Fwd: Science X Newsletter Monday, Sep 29

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Newsletter Phys.org <not-for-reply@physorg.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 30, 2014 at 2:36 AM
Subject: Science X Newsletter Monday, Sep 29
To: Pascal Alter <pascal.alter@gmail.com>

Dear Pascal Alter,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for September 29, 2014:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Best of Last Week – Rethinking black holes, trusting of scientists by Americans and a new 3D cloaking device
- A Higgs-gravity connection may leave traces in white dwarfs
- Now hear this: Simple fluid waveguide performs spectral analysis in a manner similar to the cochlea
- Cassini watches mysterious feature evolve in Titan sea
- Simulations reveal an unusual death for ancient stars
- 'Pixel' engineered electronics have growth potential
- How to make a "perfect" solar absorber
- No need for extrasolar delivery by comet: Nitrogen fingerprint in biomolecules could be from early Sun
- Recessions result in lower birth rates in the long run
- Healthy fats help diseased heart muscle process and use fuel
- Study suggests new strategies for killing tuberculosis bacterium
- Causes of California drought linked to climate change
- Scientists shed light on cause of spastic paraplegia
- Research shows viral DNA infects cells by changing from solid to fluid-like state
- Microsoft to offer early look at next Windows

Astronomy & Space news

	Simulations reveal an unusual death for ancient stars (Phys.org) —Certain primordial stars—those 55,000 and 56,000 times the mass of our Sun, or solar masses—may have died unusually. In death, these objects—among the Universe's first-generation of stars—would have exploded as supernovae and burned completely, leaving no remnant black hole behind.
	Cassini watches mysterious feature evolve in Titan sea (Phys.org) —NASA's Cassini spacecraft is monitoring the evolution of a mysterious feature in a large hydrocarbon sea on Saturn's moon Titan. The feature covers an area of about 100 square miles (260 square kilometers) in Ligeia Mare, one of the largest seas on Titan. It has now been observed twice by Cassini's radar experiment, but its appearance changed between the two apparitions.
	Hubble finds jets and explosions in NGC 7793 (Phys.org) —This new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows NGC 7793, a spiral galaxy in the constellation of Sculptor some 13 million light-years away from Earth. NGC 7793 is one of the brightest galaxies in the Sculptor Group, one of the closest groups of galaxies to the Local Group—the group of galaxies containing our galaxy, the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds.
	Image: ESA's SMART-1 revealing unknown regions of the moon (Phys.org) —The greyscale pattern of dark and light blotches on the Moon is a familiar sight to stargazers. However, there are regions that remained relatively mysterious to us until surprisingly recently – most notably the Moon's polar regions, which astronomers have dubbed 'Luna Incognita', or 'the unknown Moon'.
	The extremes of Earth's Late Heavy Bombardment On June 30, 1908 a bolide streaked across the sky in the region near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Russia. When it exploded, the airburst leveled more than 2,000 square kilometers of trees. It is now known as the Tunguska event. This particular region of Russia is extremely remote so the damage was limited to trees and other local flora and fauna. But the impact is estimated to have been on the order of 10 -15 megatons. If it had occurred over a major city, the bolide would have destroyed it as surely as dropping a modern nuclear weapon. A similar sized event occurred in Arizona 40,000 years ago, and produced a crater a kilometer wide.
	The coolest stars One way that stars are categorized is by temperature. Since the temperature of a star can determine its visual color, this category scheme is known as spectral type. The main categories of spectral type are M, K, G, F, A, B, and O. The coolest stars (red dwarfs) being M, and the hottest stars being O. Our own Sun is a G star.
	How small can galaxies be? Yesterday I talked about just how small a star can be, so today let's explore just how small a galaxy can be. Our Milky Way galaxy is about 100,000 light years across, and contains about 200 billion stars. The largest known galaxy (IC 1101) is about 6 million light years across, and has a mass of about 100 trillion solar masses. The smallest galaxy? It has about a thousand stars.
	The connection between x-ray binaries and millisecond pulsars A millisecond pulsar is a neutron star that is rotating about 600 to 700 times a second. Because of their strong magnetic fields, they produce strong beams of radio energy from the regions of their magnetic poles, and as they rotate these beams can point in our direction. As a result, we observe these neutron stars as radio bursts that pulse every 1 – 10 milliseconds. Hence their name.
	Millisecond pulsars clearly demonstrate that pulsars are neutron stars Yesterday I talked about millisecond pulsars, and the way in which they might gain such rapid rotation. Another property of millisecond pulsars is that they demonstrate very clearly that pulsars are neutron stars. It all has to do with their rapid rotation and the physics of centripetal (or centrifugal) force.
	'Milky Way Explorer' software gets new Solar System installment Imagine seeing the Sun, planets, and a myriad other objects in our Solar System as you have never seen them before – in invisible radio light! That is the experience you will get through the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's (NRAO) newly released Solar System installment of its popular Milky Way Explorer, an online tour of our interstellar neighborhood guided by the actual astronomers who explore it using radio waves.
	There are now five spaceships parked at the space station Mars isn't the only place in the Solar System that was busy this week with arriving spacecraft. While NASA's MAVEN and ISRO's MOM arrived in orbit around the Red Planet, the International Space Station also welcomed two arriving spacecraft, bringing the total of docked ships at the ISS to five.
	MOM eyes the limb of Mars after historic arrival India's maiden interplanetary voyager, the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) has transmitted a breathtaking new image eyeing the limb of Mars and its atmosphere against the blackness of space.
	Assembly completed on powerful Delta IV rocket Assembly of the powerful Delta IV rocket boosting the pathfinder version of NASA's Orion crew capsule on its maiden test flight in December has been completed.
	UK to build unique intergalactic GPS instrument to map the stars A €9M contract is announced today for UK-based engineers and designers to build a unique and powerful instrument that aims to tackle some of the most compelling astronomical puzzles – such as how stars and galaxies form and evolve, and probing the structure of our own Milky Way.

Medicine & Health news

	Scientists discover a new role for estrogen in the pathology of breast cancer Scientists have discovered a previously unknown mechanism by which estrogen prepares cells to divide, grow and, in the case of estrogen-positive breast cancers, resist cancer drugs. The researchers say the work reveals new targets for breast cancer therapy and will help doctors predict which patients need the most aggressive treatment.
	Long term genetic study finds geographical differences in human immune response to malaria (Medical Xpress)—A large team of researchers with members from around the globe has found evidence that appears to show that humans living in different physical locations have evolved different mechanisms for staving off the dreaded disease malaria. In their paper published in Nature Genetics, the team describes a decade long study they undertook that involved collecting gene samples from people in many nations where malaria is still killing a lot of its victims, and what they found when they analyzed those samples.
	Healthy fats help diseased heart muscle process and use fuel Oleate, a common dietary fat found in olive oil, restored proper metabolism of fuel in an animal model of heart failure.
	Study reveals new clues to help understand brain stimulation Over the past several decades, brain stimulation has become an increasingly important treatment option for a number of psychiatric and neurological conditions.
	Study suggests new strategies for killing tuberculosis bacterium Over the past few years, a class of compounds called ADEPs (cyclic acyldepsipeptides) has emerged as a promising new weapon in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria. The compounds work by attaching themselves to a cellular enzyme called ClpP, which bacterial cells use to rid themselves of harmful proteins. With an ADEP attached, ClpP can't function properly, and the bacterial cell dies.
	Protein that causes frontotemporal dementia also implicated in Alzheimer's disease Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes have shown that low levels of the protein progranulin in the brain can increase the formation of amyloid-beta plaques (a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease), cause neuroinflammation, and worsen memory deficits in a mouse model of this condition. Conversely, by using a gene therapy approach to elevate progranulin levels, scientists were able to prevent these abnormalities and block cell death in this model.
	Using the brain to forecast decisions You're waiting at a bus stop, expecting the bus to arrive any time. You watch the road. Nothing yet. A little later you start to pace. More time passes. "Maybe there is some problem", you think. Finally, you give up and raise your arm and hail a taxi. Just as you pull away, you glimpse the bus gliding up. Did you have a choice to wait a bit longer? Or was giving up too soon the inevitable and predictable result of a chain of neural events?
A safer approach for diagnostic medical imaging Medical imaging is at the forefront of diagnostics today, with imaging techniques like MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), CT (computerized tomography), scanning, and NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) increasing steeply over the last two decades. However, persisting problems of image resolution and quality still limit these techniques because of the nature of living tissue. A solution is hyperpolarization, which involves injecting the patient with substances that can increase imaging quality by following the distribution and fate of specific molecules in the body but that can be harmful or potentially toxic to the patient. A team of scientists from EPFL, CNRS, ENS and CPE Lyon and ETH Zürich has developed a new generation of hyperpolarization agents that can be used to dramatically enhance the signal intensity of imaged body tissues without presenting any danger to the patient. Their work is published in PNAS.
	Single-neuron 'hub' orchestrates activity of an entire brain circuit The idea of mapping the brain is not new. Researchers have known for years that the key to treating, curing, and even preventing brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury, is to understand how the brain records, processes, stores, and retrieves information.
Scientists shed light on cause of spastic paraplegia Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered that a gene mutation linked to hereditary spastic paraplegia, a disabling neurological disorder, interferes with the normal breakdown of triglyceride fat molecules in the brain. The TSRI researchers found large droplets of triglycerides within the neurons of mice modeling the disease.
	Study holds hope of a treatment for deadly genetic disease, MPS IIIB MPS IIIB is a devastating and currently untreatable disease that causes progressive damage to the brain, leading to profound intellectual disability, dementia and death—often before reaching adulthood.
Liver gene therapy corrects heart symptoms in model of rare enzyme disorder In the second of two papers outlining new gene-therapy approaches to treat a rare disease called MPS I, researchers from Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania examined systemic delivery of a vector to replace the enzyme IDUA, which is deficient in patients with this disorder. The second paper, which is published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week, describes how an injection of a vector expressing the IDUA enzyme to the liver can prevent most of the systemic manifestations of the disease, including those found in the heart.
	Researchers explain 38-year-old mystery of the heart In a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry have explained how the function of a key protein in the heart changes in heart failure.
	Study finds twitches during sleep activate the brain in a unique way A University of Iowa study has found twitches made during sleep activate the brains of mammals differently than movements made while awake.
	Modeling shockwaves through the brain Since the start of the military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 300,000 soldiers have returned to the United States with traumatic brain injury caused by exposure to bomb blasts—and in particular, exposure to improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Symptoms of traumatic brain injury can range from the mild, such as lingering headaches and nausea, to more severe impairments in memory and cognition.
	After-school exercise program enhances cognition in 7-, 8- and 9-year-olds A nine-month-long, randomized controlled trial involving 221 prepubescent children found that those who engaged in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for at least 60 minutes a day after school saw substantial improvements in their ability to pay attention, avoid distraction and switch between cognitive tasks, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.
Hand size appears to stay constant, providing natural 'ruler' People tend to perceive their dominant hand as staying relatively the same size even when it's magnified, lending support to the idea that we use our hand as a constant perceptual "ruler" to measure the world around us. The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
	In studying suicide, he shines a light on a secret shame When people think of public health, they do not often think of suicidology—the study of the causes and prevention of suicide. Historically, public health has been either associated with Hollywood-style images of government workers investigating disease outbreaks or mistakenly equated to local health departments responsible for restaurant inspections and bureaucracy.
	"Virtual breast" could improve cancer detection Next to lung cancer, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women, according to the American Cancer Society. That's why so many medical professionals encourage women to get mammograms, even though the tests are imperfect at best: only a minority of suspicious mammograms actually leads to a cancer diagnosis.
	New hay fever blood test nothing to sneeze at (Medical Xpress)—Brisbane researchers have developed a blood test that can accurately detect one of the commonest causes of hay fever, paving the way for new treatments.
	A new method for healing hearts (Medical Xpress)—A University of Arizona surgeon is exploring how amniotic tissue, with its anti-inflammatory and anti-scarring properties, may help prevent complications after heart surgery.
	Cervical cancer symptoms not recognised by young women (Medical Xpress)—New research led by King's College London suggests that many women under 30 with cervical cancer are diagnosed more than 3 months after first having symptoms. In many cases this was because they did not recognise the symptoms as serious.
Decision to reintroduce aprotinin in cardiac surgery may put patients at risk Cardiac surgery patients may be at risk because of the decision by Health Canada and the European Medicines Agency to reintroduce the use of aprotinin after its withdrawal from the worldwide market in 2007, assert the authors of a previous major trial that found a substantially increased risk of death associated with the drug. In an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), the authors refute three major criticisms of the trial made by the regulatory bodies.
	Health lessons provided by interactive media easier for youth to swallow Lecturing teens to eat their vegetables and get more exercise may not motivate them to adopt healthier habits, as many parents know. But will members of the "Facebook generation" learn to eat their broccoli and take more walks if the messages come from electronic games and peers in videos instead?
	Revolutionary hamstring tester will keep more players on the paddock Elite sporting stars can assess and reduce their risk of a hamstring injury thanks to a breakthrough made by QUT researchers.
Risks of opioids outweigh benefits for headache, low back pain, other conditions According to a new position statement from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the risk of death, overdose, addiction or serious side effects with prescription opioids outweigh the benefits in chronic, non-cancer conditions such as headache, fibromyalgia and chronic low back pain. The position paper is published in the September 30, 2014, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Cells from placentas safe for patients with multiple sclerosis Patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) were able to safely tolerate treatment with cells cultured from human placental tissue, according to a study published today in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. The study, which is the first of its kind, was conducted by researchers at Mount Sinai, Celgene Cellular Therapeutics subsidiary of Celgene Corporation and collaborators at several other institutions.
	How does the research on primates benefit humans? The conflict centres on two irreconcilable ethical obligations: the obligation to seek ways of making diseases treatable and in this way reduce human suffering, on the one hand, and the obligation to protect the lives of animals, on the other. As long as animal testing remains the only way of accessing knowledge about the functions and complex biological interactions in living organisms, there can be no satisfactory solution to this conflict.
	Genetic profiling holds potential for managing metastatic cancer Researching the genetic profile of tumour cells that have spread to cause secondary tumours may provide an avenue to effectively combat metastatic breast cancer.
	Ecstasy use affects ability to detect faces, shapes and patterns Using ecstasy significantly affects a person's ability to detect faces, shapes and patterns, a study has found.
	Motion capture examines dance techniques WAAPA dance students are set to take part in a world-first biomechanical study that tracks their training, technique and injuries as they develop as professional performers.
	Shell shock and the First World War A Cardiff researcher has revisited case records from the First World War, revealing the prevalence and devastating impact of shell shock on frontline soldiers.
Genetic modifier affects colon tumor formation (Medical Xpress)—Unexpected results from an ongoing experiment in the lab of Kristi Neufeld, co-leader of the Cancer Biology Program at the University of Kansas Cancer Center, led to a potentially important discovery that could have an effect on how cancer researchers test anti-cancer therapies in mice as well as possibly prevent colon cancer in people.
Drug for kidney injury after cardiac surgery does not reduce need for dialysis Among patients with acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery, infusion with the antihypertensive agent fenoldopam, compared with placebo, did not reduce the need for renal replacement therapy (dialysis) or risk of death at 30 days, but was associated with an increased rate of abnormally low blood pressure, according to a study published in JAMA. The study is being posted early online to coincide with its presentation at the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine annual congress.
	Scientists identify signature of aging in the brain How the brain ages is still largely an open question – in part because this organ is mostly insulated from direct contact with other systems in the body, including the blood and immune systems. In research that was recently published in Science, Weizmann Institute researchers Prof. Michal Schwartz of the Neurobiology Department and Dr. Ido Amit of Immunology Department found evidence of a unique "signature" that may be the "missing link" between cognitive decline and aging. The scientists believe that this discovery may lead, in the future, to treatments that can slow or reverse cognitive decline in older people.
New data on combination treatments for melanoma Combination therapy with both BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib and MEK inhibitor cobimetinib achieves greater progression-free survival and response rates than vemurafenib plus placebo in BRAF-mutation positive melanoma, according to phase III data presented at the ESMO 2014 Congress in Madrid, Spain.
Landmark Medicare law had little impact on reducing chemotherapy cost Legislation passed in 2003 to slow the spiraling costs of drugs paid for by the federal government to treat Medicare patients has had no meaningful impact on cancer chemotherapy drug costs, say a team of researchers in the Journal of Clinical Oncology published online today.
Association of physical activity with diabetes is weakest among women at high genetic risk New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) suggests that the protective effect of physical activity against diabetes is weakest among those at high genetic risk. The research is by Dr Yann Klimentidis, an Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, in Tucson, AZ, USA, and colleagues.
DNA signature found in ice storm babies The number of days an expectant mother was deprived of electricity during Quebec's Ice Storm (1998) predicts the epigenetic profile of her child, a new study finds.
Who are the men and boys suffering from anorexia? A new study by researchers from the University of Montreal reveals the current state of knowledge about anorexia in men and boys.
	NIH funds study of malpractice risk, cardiac testing incentives (HealthDay)—The National Institutes of Health has granted $2 million to study the effect of malpractice risk and financial incentives on cardiac testing.
	Bevacizumab safe for use in Tx of macular degeneration (HealthDay)—The systemic safety of bevacizumab appears to be similar to that of ranibizumab as intravitreal therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to research published online Sept. 15 in The Cochrane Library.
	Experiences trump things, even before purchase (HealthDay)—People derive value from the anticipation of purchasing something, and this anticipation tends to be greater for an experiential purchase than for a material purchase, according to a study published online Aug. 21 in Psychological Science.
	Pediatricians endorse IUDs, implants for teen birth control (HealthDay)—Long-acting contraceptive devices should be the first choice of birth control for teenage girls, new recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics state.
Researchers working to regenerate heart, nerve cells Under a microscope inside a lab at UT Southwestern Medical Center, a dish of cells pulsates with the rhythm of a human heart.
	Rising prevalence of sleep apnea in US threatens public health Public health and safety are threatened by the increasing prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea, which now afflicts at least 25 million adults in the U.S., according to the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project. Several new studies highlight the destructive nature of obstructive sleep apnea, a chronic disease that increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke and depression.
Targeted combination therapy halts disease, extends life in advanced melanoma patients A world-first study in today's New England Journal of Medicine heralds the efficacy of a targeted combination drug therapy after reporting major declines in the risk of disease progression and death in people with metastatic melanoma.
Trial shows trastuzumab should remain as standard of care for HER2-positive breast cancer Analysis of more than 8,000 women who participated in the world's largest study of two treatments for HER2-positive breast cancer reinforces other findings from the clinical trial showing that trastuzumab (Herceptin) should remain the standard of care for this cancer, says a Mayo Clinic researcher.
Obesity risk rises if antibiotics given before age two Kids who get treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics before age two face a higher risk of childhood obesity, said a US study on Monday.
	Experts discover shining cells responsible for developing tumors Tumours are mosaics of cells that are morphologically and molecularly very different. In this cellular heterogeneity, it is calculated that only 1-2% of the tumour mass is made up of cancer stem cells, which over the past years have been suggested to be responsible for the origin of cancer and for the resistance to conventional chemical therapies. This small percentage of cancer stem cells in a solid tumour makes it difficult to isolate and analyse them, as well as to study the origin of drug resistance.
Higher gun ownership rates linked to increase in non-stranger homicide, study finds A new study led by a Boston University School of Public Health researcher has found that states with higher estimated rates of gun ownership experience a higher incidence of non-stranger firearms homicides – disputing the claim that gun ownership deters violent crime, its authors say.
Feeling fatigued while driving? Don't reach for your iPod Research has shown that drinking caffeinated beverages and listening to music are two popular fatigue-fighting measures that drivers take, but very few studies have tested the usefulness of those measures. New research to be presented at the HFES 2014 Annual Meeting in Chicago evaluates which method, if either, can successfully combat driver fatigue.
Researchers identify brain changes involved in alcohol-related sleep disturbances A review article published online in Behavioral Brain Research provides novel insight into changes that happen in the brain as a result of chronic alcohol exposure that can lead to disruptions in the sleep cycle.
New ways to treat anemia could evolve from acetate supplement research UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers seeking novel treatments for anemia found that giving acetate, the major component of household vinegar, to anemic mice stimulated the formation of new red blood cells.
Self-compassion key to positive body image and coping Women who accept and tolerate their imperfections appear to have a more positive body image despite their body mass index (BMI) and are better able to handle personal disappointments and setbacks in their daily lives.
Brief depression questionnaires could lead to unnecessary antidepressant prescriptions Short questionnaires used to identify patients at risk for depression are linked with antidepressant medications being prescribed when they may not be needed, according to new research from UC Davis Health System published in the September-October issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.
Higher nurse-to-patient standard improves staff safety A 2004 California law mandating specific nurse-to-patient staffing standards in acute care hospitals significantly lowered job-related injuries and illnesses for both registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, according to UC Davis research published online in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. The study is believed to be the first to evaluate the effect of the law on occupational health.
	Childhood asthma linked to lack of ventilation for gas stoves Parents with children at home should use ventilation when cooking with a gas stove, researchers from Oregon State University are recommending, after a new study showed an association between gas kitchen stove ventilation and asthma, asthma symptoms and chronic bronchitis.
	Chefs move to schools can increase school meal participation and vegetable intake among students Gourmet pizza in school? According to a new Food and Brand Lab pilot study, published in Appetite, chef-made meals can increase participation in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) by 9% and overall selection and consumption of vegetables by 16%!
Transplant drug could boost the power of brain tumor treatments Every day, organ transplant patients around the world take a drug called rapamycin to keep their immune systems from rejecting their new kidneys and hearts. New research suggests that the same drug could help brain tumor patients by boosting the effect of new immune-based therapies.
'Deadly diarrhea' rates nearly doubled in 10 years Infections with the intestinal superbug C. difficile nearly doubled from 2001 to 2010 in U.S. hospitals without noticeable improvement in patient mortality rates or hospital lengths of stay, according to a study of 2.2 million C. difficile infection (CDI) cases published in the October issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).
	An apple a day could keep obesity away Scientists at Washington State University have concluded that nondigestible compounds in apples – specifically, Granny Smith apples – may help prevent disorders associated with obesity. The study, thought to be the first to assess these compounds in apple cultivars grown in the Pacific Northwest, appears in October's print edition of the journal Food Chemistry.
A 'frenemy' in Parkinson's disease takes to crowdsourcing The protein alpha-synuclein is a well-known player in Parkinson's disease and other related neurological conditions, such as dementia with Lewy bodies. Its normal functions, however, have long remained unknown. An enticing mystery, say researchers, who contend that understanding the normal is critical in resolving the abnormal.
More children admitted to intensive care but with lower staffing ratios More children than ever are being admitted to intensive care units in England and Wales but there are fewer staff per bed available to cope with the increase, according to a new report published jointly by the University of Leeds and University of Leicester.
Roche breast cancer drug 'helps patients live longer': study A drug developed by Swiss giant Roche to treat an aggressive form of breast cancer has been shown to extend patients' lives by almost 16 months, researchers said Sunday.
Australia won't send Ebola doctors to West Africa (AP)—Australia has ruled out sending doctors to West Africa to help fight the Ebola outbreak there because of logistical problems in repatriating any Australian who became infected with the deadly virus.
Doctor exposed to Ebola treated in US An American doctor who was exposed to the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone was admitted Sunday to a clinic of the National Institutes of Health outside Washington.
Promising results shown with targeted approaches in subsets of non-small cell lung cancer The BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib has significant anti-tumour activity in patients with advanced BRAF V600E mutant non-small cell lung cancer whose disease has progressed after chemotherapy, according to phase II data presented at the ESMO 2014 Congress in Madrid, Spain.
Is coconut oil good for you? There is no consistent body of data that I am aware of to indicate that coconut oil has documented specific beneficial effects; hence, there is no data that I'm aware of to suggest people should go out of their way to consume coconut oil.
	Study investigates access to weight loss clubs for people with learning disabilities A study aimed at improving access to weight loss clubs like Slimming World for people with learning disabilities, is underway by researchers from the University of Sheffield.
Study indicates exchange plans can vary widely on provider inclusion A new study released today by the American Heart Association on the inclusion of cardiovascular and stroke providers by exchange health plans reveals that access to specialty physicians and facilities can vary widely based on a consumer's plan and location.
	Early detection key to avoiding large Ebola outbreaks Improved diagnosis of people with severe fevers is essential in the battle against the deadly Ebola virus, a study published in the Journal of Infection in Developing Countries has found.
Radiation risks should be considered and discussed before heart imaging Before undergoing heart imaging procedures involving radiation, healthcare providers should help patients understand why the procedure is needed and its potential benefits and risks, including risks related to radiation exposure, according to a new scientific statement in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.
Adding cediranib to chemotherapy improves progression-free survival for metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer For patients with cervical cancer that has recurred after treatment or has spread elsewhere in the body, adding the experimental drug cediranib to standard chemotherapy improves tumour shrinkage and adds a modest improvement in progression-free survival, researchers report at the ESMO 2014 Congress in Madrid.
	Getting ahead of the curve on Ebola epidemic The Ebola virus could be contained before it kills hundreds of thousands of people in West Africa, but it would take a coordinated effort from organizations around the world—and they'd need to act fast, global health experts said at the George Washington University on Thursday.
A low-cost urine test for tuberculousis that could save thousands of lives Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious bacterial disease that affects the lungs and kills nearly two million people every year. Most of these deaths occur among the poorest communities in the world, where access to medical care is scarce. The tragedy of this is that the disease is preventable and curable; what is needed is early detection and treatment.
Aid workers learning to fight Ebola as they go: WHO coordinator Jean-Pierre Veyrenche, in charge of building Ebola treatment centres in Monrovia for the World Health Organization, says fear is keeping international aid experts from joining the battle against the west African outbreak.
IMPRESS trial data on continuing tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy after resistance development in lung cancer reported Patients whose lung cancer has developed resistance to the drug gefitinib experience no statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival from continued treatment with the drug in addition to chemotherapy, a phase III trial presented at the ESMO 2014 Congress has shown.
Studies report new findings on treatment options for mesothelioma Treating patients with high-dose radiotherapy after chemotherapy and surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma does not achieve improvements in local relapse and overall survival, according to data from a prospective randomized phase II trial presented at ESMO 2014 Congress in Madrid.
Under-representation of women in oncology leadership positions A growing number of oncologists in Greece are female, but women continue to be under-represented in leadership positions, according to a survey reported at the ESMO 2014 Congress.
Many patients lack information about the use of targeted therapies, oncologists say More than three quarters of oncology specialists in Europe, South America and Asia believe their patients are not always well enough informed about the treatment options available to them, survey results have revealed at the ESMO 2014 Congress in Madrid, Spain.
Pertuzumab adds 16 months survival benefit to trastuzumab and chemo treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer that has spread to other parts of their body live around 16 months longer if treated with a combination of pertuzumab, trastuzumab and chemotherapy compared to those treated with trastuzumab and chemotherapy alone, updated results from the CLEOPATRA study reveal.
Nivolumab shows signs of superior response rate compared to standard chemo in advanced melanoma The monoclonal antibody nivolumab achieves superior response rates and a longer duration of response than standard chemotherapy[1] in patients whose melanoma has progressed after treatment with ipilimumab, according to phase III data presented at the ESMO 2014 Congress in Madrid, Spain.
	UN mission to combat Ebola opens HQ in Ghana The U.N. mission to combat Ebola opened its headquarters on Monday in Ghana, where it will coordinate aid for the accelerating West African crisis.
Study finds information lacking from FDA on implanted medical devices Information is lacking on most implanted medical devices cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration despite a legal requirement that companies submit scientific evidence about the devices' substantial equivalence to other devices already on the market.
	Researchers launch study of experiences and outcomes of women sexual assault survivors One in 5 U.S. women experience sexual assault during their lifetime, yet little is known about the experiences and health outcomes of sexual assault survivors. A new study seeks to change that.
Guam moves ahead with medical-marijuana ballot An election official in Guam says a medical-marijuana vote will go forward as planned on the November ballot unless told otherwise.
USC memory scientist Richard Thompson dies at 84 Richard F. Thompson, the University of Southern California neuroscientist whose experiments with rabbits led to breakthrough discoveries on how memories are physically stored in the brain, has died. He was 84.
Court-ordered anti-smoking ads challenged by firms The nation's largest tobacco companies are challenging court-ordered advertisements requiring the cigarette makers to say they lied about the dangers of smoking.
Sweat-eating bacteria may improve skin health Bacteria that metabolize ammonia, a major component of sweat, may improve skin health and some day could be used for the treatment of skin disorders, such as acne or chronic wounds. In a study conducted by AOBiome LLC, human volunteers using the bacteria reported better skin condition and appearance compared with a placebo control group. The researchers presented the study results at the 5th ASM Conference on Beneficial Microbes in Washington, DC.

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