysBrick-laying robots are not news but this month's spotlight is on a fully automated brick-laying robot, which is quite impressive in what it can do on its own. Mara Fox in PerthNow reported on an engineer in Australia who has invented a robotic bricklayer. The machine is capable of raising the brick shell of a home in two days. |
 | Apple bets on radio splash in streaming bidIn its bid to become a power in music streaming, Apple is devoting its vast resources to create what it hopes will be a first truly global radio station. |
 | Solar Impulse leaves Japan on delayed Pacific flight (Update)The revolutionary Solar Impulse 2 aircraft passed "the point of no return" Monday after it left Japan bound for Hawaii, the most ambitious leg of its quest to circumnavigate the globe powered only by the sun. |
 | Message-bearing coffee foam taps printer mechanicsIf vendors could choose the key marketing rule of thumb for the past decade, you might learn they did it with two words, Personalize This. From sneakers to t-shirts to news feeds to music services, marketers believe consumers happily bend to rules of engagement by whatever means feasible as long as the consumers can be made to feel the vendor is looking right at them and their needs. |
 | Engineering atoms inside the jet engineThe Periodic Table may not sound like a list of ingredients but, for a group of materials scientists, it's the starting point for designing the perfect chemical make-up of tomorrow's jet engines. |
 | Major step for implantable drug-delivery deviceAn implantable, microchip-based device may soon replace the injections and pills now needed to treat chronic diseases: Earlier this month, MIT spinout Microchips Biotech partnered with a pharmaceutical giant to commercialize its wirelessly controlled, implantable, microchip-based devices that store and release drugs inside the body over many years. |
 | New role for Twitter: Early warning system for bad drug interactionsA team of scientists has invented a new technique for discovering potentially dangerous drug interactions and unknown side-effects—before they show up in medical databases, like PubMed, or even before doctors and researchers have heard of them at all. |
 | In the UK, bPay offers fob, band or sticker optionsMethod of payment: "Cash or credit?" The two options sound so yesterday. In the UK, technology support in banking offers a new type of menu—band on the wrist, fob or sticker. The three new devices from UK Barclaycard were announced this week, courtesy of its bPay system. |
 | eBay-PayPal breakup set for JulyUS online giant eBay said Friday its board approved the planned spinoff of its PayPal online payments unit, which will trade as an independent company July 20. |
 | Many options, no single solution to nation's traffic snarlsThe problem is clear: Traffic congestion will become significantly worse and more widespread without big changes in how people and products get around. |
 | Germany's oldest remaining nuclear plant shuts downGermany's oldest remaining nuclear reactor has been shut down, part of a move initiated four years ago to switch off all its nuclear plants by the end of 2022. |
 | Like the real game, fantasy sports now worth billionsFantasy sports were once just a fun way for diehard fans to express their love of the game together with other zealots, without actually getting out on the field themselves. |
Hyundai sees green future in hydrogen-powered carsHyundai Motor Co. said Monday it believes hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are the future for eco-friendly cars despite challenges of limited infrastructure and slow sales. | |
 | Sticky issue with numbers fuels gas mileage confusionIs a new window sticker aimed at clarifying a car's fuel efficiency having unintended effects? |
Combining personalization and privacy for user dataComputer scientists and legal experts from Trinity College Dublin and SFI's ADAPT centre are working to marry two of cyberspace's greatest desires, by simultaneously providing enhanced options for user personalisation alongside tighter, more transparent privacy controls around our precious data. | |
 | Innovators might be stifled if fees for patents rise too highPatents are instrumental to our current innovation system. They encourage inventors to share their ideas, rather than keeping them secreted away, by offering the inventor exclusive rights to exploit their idea for a limited period. |
 | Miniaturisation will lead to 'smart spaces' and blur the line between on and offlineLenovo, the Chinese firm that has bought up IBM's cast off PC business, has announced a miniaturised computer not much larger than a smartphone, which can be connected to any screen via an HDMI connection. |
 | 3-D printer churns out handheld underground water modelCutting-edge three dimensional printing technology has produced a plastic model representing the land surface and underground water systems across 3.5 million hectares of the La Grange groundwater allocation area, south of Broome. |
UK researchers aim to develop ways to control and charge robots remotelyResearchers at three top UK universities are developing new ways to simultaneously power and communicate with robots and other digitally connected devices – commonly known as the Internet of Things. | |
 | Start of test with solar energy generating noise barriers alongside highwayAlongside the A2 highway near Den Bosch, The Netherlands, two test noise barriers are installed that generate solar energy. The aim of this practical test, that was officially launched 18 June is to assess the economic and technical feasibility of this form of energy generating noise barriers. Playing a key role in the test are the LSC panels, developed by researcher Michael Debije at TU/e. |
Justices won't hear Google appeal in dispute with OracleThe Supreme Court is staying out of a long-running legal battle between technology giants Oracle and Google over copyright protection for a computer program that powers most of the world's smartphones and computer tablets. | |
Gannett completes split of newspaper, broadcast unitsUS media giant Gannett said Monday it completed its breakup which separates its newspaper division, including flagship USA Today, from broadcast and digital businesses. | |
Cattle ID system shows its muzzleMaybe it sounds like a cow and bull story, but researchers in Egypt are developing a biometric identification system for cattle that could reduce food fraud and allow ranchers to control their stock more efficiently. The system described in the International Journal of Image Mining uses the unique features of a prominent part of the animal to identify the beasts. No, it's not hoof prints or an udder body part - it's the bovine muzzle, no pair of which are exactly alike, according to computer scientist Hamdi Mahmoud of BeniSuef University, in Cairo. | |
Computers get with the beat: Automatic classification of music by genreAs yet another music streaming service comes online to rival the countless available outlets for so many different genres, a new approach to classifying music to make archiving, sorting and music discovery easier is published in the International Journal of Computational Intelligence Studies. | |
 | Looking for love on a dating app? You may find music insteadIn your quest to find a date, a spouse or a hook-up, you might discover something else when using dating apps: new music. |
 | Wind effect following team car can help time trial rider win Tour prologueWill next Saturday's Tour de France prologue in Utrecht get the winner it deserves? New aerodynamic research at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) shows that riders in a time trial can save vital seconds by riding closer to the following team car. Over a short distance like the prologue of the Tour de France, that can save as much as 6 seconds: enough to make the difference between winning and losing. On longer time trials and events like world championships, the effect can even add up to tens of seconds. Which is why aerodynamics professor Bert Blocken is advising the international cycling union UCI to change the rules and increase the minimum gap between riders and their team cars. "The present rules could lead to unfair advantage." |
 | Two Uber bosses taken into custody in France: companyTwo top Uber bosses were taken into custody in France Monday as part of a probe into their ride-booking app which has sparked violent protests from regular taxi drivers, the company said. |
 | Feds shut down background check database over flawThe federal personnel agency whose records were plundered by hackers linked to China announced on Monday the temporary shutdown of a massive database used to update and store background investigation records after newly discovering a flaw that left the system vulnerable to additional breaches. |
 | Google gets extended deadline to answer EU caseBrussels has given Google an extension until mid-August to answer an anti-trust case alleging that the tech giant abuses its search engine's market dominance, a company spokesman said Monday. |
WikiLeaks says NSA spied on French businessWikiLeaks has released documents that it says show that the U.S. National Security Agency eavesdropped on France's top finance officials and high-stakes French export bids over a decade in what the group called targeted economic espionage. | |
 | Engineers tending to Cameroon's power gridEPFL has teamed up with Swiss and Cameroonian partners to address major issues like stabilizing the country's existing grid, improving energy efficiency and developing hydroelectric potential. |
 | New international standard for dynamic liquid measuring systemsWhen measuring large volumes of relatively expensive liquids such as gasoline, beer, and milk, even small inaccuracies can mean large losses for companies and consumers. Now, dynamic measurements of these and other non-water liquids are addressed under a new international standard, thanks to the efforts of a multi-national technical committee led by NIST's Office of Weights and Measures (OWM). |
 | Internet of Things turning New York's Lake George into "world's smartest lake"The Jefferson Project at Lake George, one of the most ambitious research projects to deploy Big Data and analytics technology to manage and protect a body of fresh water, is entering a new phase in which enormous amounts of data will be captured from sensors and analyzed. Scientists anticipate that insights uncovered from the data collection and discovery stage of the project will not only help manage and protect one of America's most famous lakes, but create a blueprint to preserve important lakes, rivers and other bodies of fresh water around the globe. |
 | Making houses in Sweden with additive manufacturingIn a collaborative project worth SEK 35 million, researchers and external partners are together developing technology to make full-scale 3D prints of cellulos- based material. It is not a matter of small prints – the objective is to make houses. |
Railroad official asks digital map makers to mark crossingsThe federal agency that oversees railroads has asked digital mapping companies to alert drivers as they approach track crossings in the hope that visual and audio cues will lead to greater awareness of potential dangers. | |
 | Facebook opens first Africa officeFacebook announced Monday it had opened its first African office in Johannesburg as part of its efforts "to help people and businesses connect" on the continent. |
Disney merges consumer product, interactive divisionsDisney is merging its consumer product and interactive divisions, a move that acknowledges the shared goals of important product lines like the Disney Infinity video game franchise and the upcoming line of wearable toys called Playmation. | |
 | Technique combines electron microscopy and synchrotron X-rays to track chemical reactionsA new technique pioneered at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory reveals atomic-scale changes during catalytic reactions in real time and under real operating conditions. |
 | Using bacterial 'fight clubs' to find new drugsCreating bacterial "fight clubs" is an effective way to find new drugs from natural sources. |
 | Aromatic couple makes new chemical bondsEsters have been identified to act as a new and clean coupling partner for the carbon-carbon bond forming cross-coupling reaction to make useful compounds for pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and organic materials. |
 | Team develops new method for rapid authentication of edible oils and screening of gutter oilsThe Food Safety and Technology Research Centre under the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed a new method for rapid authentication of edible oils and screening of gutter oils. Authentication of edible oils has been a long-term issue in food safety, and becomes particularly important with the emergence and widespread use of gutter oils in recent years. However, the conventional analytical approach for edible oils is not only labor intensive and time consuming, but also fails to provide a versatile solution for screening of gutter oils. By setting up a simple analytical protocol and a spectral library of edible oils, the new approach is able to determine the authenticity of a labeled edible oil sample and hence screened gutter oils within five minutes. |
 | Video: The chemistry of grillingIf you're firing up the barbecue this week for an Independence Day cookout, you don't want to miss this week's Reactions video. |
 | OU professor developing vaccine to protect global communities from malariaA University of Oklahoma professor studying malaria mosquito interaction has discovered a new mosquito protein for the development of a new vaccine that is expected to stop the spread of the disease in areas where it is considered endemic. Malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes, and it infects millions of people in Africa, Asia and South America every year, causing a global health crisis. In addition to the local populations, U.S. military personnel stationed in these areas and travelers to these malaria-prone areas are at risk of becoming infected. |
 | Study reveals mechanisms of drought response in plantsUNL biologists have published a new study that lays bare several roots of how plants respond to drought. |
 | 3-D scans of mating fruit flies uncovers female biologyFollowing in the footsteps of Leonardo Da Vinci's 1493 anatomical sketch of a man and woman, "The Copulation," Cornell researchers used cutting-edge X-ray technology to noninvasively image fruit flies during and after mating. |
 | Study suggests there are only two tiger subspecies(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with affiliations to institutions in Germany, Denmark and the U.K. has concluded after extensive research, that there are really only two subspecies of tigers, as opposed to the nine that have been widely accepted for many years. In their paper published in Science Advances, the team describes their analysis of tiger similarities and differences and why they believe there are only two subspecies and why changing the classification could help save some of them. |
 | SAPH-ire helps scientists prioritize protein modification researchResearchers have developed a new informatics technology that analyzes existing data repositories of protein modifications and 3D protein structures to help scientists identify and target research on "hotspots" most likely to be important for biological function. |
 | Key element of human language discovered in bird babbleStringing together meaningless sounds to create meaningful signals was previously thought to be the preserve of humans alone, but a new study has revealed that babbler birds are also able to communicate in this way. |
 | Freshwater and ocean acidification stunts growth of developing pink salmonPink salmon that begin life in freshwater with high concentrations of carbon dioxide, which causes acidification, are smaller and may be less likely to survive, according to a new study from UBC. |
 | Researchers discover how petunias know when to smell goodGood timing is a matter of skill. You would certainly dress up for an afternoon business meeting, but not an evening session of binge-watching Netflix. If you were just a few hours off in your wardrobe timing, your spouse might wonder why you slipped into a stiff business suit to watch "House of Cards." |
 | Genes responsible for increased activity during the summerThe warm temperature on a summer's day is often a time for relaxing, but researchers from the University of Leicester have suggested that a 'thermosensory' gene could be responsible for changes in behaviour in different climates. |
 | Pesticide study shows that sexual conflict can maintain genetic variationNew research from the University of Exeter has shown that the sexually antagonistic gene for resistance to the pesticide DDT, which increases fitness in female flies but simultaneously decreases fitness in male flies, helps to maintain genetic variation. The findings contribute to the understanding of evolutionary dynamics and have important implications for pest management. |
 | Scientists develop more accurate whole genome variant discovery and interpretationScientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a new approach to build nearly complete genomes by combining high-throughput DNA sequencing with genome mapping. The methodology enabled researchers to detect complex forms of genomic variation, critically important for their association with human disease, but previously difficult to detect. The study was published today in Nature Methods, and is a collaboration with scientists at European Molecular Biology Lab, Weill Cornell Medical College, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Rockefeller University, University of California, San Francisco, Pacific Biosciences, and BioNano Genomics. |
 | First lions to return to Rwanda after over two decadesLions will return to Rwanda for the first time in more than two decades, wildlife officials have said, after the endangered animal was wiped out following the country's 1994 genocide. |
 | Ecuador releases 201 tortoises on Galapagos islandEcuador has released 201 tortoises on Santa Fe Island in the Galapagos archipelago, where a similar subspecies went extinct more than 150 years ago. |
 | Stink bugs have strong taste for ripe fruitThe brown marmorated stink bug has a bad reputation. And for good reason: every summer, this pest attacks crops and invades homes, causing both sizable economic losses and a messy, smelly nuisance—especially in the eastern United States. A new study by entomologists at the University of Maryland shows that these pests, known simply as stink bugs, have a strong preference for ripe fruit. Moreover, stink bugs track their favorite fruits throughout the growing season in an effort to maximize their access to food. |
 | Brazil to open Latin America's first elephant sanctuaryBrazil will soon open Latin America's first elephant sanctuary, and its three initial residents will be retired circus animals in need of a safe haven, a report said Sunday. |
 | Iceland whaling season underway despite protestIcelandic whaling boats have left port to begin the 2015 whaling season, authorities said on Monday as more than 700,000 people signed a petition calling for an end to the hunt. |
Recent spike in shark attacks reported off Carolinas coastShark experts have a not-so-reassuring explanation for a recent spate of attacks along on the coast of the Carolinas: It's mainly because so many people are getting in the water. | |
 | Study seeks connections between sleep and memory consolidation in the cortex(Medical Xpress)—Neurologists have known that an intrinsic connection exists between the consolidation of memory and neural activity during sleep. Indeed, over the course of the last century, researchers have increasingly characterized sleep as a brain state optimizing memory consolidation; an earlier emphasis on rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep has shifted in recent years toward the function of slow-wave sleep (SWS) as an active brain state—for instance, involving the transfer of long-term fear memory from the hippocampus into cortical structures. |
 | First-ever possible treatments for MERSAs the South Korean epidemic of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) continues unabated, researchers have raced to find treatments for the deadly virus, which has killed more than 400 people since it was first discovered three years ago in Saudi Arabia. |
 | New questions about why more women than men have Alzheimer'sNearly two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer's disease are women, and now some scientists are questioning the long-held assumption that it's just because they tend to live longer than men. |
 | Researchers find new antibody weapons against Marburg virusA new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) identifies new immune molecules that protect against deadly Marburg virus, a relative of Ebola virus. The research provides ingredients needed to develop treatments for future Marburg outbreaks. |
 | Potential new HIV therapy seen in immune cellsA research team led by Weill Cornell Medical College scientists has discovered a way to limit replication of the most common form of HIV at a key moment when the infection is just starting to develop. The study, published June 25 in Nature Communications, has shed light on a potential new element of human immunity against HIV-1 and could provide a powerful new strategy – perhaps as part of an HIV vaccine – to limit the severity of the disease, which affects 35 million people worldwide and for which there is no cure. |
 | Patients with recurrent depression have smaller hippocampiThe brains of people with recurrent depression have a significantly smaller hippocampus - the part of the brain most associated with forming new memories - than healthy individuals, a new global study of nearly 9,000 people reveals. |
 | Rare gene variant associated with middle ear infectionsMany parents have heard the night-time cry of "my ear hurts." For some children, this might happen frequently beginning in infancy and even persist into adulthood. An international consortium led by those at Baylor College of Medicine may have taken the first step on the road to understanding why only some people get frequent painful or chronic middle ear infections. The culprit may be rare genetic variants in a gene called A2ML1. |
 | Research shows that smiling affects the way our brains process other people's emotionsAn international team of researchers have found that when we smile it actually changes the way our brains process other people's emotions. |
 | Pinpointing mutations in a relapsed children's cancer may lead to improved treatmentsResearchers studying the pediatric cancer neuroblastoma have detailed how cancer-driving mutations evolve during chemotherapy, and they hope to exploit this knowledge to design better treatments for children. |
 | His and her pain circuitry in the spinal cordNew research released today in Nature Neuroscience reveals for the first time that pain is processed in male and female mice using different cells. These findings have far-reaching implications for our basic understanding of pain, how we develop the next generation of medications for chronic pain—which is by far the most prevalent human health condition—and the way we execute basic biomedical research using mice. |
 | Why 'exhausted' immune cells are bad news for infection, but good news for autoimmune diseasesAn 'exhausted' army of immune cells may not be able to fight off infection, but if its soldiers fight too hard they risk damaging the very body they are meant to be protecting, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge. |
 | Treatment with PI3K inhibitors may cause cancers to become more aggressive and metastaticThe enzyme phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) appears to be exploited in almost every type of human cancer, making it the focus of considerable interest as a therapeutic target, with many PI3K-inhibiting drugs currently in various stages of clinical development. However, PI3K inhibitors have only shown modest clinical activity with patients who receive these drugs experiencing very little improvement in survival. |
 | How your brain knows it's summerResearchers led by Toru Takumi at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have discovered a key mechanism underlying how animals keep track of the seasons. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows how circadian clock machinery in the brain encodes seasonal changes in daylight duration through GABA activity along with changes in the amount of chloride located inside certain neurons. |
 | New family of small RNAs boosts cell proliferation in cancerSince their discovery in the 1950s, transfer RNAs (tRNAs) have been best known for their role in helping the cell make proteins from messenger RNA templates. However, recent studies have led to a previously-unsuspected concept that tRNAs are not always the end product; namely, they further serve as a source of small RNAs. Now researchers have discovered a new species of tRNA-derived small RNAs that are produced only in hormonally-driven breast and prostate cancers, and which contribute to cell proliferation. The results will be published online the week of June 29th in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). |
 | New strategies against rare, fatal lung syndromeHermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS) patients suffer symptoms including albinism, visual impairment, and slow blood clotting, but what makes some versions of the genetic condition fatal is that patients with some forms of the disease develop severe and progressive lung scarring. A new study explains what appears to be going wrong and demonstrates two possible therapeutic strategies in lab experiments. |
Understanding why animals are healthy offers path to precision medicineResearchers at Duke University School of Medicine and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School have identified a mechanism that explains why some mutations can be disease-causing in one genome but benign in another. | |
 | School coaches often ill-equipped to spot, manage concussions(HealthDay)—U.S. middle school and high school coaches may not be sufficiently trained and equipped to quickly recognize concussions in student athletes, two new studies suggest. |
 | Methadone linked to initial QTc prolongation in chronic pain(HealthDay)—For patients with chronic pain, methadone is associated with a small, but nonsignificant, initial increase in QTc, which does not persist, according to a study published in the June issue of Pain Medicine. |
 | Alteration in intestinal microbiota tied to T1DM susceptibility(HealthDay)—Individuals with islet autoimmunity have alterations in intestinal microbiota, according to a study published online June 19 in Diabetes. |
 | Steroid avoidance may not help reduce posttransplant diabetes(HealthDay)—For kidney transplant recipients, steroid avoidance has limited impact for reducing new-onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT), according to a study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Transplantation. |
S. Korea fears MERS may have spread to new hospitalSouth Korea on Saturday said it was closely monitoring a hospital in eastern Seoul over fears that hundreds of people there may have been exposed to the deadly MERS virus. | |
 | USDA proposes healthier fare for child, adult day caresAs teachers lament seeing toddlers too large to fit in playground swings, a federal program that feeds millions of low-income children may be overhauled for the first time in almost 50 years, aiming to make the meals at day cares healthier and reduce obesity. |
6-year-old dies in Spain's first diphtheria case since 1987A 6-year-old boy has died in Spain's first case of diphtheria since 1987, his hospital said Saturday. | |
South Korea reports 32nd MERS deathSouth Korea on Sunday reported its 32nd death from MERS as the virus's mortality rate continued to rise even as the pace of the outbreak appeared to slow. | |
Time to change the subject in America's health care debate?The country finally has an opportunity to change the subject on health care, after the Supreme Court again upheld President Barack Obama's law. | |
 | Umbilical cord 'milking' improves blood flow in preterm infantsA technique to increase the flow of blood from the umbilical cord into the infant's circulatory system improves blood pressure and red blood cell levels in preterm infants delivered by Cesarean section, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. |
 | More secondary schooling reduces HIV riskLonger secondary schooling substantially reduces the risk of HIV infection—especially for girls—and could be a very cost-effective way to halt the spread of the virus, according to researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In a study in Botswana, researchers found that, for each additional year of secondary school, students lowered their risk of HIV infection by 8 percentage points about a decade later, from 25% to about 17% infected. |
S. Korea cautiously reports no new MERS cases or deathsSouth Korea reported no new cases of MERS or deaths from the virus for the first time in nine days Monday, but officials warned there was no indication yet that the outbreak had been brought under control. | |
 | How to win the war against infection, inflammation, disease and immunityIt's a scary struggle. Forget guns, bullets, bombs and drones. Humans are entangled in a far more lethal world war than the conflicts often described in the news. The numbers and potential kill factors are frightening. Ebola is just one recent enemy amidst many. Every year, two million people develop hospital-acquired infections, for example, and existing antibiotics are often useless. |
 | Behavioral health experts help educators spot warning signs for suicide in training programThe alarmingly high rate of high school students who contemplate suicide – more than one in six – has prompted a new online training effort to encourage educators to recognize and react to early warning signs. |
 | Turning the tables on cancerIn the spring of 2012, Tom Stutz was a man without a future. Just getting through the day took all of his energy and determination. |
 | New study verifies accuracy of rapid Ebola testA new finger prick rapid Ebola test co-developed by Tulane University researchers is as accurate as traditional lab testing for the disease, according to an independent study published in the British medical journal The Lancet. |
 | Finding a pathway to better palliative care for kidney patientsFor as long as she's been a physician, Sara Davison has been passionate about improving the lives of her patients. A trained nephrologist and professor in the University of Alberta's Department of Medicine, she says she's driven to make a lasting difference in their care. |
 | Researchers explore effectiveness of statins against EbolaThere is scientific reason to believe that statins, the ubiquitous and cheap drugs prescribed to hold down cholesterol levels, could help patients endure Ebola virus disease. Last summer, Dr. Steven Opal, professor of medicine in the Alpert Medical School and a physician at the Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, and Dr. David Fedson, a retired physician in France, argued in a New York Times op-ed that the idea deserved a shot as the often-fatal virus rampaged around Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. |
 | High levels of DNA damage in nerve cells can lead to dementiaScientists from the world-leading Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) have discovered a novel pathway contributing to dementia in individuals that lack the typical signs of Alzheimer's disease in the brain. |
 | Molecules hold promise for detecting, treating cancer and neurodegenerative diseasesNeil Renwick spent his early years working as a medical officer in the Australian outback, Thailand and Papua New Guinea. Today, those formative clinical experiences with rare and unusual diseases are guiding his explorations into the genetic mechanisms of disease, and putting him at the forefront of a rapidly emerging molecular frontier. |
 | Risk score developed for life expectancy of hospital patientsResearchers at the MedUni Vienna's University Department of Anaesthetics, General Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy, the University Department of Internal Medicine III and the Centre for Medical Statistics, Information Technology and Intelligent Systems have developed the world's first prognosis scoring system (PANDORA score) for hospital patients and their life expectancy within the next 30 days. This is the first specific undertaking from the "nutritionDay worldwide" project, launched ten years ago by Michael Hiesmayr, Head of the Clinical Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, in collaboration with Karin Schindler at the MedUni Vienna. |
 | The new detection method for a key drug resistant hepatitis C virus mutationA rapid, sensitive, and accurate method to detect drug resistant hepatitis C virus (HCV) mutants has been developed. Researchers at Hiroshima University established a system to rapidly and accurately measure the presence of HCV Y93H drug resistant mutant strains, and evaluate the proportion of patients harboring this mutation prior to treatment. Even in serum samples with low HCV titers, Y93H drug resistant mutation could be successfully detected in more than half of the samples. This new system for detecting mutant strains may provide important pre-treatment information valuable not only for treatment decisions but also for prediction of disease progression in HCV genotype 1b patients. |
 | Iris research focuses on blood vessel patternsThe structure of the microvasculature or blood vessels in the iris could play an important role in people's contraction of eye maladies like glaucoma and cataract, according to a WA-led study. |
 | AFL talent scouts chase contested possessions, inside 50sWannabe AFL players should win contested possessions and deliver the ball inside 50 to give themselves the best chance of being drafted, research suggests. |
 | Researchers closer to ending debate around Lyme disease and ticks in AustraliaAs debate surrounding whether Lyme disease is associated with tick bites in Australia continues to rage, a team of Murdoch University researchers, together with colleagues at the University of Sydney and Curtin University, have made a discovery that helps solve part of the puzzle. |
 | How newspapers represent men's eating disordersPublic health researchers at the University of Glasgow have carried out the first detailed studies of how newspaper articles represent eating disorders in men. |
 | Is marriage good or bad for the figure? Comparative study of nine European countriesIt is generally assumed that marriage has a positive influence on health and life expectancy. But does this "marriage bonus" also apply to the health indicator of body weight? Researchers at the University of Basel and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development have investigated this question in cooperation with the market research institute GfK. Specifically, they compared the body mass index of married couples with that of singles in nine European countries. The results of their study have now been published in the journal Social Science & Medicine. |
 | How a newborn baby sees youA newborn infant can see its parents' expressions at a distance of 30 cm. For the first time researchers have managed to reconstruct infants visual perception of the world. |
 | Genes add risk to depressionPeople born with a particular gene variant have a greater risk of developing depressions, a recent study from the Department of Psychology at The University of Oslo shows. |
 | Research shows how to banish children's fussy eatingParents could banish their children's fussy eating habits by following three simple steps, a new study suggests. |
 | A microtubule 'roadway' in the retina helps provide energy for visionResearchers have discovered a thick band of microtubules in certain neurons in the retina that they believe acts as a transport road for mitochondria that help provide energy required for visual processing. The findings appear in the July issue of The Journal of General Physiology. |
Tamper-resistant opioids will not solve opioid addiction problemTamper-resistant formulations of drugs will not solve the problems of opioid addiction and overdose, argues a commentary in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). | |
Osteoporosis linked with heart disease in older peopleUniversity of Southampton scientists have discovered a link between coronary heart disease and osteoporosis, suggesting both conditions could have similar causes. | |
 | Pioneering study may explain the origin of several digestive diseasesThere are numerous studies related to the absorption of nutrients from the stomach since understanding what happens in our digestive system is crucial, for example, in order to be able to avoid certain diseases. In the UK, a group of researchers from the Medical Research Council, led by Professor Dr. Jonathan J. Powell, has published an article entitled 'An endogenous nanomineral chaperones luminal antigen and peptidoglycan to intestinal immune cells' has been published in the latest edition of the prestigious journal Nature Nanotechnology. |
Researchers define unique group of high-risk lymphoma patientsThe goal for many cancer patients is to reach the five-year, disease-free mark, but new research from UR Medicine's Wilmot Cancer Institute suggests that two years might be a more practical survival goal for people with follicular lymphoma. | |
Infant mortality could be lowered through improved medicine packaging designsThe usage of key medicines in developing countries could be significantly increased through improved packaging appearance, a new study by the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) and the University of Warwick finds. | |
Societies issue recommendations for left atrial appendage occlusionThe American College of Cardiology, Heart Rhythm Society and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions today released a new overview on the implantation of left atrial appendage occlusion devices. | |
 | Neighborhood environments and risk for type 2 diabetesNeighborhood resources to support greater physical activity and, to a lesser extent, healthy diets appear to be associated with a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes, although the results vary by the method of measurement used, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. |
Estimates of childhood, youth exposure to violence, crime and abuseMore than a third of children and teens 17 and younger experienced a physical assault in the last year, primarily at the hands of siblings and peers, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics. | |
 | Sugary drinks linked to high death tolls worldwideConsumption of sugary drinks may lead to an estimated 184,000 adult deaths each year worldwide, according to research published today in the journal Circulation and previously presented as an abstract at the American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention in 2013. |
New hope for patients with chronic woundsMost wounds clear up by themselves, but some fail to heal and become chronic. An international team of researchers led from Karolinska Institutet, now unveil the important role of so-called microRNAs in regulating skin wound healing, pointing to new therapeutic possibilities for the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds. | |
 | PTSD raises odds of heart attack and stroke in womenWomen with elevated symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder consistent with the clinical threshold for the disorder had 60 percent higher rates of having a heart attack or stroke compared with women who never experienced trauma, according to scientists at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Results appear in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association. |
 | Public health surveillance system may underestimate cases of acute hepatitis C infectionA new study suggests that massive underreporting may occur within the system set up by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to estimate the incidence of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. In a paper receiving advance online publication in Annals of Internal Medicine, a team led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (Mass. DPH) describes how less than 1 percent of a group of acute HCV patients participating in a long-term study of the disease had been reported to the CDC, largely because data that would have triggered reporting was either not available in a timely fashion or did not meet CDC definitions for acute HCV infection. |
More people in Florida sickened by toxin in tropical reef fish than previously reportedPublic health records may significantly underestimate the number of people in Florida who are sickened by a rare, dangerous food-borne toxin carried by popular sport fish, including barracuda, grouper, and amberjack, according to a new study published online today in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. | |
 | Researchers map important enzyme in the fight against cancerResearchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered what regulates an enzyme that is central to the growth of cancer tumours. This could be of great value to future cancer treatment. |
Theranos—a healthcare industry revolution or a marketing phenomenon?The press is hailing it as a revolution in the healthcare industry: The fingerprick test procedure developed by Theranos can assess up to 200 different values from a single drop of blood and show indicators of potential medical conditions. With the company valued at nine billion dollars, its founder Elizabeth Holmes is America's youngest billionaire. It all seems like a fairytale success story. | |
GPs and the Fit for Work schemeAn editorial by primary care researchers at Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, and published today, Monday 29 June 2015 in the British Journal of General Practice, analyses the GP role in the sickness certification process and the new Fit for Work scheme and suggests that GPs are key to supporting individuals to maintain the hope and belief that they can work, "rather than adding to the numbers of individuals off work on long term sickness who may have been able to work." | |
Genes leave some kids prone to weakness in wrist bonesPediatric researchers have discovered gene locations affecting bone strength in wrist bones, the most common site for fractures in children. Children who have those genetic variants may be at higher-than-average risk of wrist fractures, and could especially benefit from activities and diets that promote bone strength. | |
Researchers confirm gene p73's role in tumor growthA team of researchers at National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) and Singapore General Hospital (SGH) has determined dual functionality gene p73, in both the promotion and suppression in tumour growth. The NCCS team also receives a S$2.5m grant to aid the research in the next five years. | |
 | Interest in child-specific nurse practitioner programs dwindlingWhile the number of graduates from family or adult nurse practitioner programs continues to rise, student applications to pediatric nurse practitioner and neonatal nurse practitioner programs are falling. Yet there is capacity in PNP and NNP training programs and unmet demand for graduates. |
 | Getting high in senior year: Study examines reasons for smoking potMarijuana is the most prevalent drug in the U.S. Approximately 70% of the 2.8 million individuals who initiated use of illicit drugs in 2013 reported that marijuana was their first drug. Despite extensive research examining potential links between marijuana use and other drug use, the literature is currently lacking data regarding which illicit marijuana users are most likely to engage in use of other illicit drugs. |
 | 'Drink when thirsty' to avoid fatal drops in blood sodium levels during exerciseFor hikers, football players, endurance athletes, and a growing range of elite and recreational exercisers, the best approach to preventing potentially serious reductions in blood sodium level is to drink when thirsty, according to an updated consensus statement on exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH). The recommendations appear in the June issue of the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. |
Most plastic surgeons now use fat grafting as part of facelift surgeryIn recent years, a large majority of US plastic surgeons have adopted fat grafting techniques as part of their approach to facelift surgery, reports a study in the July issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). | |
Health care wait times vary greatly throughout US, report saysTremendous variability in wait times for health care appointments exists throughout the U.S., ranging from same day service to several months, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. However, there is currently an opportunity to develop "systems-based approaches"—similar to systems-based engineering approaches applied successfully in industries beyond health care—that aim to provide immediate engagement of a patient's concern at the point of initial contact and can be used in in-person appointments as well as alternatives such as team-based care, electronic or telephone consultations, telehealth, and surge capacity agreements with other caregivers and facilities. These systems-based approaches will require careful consideration of the full range of components and resources available in the interconnected health system. | |
 | Parents, stop hovering: 'Risky' play may have benefits for kids(HealthDay)—Children may benefit, physically and socially, from being allowed to play with less monitoring from mom and dad, a new research review finds. |
 | Parents should set good example to keep kids slim, pediatrics group says(HealthDay)—As rates of childhood obesity continue to climb in the United States, parents should embrace healthy eating habits and behaviors to help kids maintain a normal weight, a new report says. |
 | Flavored cigarettes still popular online despite US ban(HealthDay)—Although banned in 2009 by the U.S. Food Administration, flavored cigarettes are still popular and available online, a new study finds. |
 | Paraspinal fat infiltration tied to low back pain, disability(HealthDay)—Paraspinal fat infiltration correlates with high-intensity pain/disability and with structural abnormalities in the lumbar spine, according to a study published in the July 1 issue of The Spine Journal. |
 | Surgery may help adolescents with frequent migraines(HealthDay)—Migraine surgery may be an effective choice for adolescents who haven't gotten relief from standard treatment, a small study suggests. The findings were published in the June issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. |
 | Maternal hyperglycemia not linked to obesity in offspring(HealthDay)—Maternal hyperglycemia seems not to be a risk factor for obesity in offspring aged 5 to 7 years after adjustment for maternal body mass index (BMI), according to a study published online June 19 in Diabetes Care. |
 | The fear you experience playing video games is real, and you enjoy it, study findsWith the advent of video games, a frequently asked question has been whether we get as engrossed in them emotionally as we do when we see a scary movie. The answer is yes and in new ways, according to new research by faculty in Indiana University's Media School. |
Scoring system can help trauma centers improve care during surges in trauma casesA scoring system that can identify periods of high activity and increased trauma patient deaths in hospital emergency rooms may help hospitals better prepare for surges in trauma patient volume that come with catastrophic events like the Boston Marathon bombing (April 2013) or disasters like the Amtrak train crash (May 2015) in Philadelphia. | |
Specialized therapy can aid traumatized children in developing nationsA specific type of talk therapy dispensed in the developing world to orphans and other vulnerable children who experienced trauma such as sexual and domestic abuse showed dramatic results, despite being administered by workers with little education, new research shows. | |
Study suggests which glioblastoma patients may benefit from drug treatmentClinicians testing the drug dasatinib, approved for several blood cancers, had hoped it would slow the aggressive growth of the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma; however, clinical trials to date have not found any benefit. Researchers at Mayo Clinic, who conducted one of those clinical trials, believe they know why dasatinib failed—and what to do about it. | |
Upsetting a fragile alliance triggers a deadly childhood diseaseScientists at the University of Malta and the Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier (CNRS/Université de Montpellier) have shown that fruit flies and brewer's yeast can reveal clues about the cause of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), the most common genetic killer of infants. | |
 | Flatworms could replace mammals for some toxicology testsLaboratories that test chemicals for neurological toxicity could reduce their use of laboratory mice and rats by replacing these animal models with tiny aquatic flatworms known as freshwater planarians. |
 | 'Tele-rounding': Robots in the neonatal intensive care unitMany hospitals lack the resources and patient volume to employ a round-the-clock, neonatal intensive care specialist to treat their youngest and sickest patients. Telemedicine—with real-time audio and video communication between a neonatal intensive care specialist and a patient—can provide access to this level of care. |
 | A world apart: Two women with birthdates in 1800s still aliveWhen Susannah Mushatt Jones and Emma Morano were born in 1899, there was not yet world war or penicillin, and electricity was still considered a marvel. The women are believed to be the last two in the world with birthdates in the 1800s. |
 | Children from high conflict homes process emotion differentlyChildren of parents who are frequently in conflict process emotion differently and may face more social challenges later in life compared with children from low conflict homes, according to the author of a new study published in the Journal of Family Psychology. |
| Clot-removal devices now recommended for some stroke patientsFor the first time, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recommends using a stent retrieval device to remove blood clots in select stroke patients who have clots obstructing the large arteries supplying blood to the brain, according to a new focused update published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. |
 | National study finds life-threatening barriers in access to breakthrough drugsMost states violate federal Medicaid law because they deny coverage for sofosbuvir, a new and highly effective treatment to cure hepatitis C, according to Lynn E. Taylor, M.D., director of The Miriam Hospital's HIV/Viral Hepatitis Coinfection Program. Taylor's team of researchers examined Medicaid policies for hepatitis C virus treatment using sofosbuvir, more commonly known as Solvadi, and found that most should change policy to improve access to the treatment. The study and its findings were published online in advance of the August issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. |
Almost one in three US adults owns at least one gunAlmost one in three US adults owns at least one gun, and they are predominantly white married men over the age of 55, reveals research published online in the journal Injury Prevention. | |
 | Severe asthma fails to respond to mainstay treatmentThe immune response that occurs in patients with severe asthma is markedly different than what occurs in milder forms of the lung condition, according to researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Those unique features could point the way to new treatments, they said in an article published online today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI). |
Who takes care of whom? Surprising new evidenceThere has been much recent discussion in the press of the plight of the so-called "sandwich generation," that is, adults who are responsible for the care of children as well as aging parents. The need for simultaneous childcare and eldercare is a reality that can limit families'—particularly women's—opportunities for paying work. | |
 | Pioneering gene therapy takes aim at inherited blindnessCanada's first human gene therapy trial for eyes—the replacement of a faulty gene with a healthy one—is now underway at the Royal Alexandra Hospital to preserve and potentially restore vision for people with a genetic disorder that leaves them blind by middle age. |
Talk is cheap: New study finds words speak louder than actionsWhen it comes to the art of persuasion, you can attract more followers if you turn conventional wisdom on its head and stress what you like, not what you do. | |
 | In wake of high court ruling, what's next for Obamacare(HealthDay)—The Affordable Care Act will grow stronger in the next few years, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the controversial health reform law for a second time. |
Oregon weed legal soon, but not legally soldCome Wednesday, the pot stashes in Oregon are legal—up to 8 ounces. So is the homegrown, up to four plants a household. | |
Missouri changes insurance requirements for eating disordersMissouri is set to be the first state in the nation to spell out the type of eating disorder treatments that insurance companies must cover, a move advocates say will ensure families have access to care for not just the physical aspect but also the underlying mental issues. | |
California vaccine bill goes to lawmakers for final voteCalifornia lawmakers are considering a measure that will require vaccinations for most children in public schools. | |
Australians with intellectual disability in the dark about deathResearchers from the University of Sydney have embarked on a landmark project to ensure Australians with intellectual disability understand the concept of death and their own mortality, and are appropriately supported to comprehend and cope with end-of-life issues. | |
Soft computing solutions help to predict survival of multiple trauma patientsThe NUP/UPNA-Public University of Navarre has developed a piece of work that applies soft computing solutions to predicting survival in multiple trauma patients. The study was carried out by A&E doctors in the Health Service of Navarre and lecturers in the Department of Automatic Systems and Computing and received an award for best paper at the Congress of Emergency Medicine held recently in Zaragoza. | |
Running with prosthetic lower-limbsResearchers at Bournemouth University have been looking at the impact of lower-limb prosthetics on competitive running, specifically looking at whether athletes with prosthesis are at an unfair advantage when running against athletes without prosthetics. | |
Researchers complete ASPIRE Phase III trial of vaginal ring for HIV prevention in womenIn a first for HIV prevention, an international team of researchers have completed follow-up of participants enrolled in a pivotal Phase III trial that tested the safety and effectiveness of a vaginal ring for preventing HIV in women. Results of the study, called ASPIRE, are expected to be reported early 2016. | |
 | Supreme court backs use of drug implicated in 'botched' executions(HealthDay)—In its latest ruling on capital punishment, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld the use of a controversial drug that had raised concerns that it didn't perform as intended—to put an inmate into a coma-like sleep before execution. |
Ireland reports 26 abortions last year, 3 to deter suicideIreland's Health Department says doctors last year performed 26 abortions to protect women's lives, including on three women who had threatened to kill themselves if denied one. | |
 | New study supports safety and efficacy of Evekeo for treating children with ADHDThe amphetamine-based drug Evekeo, given once or twice daily to children 6-12 years of age, is effective in treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and improving performance in a laboratory classroom setting, according to the results of a new study published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. |
| Experts cover MERS outbreak in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care MedicineAn overview and analysis of the factors underlying the recent Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak in Korea has been published online ahead of print in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. |
California Legislature passes strict school vaccine bill (Update)California lawmakers on Monday sent the governor a contentious bill that would impose one of the strictest school vaccination laws in the country in reaction to a recent measles outbreak at Disneyland. | |
After Ebola, understanding health care needs among rural LiberiansAs Liberia rebuilds a health care system decimated by the 2014 Ebola outbreak, understanding precisely how far citizens live from health facilities and its impact on seeking care can help shape new strategies to improve health care delivery and reduce geographic disparities. | |
JDR articles explore 3-D printing for oral and dental tissue engineeringToday, the International and American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR) published a case report on the first application of a 3D printed scaffold for periodontal tissue engineering in a human patient, along with a review of 3D printing for oral and craniofacial tissue engineering. These papers are published in the latest clinical supplement to the Journal of Dental Research, which encompasses all areas of clinical research in the dental, oral and craniofacial sciences, and brings emerging contributions in discovery and translational science to clinical application for the healthcare community. | |
 | Supreme Court rules Texas abortion clinics can remain openThe Supreme Court acted Monday to keep Texas' 19 abortion clinics open, amid a legal fight that threatens to close more than half of them. |
 | Best of Last Week–Magnetic devils staircase, a skinlike display and conscious mind might be less in control than thought(Phys.org)—It was an interesting week in physics as an international team of researchers found that quantum coherence and quantum entanglement are two sides of the same coin—they found a way to show that the two are operationally equivalent. Also, another international team observed a magnetic "devil's staircase"—microscopic analysis of cobalt oxide revealed multiple instances of magnetic structures with degenerate or equal magnetic energies. |
 | Spiky monsters: New species of 'super-armored' worm discoveredA new species of 'super-armoured' worm, a bizarre, spike-covered creature which ate by filtering nutrients out of seawater with its feather-like front legs, has been identified by palaeontologists. The creature, which lived about half a billion years ago, was one of the first animals on Earth to develop armour to protect itself from predators and to use such a specialised mode of feeding. |
 | Researchers ask a fundamental safety question—what are kids thinking when crossing the street?A 10-year-old boy pedals his bicycle slowly to a busy intersection. In front of him, cars and SUVs whiz by, without pausing. He waits for a gap in traffic. When he sees one, he pushes off, gaining speed. But by the time he's halfway across, a car is almost of top of him. He makes it to the other side—but just barely. |
 | Study reveals a common beat in global musicA new study carried out by the University of Exeter and Tokyo University of the Arts has found that songs from around the world tend to share features, including a strong rhythm, that enable coordination in social situations and encourage group bonding. |
 | Sleeping on the job? Actually, that's a good thingEmployees seeking to boost their productivity at work should take a nap—yes, sleeping on the job can be a good thing. |
 | When times are tough, parents favor daughters over sonsIn tough economic times, parents financially favor daughters over sons, according to researchers at the Carlson School of Management and Rutgers Business School. Their study, forthcoming in the Journal of Consumer Research, found participants preferred to enroll a daughter rather than a son in beneficial programs, preferred to give a U.S. Treasury bond to a daughter rather than a son, and bequeathed a greater share of their assets to female offspring in their will when they perceived economic conditions to be poor. |
 | Stuck on you: Research shows fingerprint accuracy stays the same over timeFingerprints have been used by law enforcement and forensics experts to successfully identify people for more than 100 years. Though fingerprints are assumed to be infallible personal identifiers, there has been little scientific research to prove this claim to be true. As such, there have been repeated challenges to the admissibility of fingerprint evidence in courts of law. |
Even fraud-savvy investors often look for the wrong red flags, study saysNew research identifies the types of investors who are vigilant about corporate fraud, but finds that most of those investors are tracking the wrong red flags - meaning the warning signs they look for are clear only after it's too late to protect their investment. The work was performed by researchers at North Carolina State University, George Mason University, the University of Virginia and the University of Cincinnati. | |
Millennials accept working mothers and traditional gender roles more than GenXersUS adults and adolescents are now significantly more accepting of mothers who work fulltime, but a growing minority from younger generations believe that wives should mind the household and husbands should make decisions for the family, according to new research out today in the Psychology of Women Quarterly. | |
 | Is Facebook the next frontier for online learning?Social-networking sites such as Facebook can help students learn scientific literacy and other complex subjects that often receive short shrift in today's time-strapped classrooms. |
 | Huge congregations view racial inequality differently than others do, study showsCongregation size has an impact on how people view the reasons for racial inequality in America, according to a new study by researchers at Baylor University and the University of Southern California. |
 | Aboriginal history rewritten again by ignorant political classLast week Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm was widely reported as suggesting that people other than Aboriginal Australians may have occupied the Australian continent in the past. |
For sporting greats, knowing when to quit is the hardest challenge of allWhen the men's seedings for Wimbledon were published, they contained something that was both telling and inevitable. Rafael Nadal, winner of the tournament in 2008 and 2010, was ranked just 10th. No one could doubt that the Spaniard is one of the most formidable players ever to have held a tennis racquet. His 14 grand-slam wins stand second equal with Pete Sampras in the all-time men's rankings behind Roger Federer's 17. But at the age of just 29, the growing sense is that his best years are behind him. | |
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