| Long Feared Extinct, Rare Bird Rediscovered
October 13, 2009 at 11:00 pm
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| Known to science only by two century-old specimens, a critically endangered crow has re-emerged on a remote, mountainous Indonesian island, thanks in part to a American ornithologist. The Banggai Crow will be listed now in the latest edition of an influential ornithology handbook. |
| Investigating Nanopillars: Silicon Brittle? Not This Kind!
October 13, 2009 at 11:00 pm
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| Silicon, the most important semiconductor material of all, is usually considered to be as brittle and breakable as window glass. On the nanometer scale, however, the substance exhibits very different properties, as Swiss researchers have shown by creating minute silicon pillars. If the diameters of the columns are made small enough, then under load they do not simply break off, as large pieces of silicon would, but they yield to the pressure and undergo plastic deformation, as a metal would. This discovery opens the way for completely new design techniques from a materials point of view for mechanical microsystems and in the watch industry. |
| Surgery Is An Option For Some Patients Hoping To Get A Good Night's Rest, Study Finds
October 13, 2009 at 11:00 pm
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| According to new research, a form of surgery called uvopalatopharyngoplasty is effective for treating certain patients who suffer from sleep apnea, one of the most common sleep disorders. |
| Nano Measurement In The Third Dimension
October 13, 2009 at 11:00 pm
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| From the motion sensor to the computer chip, in many products of daily life components are used whose functioning is based on smallest structures of the size of thousandths -- or even millionths -- of millimeters. These micro and nano structures must be manufactured and assembled with the highest precision so that in the end, the overall system will function smoothly. Scientists have now developed a metrological scanning probe microscope into a micro and nano coordinate measuring instrument. This now allows dimensional quantities with nanometer resolution also to be measured on three-dimensional objects in an extraordinarily large measurement range of 25 mm x 25 mm x 5 mm. |
| Teen Smoking-cessation Trial First To Achieve Significant Quit Rates
October 13, 2009 at 11:00 pm
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| For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that it is possible to successfully recruit and retain a large number of adolescent smokers from the general population into a smoking intervention study and, through personalized, proactive telephone counseling, significantly impact rates of six-month continuous quitting. |
| Like Humans, Monkeys Fall Into The 'Uncanny Valley'
October 13, 2009 at 8:00 pm
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| Researchers have come up with a new twist on the mysterious visual phenomenon experienced by humans known as the "uncanny valley." The scientists have found that monkeys sense it too. |
| SCID Kids Leading Healthy, Normal Lives 25 Years After 'Bubble Boy'
October 13, 2009 at 8:00 pm
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| Mention the words "bubble boy" and many will recall David Vetter, the kid with big eyes and a thick thatch of dark hair who died 25 years ago after spending almost the entire 12 years of his life in a germ-free, plastic bubble. David was born with severe combined immune deficiency, or SCID, a condition that robbed him of an immune system. Since David's death however, researchers have refined treatment options for children with SCID. |
| Obese Children At Significantly Greater Risk For Post-adenotonsillectomy Complications
October 13, 2009 at 8:00 pm
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| Obesity in children significantly increases the risk of major and minor respiratory complications following surgery to correct sleep disordered breathing, according to new research. |
| Intelligent Structural Elements: Support Frames, Adaptive Engine Hoods And More To Come
October 13, 2009 at 8:00 pm
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| Weather conditions such as wind and snow loads can cause failure and collapse of supporting structures in roofs and similar constructions. Based on new hybrid intelligent construction elements (HICE), researchers in Germany have developed a shell structure which is able to adapt to changing environmental conditions. In a further step, the scientists will now use their knowledge to develop machines from these new structural elements which will also be able to react to their environments and adapt to given conditions. |
| Healthy Neighborhoods May Be Associated With Lower Diabetes Risk
October 13, 2009 at 8:00 pm
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| Individuals living in neighborhoods conducive to physical activity and providing access to healthy foods may have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes in a five-year period, according to a new report. |
| Report Documents Risks Of Giant Invasive Snakes In The United States
October 13, 2009 at 5:00 pm
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| Five giant non-native snake species would pose high risks to the health of ecosystems in the United States should they become established here, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report. |
| Loss Of Tumor Supressor Gene Essential To Transforming Benign Nerve Tumors Into Cancers
October 13, 2009 at 5:00 pm
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| Researchers have shown for the first time that the loss or decreased expression of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN plays a central role in the malignant transformation of benign nerve tumors called neurofibromas into a malignant and extremely deadly form of sarcoma. |
| Investigation Of Contaminated Heparin Syringes Highlights Medication Safety Issues
October 13, 2009 at 5:00 pm
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| An outbreak of bloodstream infections appears to have been caused by the contamination of pre-filled heparin and saline syringes made by a single company, according to a new report. The subsequent investigation revealed that the company was not in compliance with safety regulations and identified challenges and areas for improvement in medication monitoring systems. |
| Opals Set To Shine With New Grading Technology
October 13, 2009 at 5:00 pm
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| Australian miners have unveiled the world's first automated device to grade opals using image analysis. |
| Declines In Other Thinking And Learning Skills May Precede Memory Loss In Alzheimer's Disease
October 13, 2009 at 5:00 pm
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| Cognitive abilities other than memory, including visuospatial skills needed to perceive relationships between objects, may decline years prior to a clinical diagnosis in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new report. |
| Asteroid Is Actually A Protoplanet, Study Of First High-resolution Images Of Pallas Confirms
October 13, 2009 at 2:00 pm
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| Pallas is in the gray area between a small asteroid and a planet, researchers report. Pallas lies in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars and is about the size of Arizona. |
| Investment In Parkinson's Disease Data Bank Yields Potential Therapy
October 13, 2009 at 2:00 pm
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| Individuals with Parkinson's disease who have higher levels of a metabolite called urate in their blood and in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have a slower rate of disease progression, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. A clinical trial is under way to examine the safety and potential benefits of supplemental urate elevation for recently diagnosed Parkinson's patients who have low urate levels. |
| Protective Role For Copper In Alzheimer's Disease
October 13, 2009 at 2:00 pm
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| New research has shown that there could be a protective role for copper in Alzheimer's disease. |
| People Who Work After Retiring Enjoy Better Health, According To National Study
October 13, 2009 at 2:00 pm
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| Retirees who transition from full-time work into a temporary or part-time job experience fewer major diseases and are able to function better day-to-day than people who stop working altogether, according to a national study. And the findings were significant even after controlling for people's physical and mental health before retirement. |
| First Neotropical Rainforest Was Home Of The Titanoboa -- World's Biggest Snake
October 13, 2009 at 11:00 am
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| Researchers working in Colombia's Cerrejón coal mine have unearthed the first megafossil evidence of a neotropical rainforest. Titanoboa, the world's biggest snake, lived in this forest 58 million years ago at temperatures 3-5 C warmer than in rainforests today, indicating that rainforests flourished during warm periods. |
| Live Recordings Of Cell Communication
October 13, 2009 at 11:00 am
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| A new advanced method for nano-scale imaging of vesicle-fusion could add to our understanding of diseases of the nervous system and viral infections. In the long term, this could be useful in developing a cure for neurological diseases and mental disorders (e.g. schizophrenia, depression, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease). |
| Parasite Growth Hormone Pushes Human Cells To Liver Cancer
October 13, 2009 at 11:00 am
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| Scientists have found that the human liver fluke (Opisthorchis viverrini) contributes to the development of bile duct (liver) cancer by secreting granulin, a growth hormone that is known to cause uncontrolled growth of cells. |
| Mystery About Proteins That Package The Genome Solved
October 13, 2009 at 11:00 am
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| Researchers have solved a century-old mystery about proteins that play a vital role in the transfer of the human genetic code from one cell to another. The discovery could lead to finding new ways to help the body fight a variety of diseases, including cancer. |
| Kraken Becomes First Academic Machine To Achieve Petaflop
October 13, 2009 at 8:00 am
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| The University of Tennessee's Kraken supercomputer was just upgraded to a peak performance exceeding one petaflop, making it the fastest system in the country managed by an academic institution and placing it among the five fastest systems in the world. |
| Sex In The Caribbean: Environmental Change Drives Evolutionary Change, Eventually
October 13, 2009 at 5:00 am
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| Hungry, sexual organisms replaced well-fed, clonal organisms in the Caribbean Sea as the Isthmus of Panama arose, separating the Caribbean from the Pacific, report researchers. The fossil record shows that if a species could shift from clonal to sexual reproduction it survived. Otherwise it was destined for extinction, millions of years later. |
| New Mobile Lab Allows Researchers To Study Air Quality, Health Effects
October 13, 2009 at 5:00 am
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| A new mobile air research laboratory will help a team of researchers better understand the damaging health effects of air pollution and why certain airborne particles -- emitted from industrial plants and vehicles -- induce disease and illness. |
| Image-guided Treatment For Deep Venous Thrombosis Could Improve Patients' Long-term Outcomes
October 13, 2009 at 5:00 am
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| Deep venous thrombosis is a serious condition that involves the formation of a blood clot inside of a deep vein usually in the legs. A patient with DVT is typically treated with anticoagulants (blood thinners); however, researchers have found that image-guided interventional radiology procedures may play a more central role in the long-term treatment of DVT, according to a new study. |
| Planning, Positivism Influence Employment Success At Different Stages
October 13, 2009 at 5:00 am
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| With America's unemployment rate higher than it has been in decades, many people find themselves looking for jobs. In a new study, researchers focus on what job seekers need to get ahead of the competition. The scientists found that certain planning activities and positive emotions have a large impact on success in finding a job. |
| Orangutans Unique In Movement Through Tree Tops
October 13, 2009 at 2:00 am
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| Scientists have found that orangutans move through the canopy of tropical forests in a completely different way to all other tree-dwelling primates. |
| Important Defence Against Stomach Ulcer Bacterium Identified
October 13, 2009 at 2:00 am
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| A special protein in the lining of the stomach has been shown to be an important part of the body's defence against the stomach ulcer bacterium Helicobacter pylori in a new study from researchers in Sweden. The discovery may explain why the bacterium makes some people more ill than others. | |
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