Science
How Schizophrenia Develops: Major Clues Discovered
We know that something happens during brain development that contributes to schizophrenia. A glitch in the process that turns genes on and off in the brain -- a specific "epigenetic" flaw -- appears to be part of the problem. Read more…
Novel Gate Dielectric Materials: Perfection Is Not Enough
For the first time theoretical modeling has provided a glimpse into how promising dielectric materials are able to trap charges, something which may affect the performance of advanced electronic devices. Read more…
Some Athletic Men May Risk Low Bone Density
According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, osteoporosis affects more than 2 million men in the United States and nearly 12 million more have osteopenia -- clinically significant low bone density that is less severe than osteoporosis. Now, a new study has found that men engaging predominantly in low-impact forms of exercise have an increased incidence of osteopenia -- a condition resulting in two times the risk of bone fracture. Read more…
Computer Simulator Allows Visually-impaired To Drive
Scientists have created a device which improves the vision of sight-impaired patients. This reconfigurable platform, which can be updated via the Internet, is especially useful for pathologies that can lead to blindness, such as macular degeneration, cataracts, etc. Read more…
Science Casts Doubt On Famous British Murder Case
Ninety-seven years after an American was hanged in London in one of the most notorious and famous murder cases in British history, forensic science is producing evidence that his execution was a mistake. Dr. Hawley Crippen was hanged for murdering his showgirl wife. Read more…
Heaviest Stellar Black Hole Discovered In Nearby Galaxy
Astronomers have located the most massive stellar black hole ever found. The black hole is part of a binary system in M33, a nearby galaxy about 3 million light years from Earth. This new finding offers intriguing implications for the evolution and ultimate fate of massive stars. Read more…
Gene Defects Could Be New Cause Of Male Infertility
Scientists have identified a gene crucial to the final step of the formation of a functional sperm cell. That final step -- called spermiogenesis -- entails the compaction of DNA into a tight ball within the head of the sperm so it can successfully penetrate an egg. Mice engineered to lack the crucial gene, Jhdm2a, that triggers this process did not produce many mature sperm, and those they did produce had abnormally shaped heads and immotile tails. Read more…
Growing More Rice With Less Water
Twenty years after its discovery in the forested mountains of Vietnam, local authorities here have agreed to establish new nature reserves to protect a critically endangered wild ox. Found only in the Annamite Mountains of Vietnam and Laos, the saola was discovered in 1992 by a team of scientists from the Vietnamese Ministry of Forestry and WWF; the first large mammal to be discovered anywhere in the world since 1936. Read more…
Is The Spleen Able To Prohibit Tumor Cell Proliferation?
Primary and metastatic tumors of the spleen are described as unusual, excluding involvement by lymphoma. Indeed, isolated splenic metastasis from colorectal carcinoma is not a common occurrence. Its rareness has been hypothetically explained by several characteristics of the spleen, such as anatomical, histological and immunological features. Read more…
Gold Nanorods Shed Light On New Approach To Fighting Cancer
Researchers have shown how tiny 'nanorods' of gold can be triggered by a laser beam to blast holes in the membranes of tumor cells, setting in motion a complex biochemical mechanism that leads to a tumor cell's self-destruction. Read more…
