The Life Technology™ News Blog: 12/01/20

Tuesday, December 01, 2020

Cancer cells 'remove blindfold' to spread

Cancer cells spread by switching on and off abilities to sense their surroundings, move, hide and grow new tumors, a new study has found.

Cancer cells 'remove blindfold' to spread

Cancer cells spread by switching on and off abilities to sense their surroundings, move, hide and grow new tumors, a new study has found.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-cancer-cells-blindfold.html

Targets for avoidable sight loss 'not being met'

Public health services across the world are failing to meet targets to reduce avoidable sight loss, according to a new study published today (1 December) in The Lancet Global Health.

'Mum test' not enough to convince people to get the COVID-19 jab

The 'Mum test', invoked by England's deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan van- Tam, to reassure Britons of COVID-19 vaccine safety, won't be enough to convince people to get the jab, warns the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin.

Swallowing alcohol-based hand sanitizer can kill, warns analysis of coroners' reports

Swallowing alcohol-based hand sanitiser can kill, warns an analysis of two such deaths identified in coroners' reports, and published in the journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.

Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon surges to 12-year high

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon surged again over the past year, hitting a 12-year high, according to official figures released Monday that drew a chorus of condemnation of President Jair Bolsonaro's government.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-deforestation-brazilian-amazon-surges-year.html

Study: Students falling behind in math during pandemic

A disproportionately large number of poor and minority students were not in schools for assessments this fall, complicating efforts to measure the pandemic's effects on some of the most vulnerable students, a not-for-profit company that administers standardized testing said Tuesday.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-students-falling-math-pandemic.html

Zoom reports big 3Q gains, but slowing growth sinks stock

Zoom's videoconferencing service remains a fixture in pandemic life, but its breakneck growth is showing signs of tapering off as investors debate whether the company will be able to build upon its recent success after a vaccine enables people to intermingle again.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-big-3q-gains-growth-stock.html

Florida vet school uses novel approach to save seahorse

In February, Carol Benge of Chiefland, Florida, purchased a seahorse for her home aquarium as a reward for marking five years cancer-free.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-florida-vet-school-approach-seahorse.html

Tesla to be added to benchmark S&P 500 index in one stage

Tesla will be added to the benchmark S&P 500 index on a single day next month, rather than over two days as previously contemplated.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-tesla-added-benchmark-sp-index.html

Engineers combine light and sound to see underwater

Stanford University engineers have developed an airborne method for imaging underwater objects by combining light and sound to break through the seemingly impassable barrier at the interface of air and water.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-combine-underwater.html

Researchers offer new theory on 'Venus' figurines

One of world's earliest examples of art, the enigmatic 'Venus' figurines carved some 30,000 years ago, have intrigued and puzzled scientists for nearly two centuries. Now a researcher from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus believes he's gathered enough evidence to solve the mystery behind these curious totems.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-theory-venus-figurines.html

Zoom reports big 3Q gains, but slowing growth sinks stock

Florida vet school uses novel approach to save seahorse

In February, Carol Benge of Chiefland, Florida, purchased a seahorse for her home aquarium as a reward for marking five years cancer-free.

Tesla to be added to benchmark S&P 500 index in one stage

Tesla will be added to the benchmark S&P 500 index on a single day next month, rather than over two days as previously contemplated.

Football-loving states slow to enact youth concussion laws

States with college teams in strong conferences, in particular the Southeastern Conference (SEC), were among the last to take up regulations on youth concussions, according to a recent study. The study, which investigated the association between youth sport participation and passage of concussion legislation, uncovered the importance of SEC affiliation, and found a similar connection in states with high rates of high school football participation.

Engineers combine light and sound to see underwater

Researchers offer new theory on 'Venus' figurines

Cancer survivors at higher risk of hospitalization or dying from flu

Survivors from a wide range of cancers are more likely than people in the general population to be hospitalised or die from seasonal influenza even several years after their cancer diagnosis, according to new data published in EClinicalMedicine.

Lab results don't explain 'obesity paradox,' but bias may

Results of standard laboratory tests performed on adult outpatients to provide an overall picture of their health are fairly consistent between those with obesity and their leaner counterparts, investigators report.

Link found between drought and HIV among women in less-developed countries

Current research predicts that by 2025, 1,800 million people are expected to be living in countries or regions with insufficient water resources, and models show increased severity of droughts in years to come. Food insecurity and other consequences of droughts will become intensified, influencing disease vulnerabilities among populations in less-developed countries. New research from Kelly Austin, associate professor of sociology at Lehigh University, explores how droughts shape gender inequalities in the HIV burden, indirectly through increased food insecurity.

Flashy lizards are more attractive to mates and to predators

In the lizard world, flashy colors attract the interest of females looking for mates. But they can make colorful males desirable to other eyes, too—as lunch.

New device offers faster way to detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Bacterial infections have become one of the biggest health problems worldwide, and a recent study shows that COVID-19 patients have a much greater chance of acquiring secondary bacterial infections, which significantly increases the mortality rate.

Weak police, strong democracy: civic ritual and performative peace in contemporary Taiwan

It is conventional to believe that the police role in society centers on violence. A forthcoming article in the December issue of Current Anthropology explores that belief and shows how the weakness of police power can be treated as an index for the strength of democratic values institutionalized in the wider political environment.

Automatic deep-learning AI tool measures volume of cerebral ventricles on MRIs in children

Researchers from multiple institutions in North America have developed a fully automated, deep-learning (DL), artificial-intelligence clinical tool that can measure the volume of cerebral ventricles on magnetic resonance images (MRIs) in children within about 25 minutes. The ability to track ventricular volume over time in a clinical setting will prove invaluable in the treatment of children and adults with hydrocephalus. Details on the development of the tool and its validation are reported today in a new article, "Artificial intelligence for automatic cerebral ventricle segmentation and volume calculation: a clinical tool for the evaluation of pediatric hydrocephalus," by Jennifer L. Quon, MD, and colleagues, in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics .