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A ground-breaking new study has succeeded in compiling an atlas of genetic factors associated with estimated bone mineral density (BMD), one of the most clinically relevant factors in diagnosing osteoporosis. The paper identifies 518 genome-wide loci, of which 301 are newly discovered, that explain 20 percent of the genetic variance associated with osteoporosis. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2ArPVow

For the first time, engineers have demonstrated an electronic device to closely monitor beating heart cells without affecting their behavior. A collaboration between the University of Tokyo, Tokyo Women's Medical University and RIKEN in Japan produced a functional sample of heart cells with a soft nanomesh sensor in direct contact with the tissue. This device could aid study of other cells, organs and medicines. It also paves the way for future embedded medical devices. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2SviVTl

Chemotherapy is an effective treatment for breast cancer, yet some patients develop metastasis in spite of it. Researchers have now discovered that chemotherapy-treated mammary tumors produce small vesicles that may help them spread to other organs. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2ThgELE

A new neurostimulator can listen to and stimulate electric current in the brain at the same time, potentially delivering fine-tuned treatments to patients with diseases like epilepsy and Parkinson's. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2CJWMLS

Researchers have recorded, for the first time, quantum coherence of a graphene-based superconducting qubit, meaning how long it stays in superposition to compute with two logical states simultaneously. The work is a key step forward for practical quantum computing. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2TkC22v

Researchers have developed a metamaterial that can transport sound in unusually robust ways along its edges and localize it at its corners. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2CKcV3U

For decades, scientists studying the visual system thought that individual brain cells, called neurons, operate as filters. Some neurons would prefer coarse details of the visual scene and ignore fine details, while others would do the opposite. Every neuron was thought to do its own filtering. A new study reveals that the same neurons that prefer coarse details could change to prefer finer details under different conditions. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2TkqJYf

Scientists have issued a 'call to action' to use big data to tackle longstanding questions about plant diversity and evolution and forecast how plant life will fare on an increasingly human-dominated planet. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2CJWNPW

Using observations from the ALMA radio observatory in Chile, researchers have observed, for the first time, a warped disk around an infant protostar that formed just several tens of thousands of years ago. This implies that the misalignment of planetary orbits in many planetary systems -- including our own -- may be caused by distortions in the planet-forming disk early in their existence. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2ThF73e

By enticing away the repressors dampening unexpressed, silent genes in Streptomyces bacteria, researchers at the have unlocked several large gene clusters for new natural products. Since many antibiotics, anti-cancer agents and other drugs have been derived from genes readily expressed in Streptomyces, the researchers hope that unsilencing genes that have not previously been expressed in the lab will yield additional candidates in the search for new antimicrobial drugs. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2TkFPNm

Scientists have used a combination of mathematical modeling, electrophysiology, and computer simulations to explain how cells communicate effectively in highly constricted spaces such as the olfactory cilia, where odor detection takes place. The findings will inform future studies of cellular signaling and communication in the olfactory system and also in other confined spaces of the nervous system. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2CIV3pL

A significant new study shows that cannabis potency has doubled across Europe in the past 11 years. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2BXWcIr

The law requires Internet companies to store locals' data in Vietnam and hand over user information if the government asks for it, among other contentious provisions. (Image credit: Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images) from Technology : NPR https://n.pr/2BUiqLH

Big mainstream consumer brands, which have owned our cupboards and closets, face a turning point: a time to evolve or wither. The Internet and the echoes of the recession have changed us as shoppers. (Image credit: sorbetto/Getty Images) from Technology : NPR https://n.pr/2R5eyli

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past Ultima Thule in the early hours of New Year's Day, ushering in the era of exploration from the enigmatic Kuiper Belt, a region of primordial objects that holds keys to understanding the origins of the solar system. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2VnTdCc

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Don't forget to tune in to ESPN tonight for the Allstate Sugar Bowl to see Saint John's University junior quarterback Jackson Erdmann (Rosemount, Minn.) honored during halftime as a member of the 22-man Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team. from Saint John's University Athletics http://bit.ly/2GMCDsf

The brother of a US citizen arrested for spying in Moscow says he was attending a wedding. from BBC News - US & Canada https://bbc.in/2EY6CLA

Signals from Nasa probe confirm it survived flyby of Ultima Thule, most distant object ever explored in Solar System from BBC News - US & Canada https://bbc.in/2s1zQ4n

Only hours from completing a historic flyby of Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69, nicknamed Ultima Thule, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is on course and ready to gather scientific data on the small object's geology, composition, atmosphere and more. Closest approach takes place in the early morning hours of New Year's Day -- 12:33 a.m. EST -- marking the event as the most distant exploration of worlds ever completed by humankind. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/2BONIDq

Early in 2019, China hopes to land a rover — the first soft landing on the moon's far side. The mission is exploratory, and will lay groundwork for a trip by Chinese astronauts to the lunar surface. (Image credit: NASA/Goddard) from Technology : NPR https://n.pr/2Suxnet

Officers in Kentucky tweeted their misery after a fire destroyed a Krispy Kreme doughnut truck. from BBC News - US & Canada https://bbc.in/2Tn9S77

Strategic Command, which oversees US nuclear weapons, tweeted that it was "ready to drop something". from BBC News - US & Canada https://bbc.in/2sbzFUp

A new study finds that the cardiovascular impact of smoking takes longer to be reversed than once thought. When giving up tobacco, sooner is preferable. from Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs News From Medical News Today http://bit.ly/2SsvZsE via