Fwd: Science X Newsletter Monday, Dec 21

RESPEKT!

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From: Newsletter Phys.org <not-for-reply@physorg.com>
Date: Tue, Dec 22, 2015 at 3:40 AM
Subject: Science X Newsletter Monday, Dec 21
To: Pascal Alter <pascal.alter@gmail.com>

Dear Pascal Alter,
Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for December 21, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Giant enhancement of magnetic effect will benefit spintronics
- Ending chronic pain with new drug therapy
- New flow battery offers lower-cost energy storage
- Best of Last Week – Confirming the majorana particle, a new earthrise image and forgetting so that you can learn
- New hybrid electrolyte for solid-state lithium batteries
- Teaching machines to see: New smartphone-based system could accelerate development of driverless cars
- Intelligence 'networks' discovered in brain for the first time
- 3D "nanobridges" formed using electron beam writing with tiny jets of liquid precursor
- Year in Review—The most important research of 2015: August
- Epigenetic discovery suggests DNA modifications more diverse than previously thought
- Mars gullies likely contain 'no water', study says
- Team IDs brain circuit involved in party drug's antidepressant effect
- A new, multidisciplinary approach to classify cell types in the brain
- LG to show off robotic cleaner at CES in January
- Peering under the hood into the workings of molecular motors

Nanotechnology news

	Giant enhancement of magnetic effect will benefit spintronics (Phys.org)—Researchers have demonstrated that coating a cobalt film in graphene doubles the film's perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), so that it reaches a value 20 times higher than that of traditional metallic cobalt/platinum multilayers that are being researched for this property. In a material with a high PMA, the magnetization is oriented perpendicular to the interface of the material's layers. High-PMA materials are being researched for their applications in next-generation spintronic devices, such as high-density memories and heat-tolerant logic gates. The researchers, Hongxin Yang, et al., have published a paper on the giant PMA enhancement in a recent issue of Nano Letters.
	3D "nanobridges" formed using electron beam writing with tiny jets of liquid precursor Researchers have demonstrated a new process for rapidly fabricating complex three-dimensional nanostructures from a variety of materials, including metals. The new technique uses nanoelectrospray to provide a continuous supply of liquid precursor, which can include metal ions that are converted to high-purity metal by a focused electron beam.
	Nanotube "forest" in a microfluidic channel may help detect rare proteins and viruses Engineers at MIT have devised a new technique for trapping hard-to-detect molecules, using forests of carbon nanotubes.

Physics news

	Creativity leads to measuring ultrafast, thin photodetector Making an incredibly fast photodetector is one thing, but actually measuring its speed is another.
	Team succeeds in observing a two-phonon quantum interference, a world first A research group at Osaka University has succeeded in observing at the intended timing two-phonon quantum interference by using two cold calcium ions in ion traps, which spatially confine charged particles. A phonon is a unit of vibrational energy that arises from oscillating particles within crystals. Two-particle quantum interference experiments using two photons or atoms have been previously reported, but this group's achievement is the world's first observation using two phonons.
	Major milestone: First electrons accelerated in European XFEL A crucial component of the European X-ray laser European XFEL has taken up operation: The so-called injector, the 45-metre long first part of the superconducting particle accelerator, has accelerated its first electrons to nearly the speed of light. This is the first beam ever accelerated at the European XFEL and represents a major advancement toward the completion of the facility.
	Experiments show novel X-ray method could detect nuclear materials Physicists at the Diocles Extreme Light Laboratory at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have demonstrated that their unconventional laser-based X-ray machine could provide a new defense against nuclear terrorism.

Earth news

	Project shows how fragmentation harms forests' ability to store carbon Scientists have been significantly overestimating the amount of carbon stored in the world's tropical forests, a new study reports.
	Rivers, lakes impact ability of forests to store carbon Forests help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by storing it in trees, but a sizeable amount of the greenhouse gas actually escapes through the soil and into rivers and streams.
	Methane emissions in Arctic cold season higher than expected The amount of methane gas escaping from the ground during the long cold period in the Arctic each year and entering Earth's atmosphere is likely much higher than estimated by current climate change models, concludes a major new study led by San Diego State University.
	Normal weather drives salt marsh erosion For salt marshes, hurricanes are just another day at the beach.
	Melting sea ice increases Arctic precipitation, complicates climate predictions The melting of sea ice will significantly increase Arctic precipitation, creating a climate feedback comparable to doubling global carbon dioxide, a Dartmouth College-led study finds.
	Salty sea spray affects the lifetimes of clouds, researchers find All over the planet, every day, oceans send plumes of sea spray into the atmosphere. Beyond the poetry of crashing ocean waves, this salt- and carbon-rich spray has a dramatic effect on the formation and duration of clouds.
	Paper estimates widespread tree death in Southwestern forests under global warming scenarios A research paper published today in Nature Climate Change predicts widespread death of needleleaf evergreen trees (NET) within the Southwest United States by the year 2100 under projected global warming scenarios.
	Beijing issues second red alert as choking smog sets in again (Update) Beijing issued its second-ever red alert for smog and put its emergency response plan into action once again as severe pollution hit China's capital on Saturday.
	Anger, fear at Delhi's pollution ground zero For 12 hours a day, Raju Misra stands at his snack stall in the world's ultimate pollution blackspot, inhaling toxic fumes and railing against India's politicians for failing to clean up the filthy air.
	Iran closes capital's schools due to air pollution Iran is to close schools for two days in Tehran, an official said on Saturday, following air pollution three times the acceptable level that has blanketed the city in smog.
	Thousands of factories cut production as Beijing smog persists Beijing has ordered 2,100 factories to suspend or reduce production as part of its "red alert" measures to deal with smog, the government said Monday, as the city remained shrouded under toxic haze for the third consecutive day.
	Climate-smart agriculture still lags after Paris Environmental problems are usually multifaceted and complex. This is especially true for climate change. As a result, over time researchers and policymakers have learned the importance of a comprehensive and multi-pollutant approach meant to solve different problems at once.
	Satellites find sustainable energy in cities Underground heat islands in cities have an enormous geothermal potential. Warm groundwater can be used to produce sustainable energy for heating and cooling. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed a new method to find underground heat islands: They estimate groundwater temperature from surface temperatures and building densities measured by satellites. This is reported in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
	Rail line disruption set for dramatic increase as sea levels continue to rise, study suggests Rail services to and from the South West of England could be disrupted for more than ten per cent of each year by 2040 and almost a third by 2100, a new study suggests.
	A personal approach to addressing climate issues Beijing issued its first red alert for hazardous air pollution recently, closing schools and factories citywide. Duke engineering professor Michael Bergin, who has studied the Beijing smog since long before it became front-page news, ignored the headlines.
	Climate change: the Grinch that stole Europe's Christmas? In a season traditionally associated with ice-skating, snowball fights and mulled wine in wintry Europe, birds are chirping, flowers blooming and fake snow covering Alpine ski slopes in one of the warmest Decembers on record.

Astronomy & Space news

	Auroral mystery solved: Sudden bursts caused by swirling charged particles Auroras are dimly present throughout the night in polar regions, but sometimes these lights explode in brightness. Now Japanese scientists have unlocked the mystery behind this spectacle, known as auroral breakup.
	SpaceX postpones rocket launch until Monday (Update) SpaceX postponed until Monday its first rocket launch since an explosion after liftoff destroyed its unmanned Dragon cargo ship bound for the International Space Station six months ago.
	US spacewalkers will aim to move stalled rail car Two American astronauts will step out on a short spacewalk Monday to move a stalled rail car that is stuck outside the International Space Station, NASA said.
	Image: Hubble checks out a home for old stars This image, taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on board the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the globular cluster Terzan 1. Lying around 20,000 light-years from us in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion), it is one of about 150 globular clusters belonging to our galaxy, the Milky Way.
	Image: The Stephan's Quintet of galaxies The Stephan's Quintet of galaxies was discovered by astronomer Édouard Stephan in 1877. At the time, however, he reported the discovery of 'new nebulae', as the concept of other galaxies beyond our Milky Way was only formalised in the 1920s.
	Astronauts help move stalled rail car during spacewalk Two American astronauts helped move a stalled rail car back into place outside the International Space Station on Monday, quickly finishing the primary job of an unplanned spacewalk before moving on to other housekeeping tasks.
	Mars gullies likely contain 'no water', study says Months after scientists announced "the strongest evidence yet" of liquid water on Mars, a study Monday said there was none at least in the valleys carved into numerous Red Planet slopes.
	Twisted magnetic fields give new insights on star formation Using new images that show unprecedented detail, scientists have found that material rotating around a very young protostar probably has dragged in and twisted magnetic fields from the larger area surrounding the star. The discovery, made with the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope, has important implications for how dusty disks—the raw material for planet formation—grow around young stars.
	NASA team moves closer to building a 3-D printed rocket engine A NASA team moved a step closer to building a completely 3-D printed, high-performance rocket engine by manufacturing complex engine parts and test firing them together with cryogenic liquid hydrogen and oxygen to produce 20,000 pounds of thrust.
	Russian supply ship lifts off for space station An unmanned Russian cargo ship has lifted off on a journey to the International Space Station.
	Two whacks is all it takes for spacewalk repair (Update) Two solid whacks to a stuck brake handle was all it took for a spacewalking American astronaut to fix a stalled rail car outside the International Space Station, NASA said Monday.
	NASA orders second Boeing crew mission to International Space Station NASA took an important step Friday to establish regular crew missions that will launch from the United States to the International Space Station with the order of its second post-certification mission from Boeing Space Exploration of Houston.
Video: The hunt is on for gravitational waves Gravitational waves are tiny distortions of space-time caused by some of the most violent cosmic events such as colliding black holes. The observation of these 'ripples of space-time' requires exquisitely sophisticated new technology.
	Potatoes on Mars: Setting course for Martian farming A team of world-class scientists will grow potatoes under Martian conditions in a bid to save millions of lives. The experiment, led by the International Potato Center (CIP) and NASA, is a major step towards building a controlled dome on Mars capable of farming the invaluable crop in order to demonstrate that potatoes can be grown in the most inhospitable environments.
	The skeleton of the Milky Way Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is a typical barred spiral galaxy, a flattened disk of about a hundred billion stars, gas, and dust that is roughly one hundred thousand light-years in diameter. The galactic disk is surrounded by a large spherical, diffuse halo roughly about five hundred thousand light-years in diameter. Although it is our home, many fundamental questions remain about the Milky Way's structure. For instance, how many major spiral arms does it have, two or four? What are the precise locations and shapes of these arms? What is the nature of the inter-arm structures —are they well-defined spurs of star and gas or more web-like in form? And not least, does it even make sense to describe the Milky Way as a typical spiral?
	SpaceX aims for historic rocket launch, landing (Update) SpaceX aims to make history Monday by landing its most powerful Falcon 9 rocket in an upright position after launch, a key step toward making rockets as reusable as airplanes.

Technology news

	Teaching machines to see: New smartphone-based system could accelerate development of driverless cars Two newly-developed systems for driverless cars can identify a user's location and orientation in places where GPS does not function, and identify the various components of a road scene in real time on a regular camera or smartphone, performing the same job as sensors costing tens of thousands of pounds.
	New flow battery offers lower-cost energy storage Energy storage system owners could see significant savings from a new flow battery technology that is projected to cost 60 percent less than today's standard flow batteries.
	New hybrid electrolyte for solid-state lithium batteries Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a novel electrolyte for use in solid-state lithium batteries that overcomes many of the problems that plague other solid electrolytes while also showing signs of being compatible with next-generation cathodes.
	Bitcoin's 'blockchain' tech may transform banking The technology that drives the shadowy cryptocurrency bitcoin is drawing interest from the established banking industry, which sees a potential to revolutionize the sector.
	HoloLens development edition is coming in 2016 Microsoft is focusing on developers, not the general public, for the latest in HoloLens events and announcements. The good news for the public is that, in doing so, the conversation is shedding light on what is behind HoloLens and what to expect once availability happens.
	New dawn or Wild West? 'Sharing economy' goes global It's a new dawn for transport, lodging—and pretty much every service under the sun—and it's all about "sharing."
	Human energy to bring power by the pedal Manoj Bhargava, founder of Billions in Change, calls up two words as the stars of his show. Energy, water. He reminds us what may be obvious but often ignored. They hold the key to other things that keep the poor, well, poor. Energy and water hold the key to health and to livelihoods.
	BBC: Voice-over video service to ease language barriers People around the world continue to rely on the BBC to know what is happening without fear or favor. The BBC innovators are upping their game with a strategic use of technologies to make sure they are not only reaching all the people but reaching all the people in their own languages as soon as video news happens.
	A fish may hold the key to more efficient wireless networks As wireless networks become more crowded with devices and more taxed by the demand for anytime, anywhere access, these networks are susceptible to radio frequency interference and jamming. It's a problem that potentially affects everything from personal smartphones to communications satellites.
	Robots learn by watching how-to videos When you hire new workers you might sit them down to watch an instructional video on how to do the job. What happens when you buy a new robot?
	Engineer creates origami battery Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, can be used to create beautiful birds, frogs and other small sculptures. Now a Binghamton University engineer says the technique can be applied to building batteries, too.
	LG to show off robotic cleaner at CES in January A robotic vacuum cleaner from LG is about to make its debut at CES 2016 in Las Vegas. The kinds of compliments LG would probably be happy to hear when they show it off: could cleaning get any easier? and oh nice, it doubles as a guard dog.
	Investigation: US power grid vulnerable to foreign hacks Security researcher Brian Wallace was on the trail of hackers who had snatched a California university's housing files when he stumbled into a larger nightmare: Cyberattackers had opened a pathway into the networks running the United States power grid.
	Toshiba to cut jobs in consumer electronics amid record loss (Update) Toshiba plans to cut 7,800 jobs, mostly in its consumer-electronics business, as it reorganizes in the face of projected record losses for the current fiscal year.
	Data transfer reaches new heights at supercomputing conference Transferring data files may seem a routine task to some, but to researchers, it's a task that becomes arduous when large amounts of computational data are involved—especially when considering large distances and wide area networks.
Ericsson, Apple to develop 5G phones and end litigation (Update) Swedish telecoms firm Ericsson AB has inked a 7-year deal with Apple Inc. that brings an end to outstanding mutual patent litigations between the two and paves the way for their joint-development of the next generation of super-fast phones.
Virtual reality and smartphone apps are the future of housing, says academic report The future of housing could see virtual reality 'walkthroughs' of new builds and smartphone notifications when repairs are needed, ground-breaking new research has found.
	Smart Grid can help with prime-time charging of EVs Norway leads the world in new car sales of electric vehicles, but how will charging all those EVs affect the Norwegian energy supply? Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology are helping to develop Smart Grid solutions that will ease the crunch caused by powering our transportation with electricity.
	US broadband adoption stalls, as more go mobile Adoption of home broadband has stalled in the United States, as more Americans opt for Internet on the go with mobile devices, a survey showed Monday.
	Facebook to enable viewing of Apple's animated photos The latest iPhones come with the ability to turn still images into video—just like magic—but sharing options had been limited to other Apple apps.
Barcelona city hall fines Airbnb, Homeaway Barcelona's left-wing city hall said Monday it had slapped home rental websites Airbnb and HomeAway with a fine of 60,000 euros ($65,000) each for marketing lodgings in the Spanish city that lacked permits to host tourists.
	Polluted nuclear weapons site to become tourist destination The nation's most polluted nuclear weapons production site is now its newest national park.

Chemistry news

	Nature's unique way of controlling color explains why birds never go gray Birds use sophisticated changes to the structure of their feathers to create multi-coloured plumage, using a process that could pave the way for the creation of paints and clothing colours that won't fade over time.
	New infectious disease test promises quick diagnosis McMaster researchers have come up a way for inventing molecule probes to quickly identify deadly bacterial strains of infectious disease.
	Researchers propose new kind of MOF to clean coal burned in power plants (Phys.org)—A small team of researchers with members from India, Canada, the U.S. and Germany has come up with a new kind of metal-organic framework (MOF) to keep carbon in coal from entering the atmosphere when it is burned in power plants—thus reducing pollution and problems with global warming. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the team describes their new technique, and what hurdles need to be overcome for it to be used in commercial plants.
	Pole dancing water molecules: How water learns to dance Perovskites are materials used in batteries, fuel cells, and electronic components, and occur in nature as minerals. Despite their important role in technology, little is known about the reactivity of their surfaces. Professor Ulrike Diebold's team at TU Wien (Vienna) has answered a long-standing question using scanning tunnelling microscopes and computer simulations: How do water molecules behave when they attach to a perovskite surface? Normally only the outermost atoms at the surface influence this behaviour, but on perovskites the deeper layers are important, too.
	Scientists study single 'transformer' proteins with role in cancer A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital shows how a protein involved in cancer twists and morphs into different structures.
	Neutrons offer guide to getting more out of solid-state lithium-ion batteries Although they don't currently have as much conductivity, solid-state electrolytes designed for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are emerging as a safer alternative to their more prevalent—sometimes flammable—liquid-electrolyte counterparts.
	Functional food that tastes good Since 2004, Emulsar has been making a place for itself on the emulsion food market with a technology that is both tasty and reduces the need for additives. Thanks to EU support under Horizon 2020, the company is now hoping to tap into the medical food sector to the benefit of patients suffering from obesity, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimers or malnutrition.
	Biotech solutions offer greener plastic waste recovery By using bacteria to break down plastics, scientists hope to reduce environmental damage and boost business by opening up new opportunities in waste.

Biology news

	Prague zoo claims to have the longest salamander on Earth Prague Zoo says it likely has the longest Chinese giant salamander now on Earth.
	Scientists discover rare sea snakes, previously thought extinct, off Western Australia Scientists from James Cook University have discovered two critically endangered species of sea snakes, previously thought to be extinct, off the coast of Western Australia.
	DNA research offers clues on cell mutation A team of researchers from Colorado State University has been studying DNA damage in living cells to learn more about how genetic abnormalities arise. It has long been known that DNA molecules in every cell get constantly damaged by things from the outside environment, like sunlight, cigarette smoke and radiation. However, more recently researchers have discovered that sources from within the cell itself can sometimes be even more damaging.
	A horse of a different color: Genetics of camouflage and the Dun pattern Most horses today are treasured for their ability to run, work, or be ridden, but have lost their wild-type camouflage: pale hair with zebra-like dark stripes known as the Dun pattern. Now an international team of scientists has discovered what causes the Dun pattern and why it is lost in most horses. The results, published today in Nature Genetics, reveal a new mechanism of skin and hair biology, and provide new insight into horse domestication.
	A new twist in genetic switches: Theorists reveal new mechanism of gene regulation Rice University researchers have a new twist for those clinging to old ideas about a basic biological process.
Peering under the hood into the workings of molecular motors Understanding how tiny molecular motors called myosins use energy to fuel biological tasks like contracting muscles could lead to therapies for muscle diseases and cancers, says a team of researchers led by Penn State College of Medicine scientists.
	Study explains the worldwide variation in plant life-histories University of Exeter ecologist Dave Hodgson works with other academics to manage a plant database called COMPADRE that brings together demographic information about plant species. This database has been used to show plant life can be summarised into two variables: how fast the plant grows and its reproductive strategy.
	Wild bee decline threatens US crop production The first national study to map U.S. wild bees suggests they're disappearing in many of the country's most important farmlands—including California's Central Valley, the Midwest's corn belt, and the Mississippi River valley.
	The scientific benefits of Rudolph's red nose We're all familiar with the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert L. May (a class of 1926 Dartmouth alumnus) but scientifically speaking, what are the optical benefits of a shiny red nose on a foggy Christmas Eve?
	Mongolian dog tradition revived to protect sheep, leopards Through three decades of marriage, they have wandered together across the rolling hills of Mongolia's northern Tuv Province, accompanied by their herd of sheep and stalked by the wolves and snow leopards that threaten their livelihood.
	Italy prosecutors halt felling of olive trees in bacteria probe Italian prosecutors said Saturday they have blocked an EU order to axe thousands of olive trees affected by a deadly bacteria and placed 10 people tasked with tackling the disease under investigation.
	Researcher investigating navigation system of bogong moth An international team of researchers that includes Barrie Frost is hoping to unravel the mystery of how bogong moths navigate during their annual migration to and from caves in the Snowy Mountains of southeastern Australia. Millions of these night-flying moths, which are crucial to the survival of nearly every species in the Snowy Mountains, live in these caves during the summer months to escape the heat.
	A new fossil lace bug with unusual antennae joins the "big" club Have you ever seen a lace bug? Don't let their pretty name fool you—even though they're dainty as a doily, they're tough little bugs. You may have encountered lace bugs in your garden or on houseplants, since they're herbivorous sap-drinkers. Though they only feed on plants, their bite can sting!
	New Ashoka rice variety brings food security to millions Around a million smallholders and their families in east and west India are enjoying greater food security thanks to work by researchers at Bangor University in Wales.
NanoOK: Quality Control for portable, rapid, low-cost DNA sequencing Scientists at TGAC have been putting Oxford Nanopore's MinION sequencer through its paces with an open-source, sequence alignment-based genome analysis tool called 'NanoOK'.
	New research shows decline in population and breeding success of Antarctic seabird A fifty year study of the charismatic seabird, the southern giant petrel, on the Antarctic island of Signy shows its population has halved and its breeding success has declined in the last 10-20 years. The results by scientists at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are published this month in the journal Polar Biology online.
	A multitool for cells Cells have an infallible sense of smell that tells them which direction to grow in to move closer to the source of a scent. ETH researchers have now learned how this sense of smell works.
Cocooned wasp larvae jump to shaded areas to improve their survival Jumping is not about fun and games for insect larvae. They must do it to survive. This manoeuvre is all about finding a shady spot to develop in, according to researchers from Kyushu University in Japan, who led research into the jumping behavior of a minute parasitic wasp, published in Springer's journal The Science of Nature.
	Fish food for thought: New research affects catch limits What happens when a fisherman tosses a fish back overboard?
	How LED lighting treatments affect greenhouse tomato quality To satisfy increasing consumer demand for locally grown, fresh tomatoes during off-seasons, greenhouse tomato growers often need to rely on supplemental lighting. Tomato growers are looking to light-emitting diodes (LEDs), favored for their energy-saving potential, as an alternative to high-pressure sodium lamps (HPS) in greenhouse operations. A recent study offers new information about the feasibility of using LEDs in greenhouse tomato operations.
	African lions are 'endangered,' must be protected: US African lions are at risk of extinction and will be protected under US law as an endangered species, authorities declared Monday, months after a high-profile killing stoked global outrage.
Tentative agreement reached in dispute over endangered fish Wildlife advocates reached a tentative agreement with the U.S. government in a legal dispute over an endangered fish in the Yellowstone River along the Montana-North Dakota border.
Container-grown conifers benefit from irrigation based on daily water use Competition for limited water resources is challenging producers of container-grown nursery plants to investigate alternative irrigation strategies. One water-conserving method available to nurseries is scheduling irrigation in response to plants' daily water use (DWU), a technique that has been shown to reduce water applications between 6% and 75% without negatively impacting the growth of ornamental shrubs.
Best basil varieties for hydroponic greenhouse production As the popularity of fresh culinary herbs increases, growers are looking to year-round production methods to supply distributors and local consumers. In colder climates, culinary herb growers rely on controlled indoor environments and often employ hydroponic production techniques. A new study of basil varieties grown using two popular techniques found that plant performance is more likely related to the choice of cultivar than the type of hydroponic system used.

Medicine & Health news

	Intelligence 'networks' discovered in brain for the first time Scientists from Imperial College London have identified for the first time two clusters of genes linked to human intelligence.
	Epigenetic discovery suggests DNA modifications more diverse than previously thought The world of epigenetics—where molecular 'switches' attached to DNA turn genes on and off—has just got bigger with the discovery by a team of scientists from the University of Cambridge of a new type of epigenetic modification.
	Ending chronic pain with new drug therapy A brain region controlling whether we feel happy or sad, as well as addiction, is remodeled by chronic pain, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.
	Obesity more dangerous than lack of fitness, new study claims A new study, published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology, has dismissed the concept of 'fat but fit'. In contrast, the results from the new study suggest that the protective effects of high fitness against early death are reduced in obese people.
	New laptop program can identify drug resistance from bacterial genomes Scientists have developed an easy-to-use computer program that can quickly analyse bacterial DNA from a patient's infection and predict which antibiotics will work, and which will fail due to drug resistance. The software is currently being trialled in three UK hospitals to see whether it could help speed up diagnosis of drug-resistant infections and enable doctors to better target the prescription of antibiotics.
	Tumors hijack export pathway in cells to resist chemotherapy and fuel disease progression St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered how an aggressive tumor of the muscle and soft tissue hijacks an export pathway in cells to lay the groundwork for cancer progression and resistance to chemotherapy. The research appears today in the journal Science Advances.
	Understanding social impairments in autism Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich together with colleagues in Cologne and Zürich have used mathematical models to explain differences in social behaviour associated with autistic personality traits. They show that autistic traits do not – as previously thought – stop the individual from "reading" social cues, but instead affect how social information is used in making decisions. This new understanding provides a new basis for future research that will improve therapies for people with autism.
	Immune therapy drug results in prolonged survival in advanced lung cancer A Yale-led international study in patients with advanced non-small cell lung (NSCLC) cancer resistant to chemotherapy has found a promising weapon in an immune therapy drug commonly used to treat other cancers. The findings were published Dec. 19 in The Lancet and presented at the 2015 annual conference of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Singapore.
	Research unravels new interactions affecting TGF-beta pathway in humans Researchers from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have delineated novel molecular interactions affecting the activity of the TGF-β pathway, a key cancer pathway in humans affecting cancer progression.
	Researchers identify mutations causing butterfly-shaped eye pigment dystrophy A butterfly-shaped pigment accumulation in the macula of the eye, which can lead to severe vision loss in some patients, is due to mutations in the alpha-catenin 1 gene (CTNNA1), an international research consortium including a team from The Jackson Laboratory reports in Nature Genetics.
	Improving brain's garbage disposal may slow Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases A drug that boosts activity in the brain's "garbage disposal" system can decrease levels of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders and improve cognition in mice, a new study by neuroscientists at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has found. The study was published today in the online edition of Nature Medicine.
	New target for potential blood cancer treatment Mutations present in a blood cancer known as follicular lymphoma have revealed new molecular targets for potential treatments, according to researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) together with collaborators at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
	Scientists find genes that set into motion age-related macular degeneration In one of the latest examples of precision medicine, teams of geneticists from nine countries, involving more than 100 scientists, analyzed the genes of more than 33,000 individuals in the hope of finding genetic variations responsible for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss among people age 50 or older. Their research, involving complex computational analysis of more than 12 million genetic variations across the human genome, identified 52 variations associated with the disease. By identifying these genetic variations, spread across 34 gene regions, scientists are a step closer to developing diagnostics that identify which patients are at high risk for acquiring the disease and formulating therapeutics either to prevent or treat the disease caused by these genetic variations.
	Eyes turn into skin: How inflammation can change the fate of cells EPFL scientists have found that chronic inflammation can cause regenerating cells to grow into new, aberrant types; this is called metaplasia, and is a disorder linked to prolonged inflammation. The study highlights a new concept of chronic inflammation and could lead to better treatments.
	Modeling COPD and asthma in a human small airway-on-a-chip A research team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University leveraged its organ-on-a-chip technology to develop a model of the human small airway in which lung inflammatory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the third leading cause of mortality worldwide, and asthma can be studied outside the human body. As reported advanced online on December 21 in Nature Methods, the platform allows researchers to gain new insights into the disease mechanisms, identify novel biomarkers and test new drug candidates.
	Team IDs brain circuit involved in party drug's antidepressant effect At its best, the drug ketamine relieves depression within two hours and its beneficial effect on patients may last a week. At its worst, ketamine, the party drug "Special K," is addictive and may send recreational users into hallucinations and delusions. Some have experienced disorientation that they call the "K-hole."
	A new, multidisciplinary approach to classify cell types in the brain Despite its importance, scientists still do not understand all of the different cell types that make up the brain. A group of researchers from Baylor College of Medicine (Drs. Andreas and Kimberley Tolias' laboratories), the Karolinska Institutet (Dr. Rickard Sandberg's laboratory), and the University of Tübingen (Dr. Matthias Bethge's laboratory) have developed a novel technique that allows, for the first time, the anatomical and functional properties of single neurons to be directly linked to their gene expression profiles. Their findings, which can be found in the latest edition of Nature Biotechnology, may provide vital clues for understanding neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.
	Empathy with strangers can be learned We can learn to empathize with strangers. Surprisingly positive experiences with people from another group trigger a learning effect in the brain, which increases empathy. As researchers from the University of Zurich reveal, only a handful of positive learning experiences already suffice for a person to be-come more empathic.
	Confidence counts: Accuracy of eyewitness IDs increases with degree of certainty When it comes to accurately identifying a criminal suspect, it makes a difference how sure an eyewitness is, finds a study led by a memory expert at the University of California, San Diego. The American justice system should take note of eyewitness confidence, but only at the time of the initial identification and not at a later date in court. Working with victims and bystanders of actual robberies, the study also finds in favor of the traditional lineup procedure that presents suspects at the same time as known innocents, instead of individually.
	Circadian rhythm of genes in brain changes with aging Examination of thousands of genes from nearly 150 human brains shows the circadian rhythm of gene activity changes with aging, according to a first-of-its-kind study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings, published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest also that a novel biological clock begins ticking only in the older brain.
	High drowsy driving crash risk on daytime commute after night work Most drivers admit to driving while drowsy. Twenty-eight percent of drivers have reported falling asleep while driving within the past year. More than 9.5 million Americans, or 15 percent of the workforce, work overnight or rotating shifts. Those who commute home after working the night shift may be at high risk for drowsy driving crashes because of disruption to their sleep-wake cycles and insufficient sleep during the night.
Study finds that more than one-third of patients with metastatic cancer continue to work A new analysis indicates that many patients continue working after being diagnosed with metastatic cancer, but a heavy burden of symptoms may prevent them from doing so. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study illustrates the need to treat difficult symptoms so that patients can maintain their employment.
	Biochemical clues may predict who develops Alzheimer's disease—and who doesn't Investigators have wondered why the brains of some cognitively-intact elderly individuals have abundant pathology on autopsy or significant amyloid deposition on neuroimaging that are characteristic of Alzheimer disease (AD). Researchers reporting in The American Journal of Pathology investigated biochemical factors and identified differences in proteins from parietal cortex synapses between patients with and those without manifestation of dementia. Specifically, early-stage AD patients had elevated concentrations of synaptic soluble amyloid-β (Aβ) oligomers compared to controls who were not demented but displayed signs of AD pathology. Synapse-associated hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) levels did not increase until late-stage AD.
	Help your kids sleep in heavenly peace (HealthDay)—Changes in routine can shortchange children's sleep during the holidays, so a sleep medicine expert offers some advice for parents.
	Implantable collamer lens effective for correcting myopia (HealthDay)—Implantable collamer lens (ICL) implantation is effective for correcting myopia, according to a study published online Dec. 12 in Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology.
	Mindfulness practice cuts stress in low-income school children (HealthDay)—For low-income students at public schools, a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program can improve psychological functioning and moderate the negative effects of stress, according to a study published online Dec. 18 in Pediatrics.
	Large proportion of IBS patients are vitamin D deficient A large proportion of people living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) are vitamin D deficient, a new study has found.
Adults-sized adolescents need adult dosing to overcome vitamin D deficiency Adult-sized teens with vitamin D deficiency benefit from adult treatment dosages of vitamin D3, according to a new study from The Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) published today in The Journal of Pediatrics.
	Candy games stimulate appetite At least once a week, two thirds of all children of primary-school age will play an internet game that was created to draw attention to a brand. Most of these advertisements are for snacks and candy. Only 6% of these children are aware that such advergames are advertisements. In the meantime, such games do affect their behaviour, discovered Frans Folkvord, and if it were up to him they would be banned. Folkvord, a behavioural scientist at Radboud University, will be awarded a PhD for his work on 13 January 2016.
	Protein that boosts memory identified Increasing the level of a certain DNA-modified enzyme in the brain significantly improves cognitive ability. The discovery was made by the research team led by Prof. Dr. Hilmar Bading at the Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences of Heidelberg University. Mouse experiments showed that the Dnmt3a2 protein can boost memory performance in the animals. Because this protein also affects fear memory and the ability to erase bad memories, the researchers hope these findings can be used to develop new treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder and other forms of anxiety. The results of the research were published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
Study suggests that pelvic pain is associated with poorer mental health outcomes in women with endometriosis A new study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology has found that women who suffer from pelvic pain caused by endometriosis may need psychological intervention in order to help improve their mental health and quality of life.
	Targeted alpha therapy's potential to eliminate HIV-infected cells Targeted alpha therapy has the potential to selectively eliminate HIV infected cells from the central nervous system, according to a recent study co-authored by the JRC. The study shows that a specific human antibody labelled with the alpha emitter bismuth-213 can penetrate the blood brain barrier and selectively target and destroy HIV-infected cells while sparing non-infected healthy cells. These findings may open new options for the treatment of HIV associated neurocognitive disorders.
	Bowel deformity cleared as cause of developmental delays Children born with gastroschisis, where the bowel is outside of the abdomen at birth, develop normally neurologically and psychologically despite being exposed to risks linked to abnormalities.
The battle against the lingering, harmful residue that smoking leaves behind When cigarette smoke is blown into the environment, its chemical constituents don't just vanish into thin air. Residue from the smoke settles into, accumulates and is stored in the surrounding environment, such as upholstery, carpets, walls, clothing and curtains.
	Surprising findings in a study surrounding non-medical use of prescription drugs When Thomas Stewart and Mark Reed began analyzing data pertaining to non-medical use of prescription drugs, they had certain hypotheses. However, after months of careful analysis, many of their findings contradicted their original beliefs.
	What's the best way to treat women with stage 0 breast cancer? Active surveillance could be a viable alternative to surgery and radiation for select patients with ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS, according to a mathematical model developed by researchers at Duke University.
Women experiencing delay in labour willing to forsake their own birth plans A new study of women's experiences of delay in labour has revealed that many mums-to-be are prepared to abandon their antenatal plans for how they wanted their labours and births to be.
	Reduction of contrast medium volume and radiation dose in CTA scans Wouter Nijhof obtained his PhD at the University of Twente for the research he conducted in collaboration with the Radiology department at the Jeroen Bosch Hospital in 's-Hertogenbosch. The results of his PhD thesis can almost directly be applied in nearly every hospital. Dr Nijhof showed that a CTA scan (a scan of the arteries) can be performed with a contrast medium volume reduction of up to 75% and up to 50% reduction in radiation dose. CT scans using contrast medium are the third most common cause of acute renal failure and renal insufficiency as a result of hospital treatments. The health benefits that Nijhof's research can bring are therefore enormous.
	"Metal" drugs to fight cancer What is the mechanism of action of metal-based chemotherapy drugs (the most widely used for treating common cancers like testicular or ovarian cancer)? How can we improve their effect and reduce their toxicity? A new study combining experiments and theory has broadened our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of these active drugs to help experimentalists devising increasingly effective drugs with fewer side effects. The study, just published in the journal ChemMedChem, was conducted with the participation of International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) of Trieste.
	Should you tell your child the truth about Santa? A psychologist's view While most people agree that it is bad practice to lie to children, most parents will make an exception when it comes to Santa Claus, the roly-poly, white-bearded philanthropist who visits at this time of year with a sleighload of gifts.
	New mathematical models describe diffusion and metabolism dynamics in 3D tissues, stem cell-derived organoids New research has shed light on the complex interactions of stem cell function and molecular diffusion in neural tissue, which may explain many phenomena from stem cell differentiation to the formation of the cortex of the brain. While researching new methods of reconstructing 3D neural tissue and neural pathways in the brain and spinal cord, Dr. Richard McMurtrey devised new mathematical approaches for understanding the concentration of nutrients within the 3D tissue constructs and how this could affect tissue growth.
	For low-risk pregnancies home births do not increase risk of complications For women with low-risk pregnancies who plan to give birth at home with the help of a midwife, there is no increased risk of harm to the baby, compared with a planned hospital visit, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
	Chances of good outcome after stroke reduced by delays in restoring blood flow Delays in restoring blood flow after a stroke were associated with decreased benefits of intra-arterial clot-busting treatment and reduced chances for a good outcome, according to an article published online by JAMA Neurology.
Low blood flow in back of brain increases risk of recurrent stroke Patients who have had a stroke in the back of the brain are at greater risk of having another within two years if blood flow to the region is diminished, according to results of a multicenter study led by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago. These stroke patients are the most likely to benefit from risky intervention to unblock arteries, and they can be identified using a new MRI-based technology developed at UIC. The findings are published in the journal JAMA Neurology.
Timing of end-of-life discussions for patients with blood cancers A majority of hematologic oncologists report that end-of-life (EOL) discussions happen with patients with blood cancers too late, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.
	How graphic photos on cigarette packs help smokers consider quitting A new study is the first to provide real-world evidence of the effectiveness of smoking warning labels that include graphic photos of the damage caused by regular tobacco use.
Battling obesity epidemic: New look at 'fat tax' Small price differences at the point of purchase can be highly effective in shifting consumer demand from high calorie to healthier low calorie alternatives, according to a study in the Articles in Advance section of Marketing Science, a journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).
Study finds hypertension-related visits to emergency rooms on rise in US The number and percentage of patients treated at emergency departments for hypertension are on the rise across the United States, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published recently in the American Journal of Cardiology.
	Overeating and depressed? Team finds connection—and maybe a solution Chronic overeating and stress are tied to an increased risk of depression and anxiety, and in a new study, Yale researchers explain why that happens and suggest a possible solution.
Survey shows email between patients and physicians improves health A third of patients with chronic conditions who exchanged secure emails with their doctors said that these communications improved their overall health, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in the American Journal of Managed Care.
	Brain differences in premature babies who later develop autism Extremely premature babies run a much higher risk of developing autism in later childhood, and even during the neonate period differences are seen in the brains of those who do. This according to a new study by researchers from Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden. The findings, which are published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, suggest that environmental factors can lead to autism
	Immune suppressor cells identified for advanced prostate cancer Immune suppressor cells called MDSCs (myeloid-derived suppressor cells) may be important in developing treatments for advanced prostate cancer, according to a study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Team demonstrates cost-effectiveness of Watchman device The WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device is more cost-effective than warfarin and non-warfarin oral anticoagulants (NOACs) for stroke reduction in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, according to a study led by Vivek Reddy, MD, Director of Cardiac Arrhythmia Services for The Mount Sinai Hospital and the Mount Sinai Health System, and published online and in the December 22 issue of the Journal of American College of Cardiology (JACC), the world's leading peer-reviewed journal on cardiovascular disease.
	FDA eases restrictions on blood donations from gay men The nation's three-decade-old ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men was formally lifted Monday, but major restrictions will continue to limit who can give blood.
	Americans growing more concerned about head injuries in football (HealthDay)—As the National Football League continues to struggle with the health risks posed by concussions, a new HealthDay/Harris Poll finds that vast majorities of Americans say football teams need to do more to protect their players from head injuries.
	Protein-protein interaction activates and fuels leukemia cell growth Building upon previous research, scientists at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Moores Cancer report that a protein called Wnt5a acts on a pair of tumor-surface proteins, called ROR1 and ROR2, to accelerate the proliferation and spread of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells, the most common form of blood cancer in adults.
A call to regulate starvation of 'Paris thin' models Prohibiting runway models from participating in fashion shows or photo shoots if they are dangerously thin would go a long way toward preventing serious health problems among young women—including anorexia nervosa and death from starvation—according to experts from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
	Vitamin A quells severity of preemie GI disease in mice After observing that some gastrointestinal disease in premature human and mouse infants progresses only when certain immune system white blood cells go into inflammatory overdrive, Johns Hopkins researchers have found that giving large doses of vitamin A to mice converts those blood cells into inflammation suppressors and reduces the severity of the disease, compared to untreated mice.
Economic opportunity may have a significant effect on health behaviors and risks A new study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has found evidence that economic opportunity - the prospect that individuals may be able to improve their economic status - may have important effects on the health of a community. In an American Journal of Public Health report that has been published online, the researchers found that mortality rates were higher and that risk factors like obesity and smoking and the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes were greater in areas with the lowest levels of economic opportunity, based on a nationwide database.
'Pill mill' crackdown linked to fewer painkiller overdose deaths in Florida A crackdown on Florida's "pill mills" - clinics dispensing large quantities of prescription painkillers often for cash-only and without proper medical examinations - appears to have dramatically reduced the number of overdose deaths in the state from these drugs and may have also led to a drop in heroin overdose deaths, new research suggests.
	Mothers-to-be and babies benefit from group prenatal care, study finds Group prenatal care can substantially improve health outcomes for both mothers and their infants, a new study led by the Yale School of Public Health has found.
	Medical first: Discovery of warning symptoms for usually fatal heart rhythm malfunction More than half of patients who have a sudden cardiac arrest ignore symptoms occurring up to a month prior to the usually fatal heart rhythm malfunction even though medical intervention potentially could save their lives, according to new research published by the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Almost three-quarters of weekend emergency care caseload linked to booze Almost three quarters of the weekend emergency care caseload is linked to excess alcohol intake, finds an activity analysis of one large inner city hospital in England, and published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.
Researchers find heart attack patients not always receiving lowest-risk care More than 375,000 American each year experience a heart attack, during which blood flow to a part of the heart is impeded by blocked arteries. Physicians often treat patients with stents, which prop open the arteries to allow blood to flow again. They use two approaches to place stents: transradial, or entry of the catheter which delivers the stent through the wrist, or transfemoral, in which the catheter is placed through the groin. In a comparison of bleeding complications and mortality between the two approaches, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that those at risk for more bleeding were often treated with a riskier procedure - the transfemoral approach - a demonstration of the so-called risk-treatment paradox. The findings, from the largest study of its kind, are detailed in this week's Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions.
	Pay-for-performance to PCPs may improve disease management (HealthDay)—Pay-for-performance (P4P) measures have an overall positive effect on disease management, according to a review published online Dec. 12 in the Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine.
	Daily spirometry can give early warning of pneumonia in AML (HealthDay)—For patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), patient-performed daily spirometry (forced expiratory volume in one second [FEV1]) is effective for early identification of pneumonia, according to a study published online Dec. 10 in the American Journal of Hematology.
	Cryotherapy plus imiquimod active in cutaneous melanoma mets (HealthDay)—Cryotherapy combined with topical imiquimod 5 percent is an active treatment for locoregional cutaneous metastases of melanoma (LCMM), according to research published online Dec. 12 in the Journal of Dermatology.
	Risk of unsatisfactory spine Sx outcome up with workers' comp (HealthDay)—Patients undergoing spine surgery with workers' compensation (WC) have increased risk of an unsatisfactory outcome, according to a meta-analysis published in the Dec. 1 issue of The Spine Journal.
	Intra-pancreatic triacylglycerol drops with weight loss in T2DM (HealthDay)—The weight loss-associated decrease in intra-pancreatic triacylglycerol which occurs after gastric bypass is specific to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), according to a study published online Dec. 1 in Diabetes Care.
	Living happily in a material world: Material purchases can bring happiness With holiday shopping season in full swing, everyone's looking for the perfect gift. For those who like to shop, there's good news: Material things can bring happiness. In a recent study from the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, researchers have shown that material purchases, from sweaters to skateboards, provide more frequent happiness over time, whereas experiential purchases, like a trip to the zoo, provide more intense happiness on individual occasions.
	Wired for gaming: Brain differences in compulsive video game players Brain scans from nearly 200 adolescent boys provide evidence that the brains of compulsive video game players are wired differently. Chronic video game play is associated with hyperconnectivity between several pairs of brain networks. Some of the changes are predicted to help game players respond to new information. Other changes are associated with distractibility and poor impulse control. The research, a collaboration between the University of Utah School of Medicine, and Chung-Ang University in South Korea, was published online in Addiction Biology on Dec. 21, 2015.
CDC reports more recent outbreak of E. coli cases The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is investigating a more recent batch of E. coli cases linked to Chipotle, and that it does not know yet if they are linked to a larger outbreak that began in October.
	Parent touch, play and support in childhood vital to well-being as an adult Did you receive affection, play freely and feel supported in childhood? Childhood experiences like these appear to have a lot to do with well-being and moral capacities in adulthood.
San Francisco hospital suspends kidney donations after death UCSF Medical Center has voluntarily suspended its living donor program for kidney transplants after a living donor died last month.
Periodontal disease associated with increased breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women Postmenopausal women with periodontal disease were more likely to develop breast cancer than women who did not have the chronic inflammatory disease. A history of smoking significantly affected the women's risk.
	Work begins on the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Programme Academics from the University of Bristol recently began work on the English Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Programme, commissioned by Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) on behalf of NHS England. This is the world's first national review of deaths of people with learning disabilities.
	Tips to help older relatives and friends enjoy the holiday season The festive season can provoke positive and negative feelings in people of all ages, but can pose particular challenges for some older people, a University of Queensland expert has warned.
	Making health information easier to understand How best to present research information about treatments to patients the public is being explored by researchers at the University of Aberdeen.
	Ten-year-old concussed patient participates in research to identify biomarkers in mild traumatic brain injuries Lewis Rand, an active 10-year-old, suffered a mild traumatic brain injury Oct. 20 during soccer practice when he fell, hitting his head on a metal post.
Afatinib a better choice for EGFR-mutated lung cancer in first-line treatment Patients with EGFR-activating mutations in advanced lung cancer seem to benefit more from afatinib than gefitinib as first-line treatment, researchers report at the first ESMO Asia 2015 Congress in Singapore.
	US approval for bleeding disorder drug "VONVENDI [von Willebrand factor (Recombinant)]", the new drug from Baxalta Incorporated, a global biopharmaceutical company recently spun off from Baxter International, has just been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. It is the first, and so far the only, recombinant protein for the treatment of von Willebrand disease, and offers those affected a new therapeutic option for the first time in more than 10 years.
American College of Cardiology broadens mobile clinical app collection The American College of Cardiology has launched a new STS/ACC TAVR In-Hospital Mortality Risk App and an extensively overhauled the ACC AnticoagEvaluator App, bolstering its expansive Clinical App Collection. With these new and improved apps, the ACC continues to diversify the clinical content and decision support it offers clinicians in the mobile space.

Other Sciences news

	Best of Last Week – Confirming the majorana particle, a new earthrise image and forgetting so that you can learn (ScienceX)—It was another good week for physics as a NIMS MANA team in China took a major step toward confirming the existence of the majorana particle—a fermion that is equivalent to its own antiparticle and which could play a major role in the development of a true quantum computer. Also a team working at LUX, the underground facility in North Dakota, offered new results from the world's most sensitive dark matter detector—they still have not yet detected dark matter, but they report that they have improved the sensitivity of their instruments by a factor of 20.
	Year in Review—The most important research of 2015: August (ScienceX)—In this new monthly series, we are offering summary articles featuring links to some of the most interesting, intriguing or popular stories that appeared on ScienceX throughout 2015. This is the August 2015 edition.
	King Tut's wet nurse may have been his sister: expert An archaeologist said Sunday that Maia, Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun's wet nurse, may have actually been his sister Meritaten, reviving speculation about the identity of the mother of the boy king.
	How to apply game theory to buying your Christmas presents According to Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, if someone is buying you a Christmas gift then the "essence of the custom is that I now have to go out and purchase for you a gift of commensurate value and representing the same perceived level of friendship as that represented by the gift you've given me".
	New research shows same growth rate for farming, non-farming prehistoric people Prehistoric human populations of hunter-gatherers in a region of North America grew at the same rate as farming societies in Europe, according to a new radiocarbon analysis involving researchers from the University of Wyoming and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Lifting crude oil ban means lower gasoline prices Lifting the ban on crude oil exports will reduce gasoline prices in the United States, according to an analysis co-written by Charles Mason, the H.A. True Chair in Petroleum and Natural Gas Economics at the University of Wyoming.
	Paid family leave more enticing for dads, but not a game-changer Recent headlines suggest that it is becoming more common for men to take advantage of paid parental leave options, but University of Virginia professor Christopher Ruhm has found that it's a little more complicated than that.
	Facebook stalking your ex can become addictive – and hurt you in the long run It's been shown that the use of social media comes with pros and cons: increased social connection and enhanced commitment in relationships, but also increased depression and decline in well-being.
	Connections aren't conversations – while technology enables, it can also interfere A prisoner was in the US was recently released after 44 years of incarceration for the attempted murder of a police officer. Emerging onto the streets of New York City, Otis Johnson, now 69, found himself bewildered by the world before him. Seeing people apparently talking to themselves on the street, futuristic headphones dangling from their ears, reminded him of CIA agents. People barely paid attention to their surroundings, and instead studied their smartphones while crossing the street, engrossed in their own personal bubbles.
	Do Ofsted inspections leave parents at the periphery? Guidelines for Ofsted inspectors brought in this September mean that school inspectors are no longer judging schools and school leaders on how their engagement with parents impacts on the achievements of older children.
	Researchers pinpoint child-pedestrian behaviors that lead to auto accidents "Look both ways before you cross the street" may be sage advice, but it is also apparently necessary for children as old as 13, according to a new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers, who have pinpointed many of the behaviors that lead to child pedestrians being hit by cars.
	Protecting a few students from negative stereotypes benefits entire classroom Interventions targeted at individual students can improve the classroom environment and trigger a second wave of benefits for all classmates, new research shows. The findings, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, indicate that sharing a classroom with greater numbers of students who participate in a brief intervention can boost all students' grades over and above the initial benefits of the intervention.
	Religion and politics led to social tension and conflict, then and now: study Humans haven't learned much in more than 2,000 years when it comes to religion and politics.
	More than half of New Jerseyans trust polls, but most question their accuracy While discussion and controversy surround polling's role in the race to the White House in 2016, New Jerseyans still have some faith in the public opinion polling process, according to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll. Fifty percent trust polls a fair amount and another 4 percent, a great deal. On the other hand, 36 percent do not trust polls very much, and 9 percent do not trust them at all.
New study tests three-step intervention to increase faculty gender diversity in STEM Workforce homogeneity limits creativity, discovery, and job satisfaction; nonetheless, eighty-one percent of US science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) university faculty members are men.
	Contract to manage federal nuke lab up for grabs after 2017 The $2 billion contract to manage one of the federal government's premier nuclear weapons laboratories will be up for grabs after 2017.

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