Tuesday 25 June 2019

Lawyers pause plan to divide any national opioid settlement

State and local governments suing over the toll of a nationwide opioid crisis agree that companies in the drug industry should be held accountable, but they have differences on who should have the power to strike any settlement, and how it should work.

* This article was originally published here

De-escalating breast cancer therapy—can some patients be spared chemotherapy?

About one of every five breast cancers presents with high levels of HER2 proteins. Known as HER2-positive breast cancer, these tumors typically show an aggressive behavior—a greater likelihood of metastasis and relapse and decreased patient survival than HER2 negative types—and are physiologically dependent on the abundance of HER2. These findings prompted the question, if we take HER2 away from 'HER2-addicted' cancers, would cancer slow down?

* This article was originally published here

Increased walking activity associated with long-term health benefits

Short term pedometer-based walking interventions can have long-term health benefits for adults and older adults, according to new research published in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine on 25 June. Tess Harris and colleagues from St George's University of London, UK and other institutions, conducted two trials of walking interventions which aimed to increase step count and physical activity. Not only did the investigators see sustained increases in physical activity at 3-4 years in the intervention group participants, they also noted fewer cardiovascular events and fractures.

* This article was originally published here

US Fed to look 'carefully' at Facebook virtual coin Libra

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday the US central bank will be closely scrutinizing Facebook's newly announced cryptocurrency Libra with an eye toward potentially regulating the virtual coin.

* This article was originally published here

Microscopic glass blowing used to make tiny optical lenses

Inserting air into hot glass to form a bubble has been used to make glass objects since Roman times. In new work, researchers apply these same glass blowing principles on a microscopic scale to make specialized miniature cone-shaped lenses known as axicons.

* This article was originally published here

Report: Hackers using telecoms like 'global spy system'

An ambitious group of suspected state-backed hackers has been burrowing into telecommunications companies in order to spy on high-profile targets across the world, a U.S. cybersecurity firm said in a report published Tuesday .

* This article was originally published here

FedEx sues US government over export rules in Huawei case

A lawsuit filed by FedEx against the U.S. government over export rules follows a dispute over diverted shipments that were intended for Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecommunications-equipment giant.

* This article was originally published here

Experts want doctors to add vaping to youth prevention pitch

(HealthDay)—Doctors should add electronic cigarettes to their efforts to prevent young people from using tobacco, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says.

* This article was originally published here

Cryptocurrencies need close scrutiny, monitor warns

An international financial monitor warned world leaders Tuesday that wider use by retail shoppers of cryptocurrencies like Libra, unveiled last week by Facebook, would need "close scrutiny" by regulators.

* This article was originally published here

Puppy love: Choosing the perfect pooch poses challenges similar to dating

Psychologists at Indiana University who study how people pick their spouses have turned their attention to another important relationship: choosing a canine companion.

* This article was originally published here

Workers who are unpaid caregivers of older relatives struggle with unmet workplace needs

People who care for their elderly parents outside of their full-time jobs—and are unpaid for their help—experience considerable disruption of their workplace routines. Many are not getting employer support because it is not offered or because they do not feel able to use it, even if it is available, according to a Baylor University researcher.

* This article was originally published here

National emergency alerts potentially vulnerable to attack

On October 3, 2018, cell phones across the United States received a text message labeled "Presidential Alert." The message read: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed."

* This article was originally published here

Nissan shareholders to vote on governance overhaul

Nissan shareholders began a fractious annual meeting Tuesday to discuss revamping operations at the crisis-hit Japanese automaker after the Carlos Ghosn scandal, amid lingering tension with French partner Renault.

* This article was originally published here

Young women who smoke face highest risk of major heart attack

Smoking increases both men's and women's risk of a major heart attack at all ages, but women smokers have a significantly higher increased risk compared to men, especially women under 50 years old, according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Despite the increased risk, smokers can reduce their risk to that of a never smoker in as little as a month after quitting.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers explain visible light from 2-D lead halide perovskites

Researchers drew attention three years ago when they reported that a two-dimensional perovskite—a material with a specific crystal structure—composed of cesium, lead and bromine emitted a strong green light. Crystals that produce light on the green spectrum are desirable because green light, while valuable in itself, can also be relatively easily converted to other forms that emit blue or red light, making it especially important for optical applications ranging from light-emitting devices to sensitive diagnostic tools.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers identify new hunger pathway in the brain

A newly identified hunger pathway in the brain can quickly modify food intake in the presence of food, according to a study of mice published in JNeurosci. This pathway could be a future target for the treatment of eating disorders.

* This article was originally published here

Non-invasive, more precise preimplantation genetic test under development for IVF embryos

Selecting the best possible embryo to implant in a woman undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) is a complicated task. As success rates for IVF have improved, many clinics now implant a single embryo during an IVF cycle—with the goal of avoiding a multiple pregnancy—and the responsibility of selecting the embryo falls to the embryologist. To determine the quality and viability of an embryo, embryologists typically examine specific features of the embryos using a light microscope. In addition, specialists can use data from preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A), a test of whether cells from the embryo at the blastocyst stage have a normal or abnormal number of chromosomes. However, this crucial test carries the risk of false positives (which could lead to discarding a normal embryo) and false negatives (which could lead to transferring an embryo with a chromosomal abnormality).

* This article was originally published here