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Lunar Body Tide: For The First Time We Can See How Earth Impacts The Moon

Lunar Body Tide: For The First Time We Can See How Earth Impacts The Moon

You can't seeit from here, but the moon is lopsided; that's because of its gravitational tug-of-war with Earth.
The mutual pulling of the two bodies is powerful enough to stretch them both and they wind up shaped a little like two eggs with their ends pointing toward one another. On Earth, the tension has an especially strong effect on the oceans, because water moves so freely. The moon is the driving force behind tides. 
For the first time, scientists can see the moon's lopsided shape and how it changes under Earth's sway – a response not seen from orbit before. Because orbiting spacecraft gathered the data, the scientists were able to take the entire moon into account, not just the side that can be observed from Earth. 

'Free Will' Can Be Altered Through Brain Stimulation

'Free Will' Can Be Altered Through Brain Stimulation

How much free will do you really have? Hypnosis is silly and there is no "Manchurian Candidate" scenario happening any time soon, but we're all inductance when you get right down to it. And that could be a future path in neuroscience.
A study Current Biology writes of a causal link between activity in the ventral tegmental area and choice behavior in primates; when electrical pulses are applied to the ventral tegmental area of their brain, macaques presented with two images change their preference from one image to the other. 

Melanoma Of The Eye Caused By 2 Gene Mutations

Melanoma Of The Eye Caused By 2 Gene Mutations

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a therapeutic target for treating the most common form of eye cancer in adults. They have also, in experiments with mice, been able to slow eye tumor growth with an existing FDA-approved drug.
The findings are published online in the May 29 issue of the journal Cancer Cell.
"The beauty of our study is its simplicity," said Kun-Liang Guan, PhD, professor of pharmacology at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center and co-author of the study. "The genetics of this cancer are very simple and our results have clear implications for therapeutic treatments for the disease."

At Work, Being Bullied Is Better Than Being Ignored

At Work, Being Bullied Is Better Than Being Ignored

Many people, regardless of occupation, have experienced a difficult boss or annoying co-workers. It might even be harassment or bullying.
It's still better than being ignored, according to a paper in Organization Science. University of British Columbia scholars contend that while most consider ostracism less harmful than bullying, feeling excluded is significantly more likely to lead job dissatisfaction, quitting and health problems.
"We've been taught that ignoring someone is socially preferable--if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all," says Professor Sandra Robinson, who co-authored the paper. "But ostracism actually leads people to feel more helpless, like they're not worthy of any attention at all." 

Stress Degrades Sperm Quality

Stress Degrades Sperm Quality

Psychological stress is harmful to sperm and semen quality, affecting its concentration, appearance, and ability to fertilize an egg, according to a study led by researchers Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Rutgers School of Public Health. Results are published online in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, infertility affects men and women equally, and semen quality is a key indicator of male fertility.

Why Would An 18-Year-Old Who Never Smoked Get Lung Cancer? The Answer

Why Would An 18-Year-Old Who Never Smoked Get Lung Cancer? The Answer

In the pop culture world of mainstream media, magic bullets are common. Every week there is a new miracle vegetable and then the following work there will be scare journalism about some chemical.In the world of magic bullets, smoking causes lung cancer. Yet science knows that a risk factor is not genetic determinism. If lung cancer among non-smokers were itemized separately from smokers, it would be in the top 10 killers all on its own, and shockingly few smokers get lung cancer compared to the hundred million who are smoking just in America.

DVDs Implicated In Global Warming: Billions Of Kg Of CO2

DVDs Implicated In Global Warming: Billions Of Kg Of CO2

Do you prefer to own a DVD, rather than wondering if Netflix will remove whatever show you wanted to watch this week? If you buy or rent, rather than streaming, you are contributing to billions of tons of carbon going into the atmosphere.

Fat Is The New Normal: Nearly One-third Of The World's Population Is Overweight

Fat Is The New Normal: Nearly One-third Of The World's Population Is Overweight

2.1 billion people, nearly 30% of the world's population, are overweight, according to a new analysis of data from 188 countries. 
In 1980, the world was still worried about doomsday prophets and a population bomb that would lead to mass starvation, wars over food, and a world government to mandate abortion; instead, agricultural science has grown so much more food that many poor people can afford to eat like royalty and get fat.
Cheap, plentiful food is a win for the world but now we have a major public health epidemic in both the developed and the developing world. 

Tiny Mutation Triggers Drug Resistance For Patients With One Type Of Leukemia

Tiny Mutation Triggers Drug Resistance For Patients With One Type Of Leukemia

A multi-institutional team of researchers has pinpointed exactly what goes wrong when chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients develop resistance to ibrutinib, a highly effective, precisely targeted anti-cancer drug. In a correspondence published online May 28 in the New England Journal of Medicine, they show how the mutation triggers resistance. Their finding could guide development of new agents to treat drug-resistant disease.
Ibrutinib received accelerated approval from the Food and Drug Administration for use in chronic lymphocytic leukemia in February. It has revolutionized treatment, transforming CLL from a deadly disease to a chronic one. But about eight percent of patients develop resistance to this lifesaving drug.