Scientists have identified a new way to stop the growth of lung cancer cells, by blocking their ability to use alternative sources of nutrition. The discovery was made possible by identifying the metabolic programs used by cancer cells to fuel their growth. The findings point to possible new avenues for treating lung cancer, which is the second most common cancer and accounts for over one-quarter of all cancer-related deaths. The results of the study were published Oct. 15 in the journal Molecular Cell.

An unprecedented analysis of North Pacific ocean circulation over the past 1.2 million years has found that sea ice formation in coastal regions is a key driver of deep ocean circulation, influencing climate on regional and global scales. Coastal sea ice formation takes place on relatively small scales, however, and is not captured well in global climate models, according to scientists at the

University of California, Santa Cruz, who conducted the study.

A paper on the new findings will be published in a future issue of the journal Paleoceanography and is currently available online.

Many humans like to start the day with a jolt of caffeine and it turns out bees do also.

They may even select caffeinated nectar over an uncaffeinated but otherwise equal alternative. As a result, researchers say, plants may be lacing their nectar with caffeine as a way to pass off cheaper goods.

"We describe a novel way in which some plants, through the action of a secondary compound like caffeine that is present in nectar, may be tricking the honey bee by securing loyal and faithful foraging and recruitment behaviors, perhaps without providing the best quality forage," says Margaret Couvillon of the University of Sussex.

Argonne National Laboratory this week released a pair of studies on the efficiency of shale oil production excavation and find that shale oil production generates greenhouse gas emissions at levels similar to traditional crude oil production. 

The research analyzed the Eagle Ford shale formation in Texas and the Bakken play mainly in North Dakota. These plays are shale formations with low permeability and must be hydraulically fractured to produce oil and gas. Eagle Ford and Bakken are the second and third largest oil producing shale formation regions in the United States during the last three years, accounting for 54 percent of oil production and 19 percent of gas production among the top seven production regions.

A paper in California Journal of Health Promotion by Washington State University Extension educator Jennifer Crawford claims that yoga, a religious movement which became a fitness fad in the United States, may help incarcerated fathers improve their parenting skills.

The work in Chelan County Regional Jail in Wenatchee took place over three years with 14 different groups of male inmates. The program was advertised among the jail population; volunteers, who had to be parents of young children and pass a security screening, were recruited.

Crawford found that inmates demonstrated being more aware and accepting of their vulnerability and responsiveness to children, among other benefits.

Using a sensitive new technology called single-cell RNA-seq on cells from mice, scientists have created the first high-resolution gene expression map of the newborn mouse inner ear. The findings provide new insight into how epithelial cells in the inner ear develop and differentiate into specialized cells that serve critical functions for hearing and maintaining balance. Understanding how these important cells form may provide a foundation for the potential development of cell-based therapies for treating hearing loss and balance disorders. The research was conducted by scientists at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Protected and intact forests have been lost at a rapid rate during the first 12 years of this century. According to researchers at Aalto University, Finland, 3% of the protected forest, 2.5% of the intact forest, and 1.5% of the protected intact forest in the world were lost during 2000 - 2012. These rates of forest loss are high compared to the total global forest loss of 5% for the same time period.

In Australia and Oceania, as well as North America, the loss in protected forests exceeded 5%. Worryingly, in parts of Africa, Central Asia, and Europe, the relative forest loss was higher inside protected areas than outside. However, in several countries of South America and Southeast Asia, protection was found to substantially prevent forest loss.

Researchers have developed a new lightweight and stretchable material with the consistency of memory foam that has potential for use in prosthetic body parts, artificial organs and soft robotics. The foam is unique because it can be formed and has connected pores that allow fluids to be pumped through it.

The polymer foam starts as a liquid that can be poured into a mold to create shapes, and because of the pathways for fluids, when air or liquid is pumped through it, the material moves and can change its length by 300 percent.

While applications for use inside the body require federal approval and testing, Cornell researchers are close to making prosthetic body parts with the so-called "elastomer foam."

Miss Georgia tripped in the final round of the 2015 Miss America Pageant and actress Jennifer Lawrence stumbled on her way to accept an Academy Award.

It has happened to all of us. And it happens to robots as well.

Researchers at Georgia Tech have identified a way to teach robots how to fall with grace and without serious damage. The work is important as costly robots become more common in manufacturing alongside humans. The skill becomes especially important, too, as robots are sought for health care or domestic tasks - working near the elderly, injured, children or pets.