When it comes to an immune response against HIV, research funded by the Wellcome Trust in the UK and the National Institutes of Health in the US has found that bigger is not necessarily better, contrary to conventional medical wisdom. The research may have a profound impact on the development of a vaccine against the disease. Read more…
No one weapon in the food-safety arsenal will take out E. coli 0157:H7, a nasty little pathogen that's becoming far too familiar to Americans, say University of Illinois scientists Scott Martin and Hao Feng. And they should know because they work on this problem in their labs every day. The food science professors work with ozone, high-intensity ultrasound, electrolyzed water, irradiation, and temperature, and they say no treatment singlehandedly can reduce the number of pathogens sufficiently to meet the standards set by the FDA. Read more…
Scientists in Austria are reporting detection of previously unrecognized proteins that accumulate on the surface of silicone breast implants after implants are in the body. Georg Wick and colleagues say that the proteins may be involved in causing immune reactions in patients from breast implants and other types of silicone implants. Read more…
The global mean surface temperature in 2006 is currently estimated to be + 0.42°C above the 1961-1990 annual average (14°C/57.2°F), according to the records maintained by members of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The year 2006 is currently estimated to be the sixth warmest year on record. Since the start of the 20th century, the global average surface temperature has risen approximately 0.7°C. Read more…
By studying the genetics of two closely related species of green algae that practice different forms of sexual reproduction, researchers have shed light on one route by which evolution gave rise to reproduction though the joining of distinct sperm and egg cells. Read more…
Psychosocial stimulation in early childhood has long term benefits for stunted children's emotional outcomes and attention, finds a 16-year study published online by the British Medical Journal. Growth retardation or stunting affects 30 percent of children under 5 years globally and is associated with poor development and behavioral problems in late adolescence. Some studies suggest that psychosocial stimulation in early childhood reduces antisocial behavior and delinquency in adolescence, but evidence is limited. Read more…
Rice University physicist Michael Deem is taking zeolite design into the 21st Century using a combination of supercomputers at the University of Texas at Austin and disused computing cycles from more than 4,300 idling desktop PCs at Purdue University to create a database containing more than 3.4 million atomic formulations of the porous silicate minerals. Zeolites -- there are 50-odd naturally occurring ones and about 180 synthetics -- are heavily used by chemical manufacturers. Read more…
Neurobiologists have discovered why the aging brain produces progressively fewer new nerve cells in its learning and memory center. The scientists said the finding, made in rodents, refutes current ideas on how long crucial "progenitor" stem cells persist in the aging brain. Read more…
Russet Burbank's long reign as top potato for French fry production in the United States may be in jeopardy after scientists have muted the genes that left Russet Ranger undesirable for French fries. Read more…
Although online virtual experiences may improve a consumer's knowledge of a product, the marketing tactic can backfire by creating a false sense of what the product's real capabilites are, says a University of Washington professor of marketing. Read more…
Inspired by the sleek and efficient propulsion of squid, jellyfish and other cephalopods, a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher has designed a new generation of compact vortex generators that could make it easier for scientists to maneuver and dock underwater vehicles at low speeds and with greater precision. Read more…
A new study suggests that a program focusing on increasing step length and speed is more effective at improving mobility and balance than tai chi. While tai chi -- a Chinese martial art form consisting of slow, rotational movements and weight-shifting -- offers many benefits, the researchers say, they're not as great as those produced by a balance-training program. Read more…
In a study that marks progress in understanding the basis of coral reef recovery, researchers have revealed the critical importance of a rare batfish, Platax pinnatus, in promoting the return to health of a disturbed coral reef overgrown with algae. The findings bring to light a previously unrecognized role for the batfish species, which had not been considered a significant player in reef recovery after overfishing. Read more…
Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Iowa, recently presented results of a Phase II clinical study indicating that an oral drug, tipifarnib, can stall or reverse disease progression for patients with relapsed aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Read more…
USC computer scientists have found a cheap, quick and copyright-respecting way to turn existing print brain atlases into multimedia resources. The software, now available in an experimental beta version for free download, is a robust and user-friendly interface that works on all the most popular computer operating systems. Read more…
The Assisted Reproduction Unit at the Quir?n Hospital in Donostia-San Sebasti?n has managed, for the first time in the Basque Country, to successfully carry out an embryonic sex selection in a woman who is a carrier of the disease Retinosis Pigmentaria, linked with the X chromosome -- in order to avoid giving birth to a male child. Read more…
High-resolution observations from Hubble have shed light on the real mass of a star previously believed to be amongst the heaviest known in our Milky Way. Originally, the mass of the star was thought to be an incredible 200-300 solar masses, but turned out to be only 100 solar masses. Read more…
Fortune has an interesting feature about futuristic green buildings that behave more like an ecosystem than an environmentally-unfriendly steel fortress. Buildings consume 40 percent of our energy and can have life spans longer than humans. Because we live, work and associate with others in buildings, they form part of the fabric of human life-and thus have an enormous effect not only on the quality of individual lives but also on the state of the earth. In the pages that follow, we have configured a structure that is not just kind to nature; it actually imitates nature. Imagine a building that makes oxygen, distills water, produces energy, changes with the seasons-and is beautiful. In effect, that building is like a tree, standing in a city that is like a forest. The article describes multiple aspects of these futuristic buildings including solar power, productive workspaces, recycling waste and heating and cooling. These green buildings are very much unlike the skyscrapers of today. Read more…
A small tsunami generated by yesterday's 8.3 earthquake near the Kuril Islands generated no damage in Japan or Hawaii. Thousands of people living along northern Japan's Pacific coast fled to higher ground Wednesday after a powerful undersea earthquake prompted tsunami warnings as far away as Alaska. Waves generated by the quake hit Hawaii hours later without causing problems, officials said. The 8.1-magnitude quake struck an area claimed by both Russia and Japan, but the waves near Japan did not swell higher than 23 inches. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Six hours later, tsunami waves up to nearly 4-feet high caused by the quake crashed into Hawaii's shores, civil defense officials said. However, the tsunami was larger in Crescent City Harbor, California (near the Oregon border) where two docks were destroyed. In Crescent City -- about 20 miles south of Oregon's state line -- harbor workers noticed a fast-moving current around mid-afternoon that harbor master Richard Young described as a "river within the ocean." As the surge rushed out of the harbor, workers noticed that two floating docks in the inner basin were destroyed, Young said. Another surge followed, severely damaging a third dock, he said. The harbor can accommodate up to 200 boats up to 75 feet long. No injuries were reported, and the surge did not sink any boats. But several vessels attached to the destroyed docks bobbed away from their anchorage and likely received dings and possibly greater damages, the harbor master said. Young said the replacement costs of the docks could range from $300,000 to $700,000. Another article said six foots waves caused "extensive damage" to the Crescent City Harbor. Read more…
The Guardian reports that NASA is drawing up plans to land an astronaut on an asteroid -- the same thing Bruce Willis did in the film Armageddon. To save the day, Nasa now plans to go where only Bruce Willis has gone before. The US space agency is drawing up plans to land an astronaut on an asteroid hurtling through space at more than 30,000 mph. It wants to know whether humans could master techniques needed to deflect such a doomsday object when it is eventually identified. The proposals are at an early stage, and a spacecraft needed just to send an astronaut that far into space exists only on the drawing board, but they are deadly serious. A smallish asteroid called Apophis has already been identified as a possible threat to Earth in 2036. Chris McKay of the Nasa Johnson Space Centre in Houston told the website Space.com: "There's a lot of public resonance with the notion that Nasa ought to be doing something about killer asteroids ... to be able to send serious equipment to an asteroid. "The public wants us to have mastered the problem of dealing with asteroids. So being able to have astronauts go out there and sort of poke one with a stick would be scientifically valuable as well as demonstrate human capabilities." A 1bn tonne asteroid just 1km across striking the Earth at a 45 degree angle could generate the equivalent of a 50,000 megatonne thermonuclear explosion. Attempting to break it up with an atomic warhead might only generate thousands of smaller objects on a similar course, which could have time to reform. Scientists agree the best approach, given enough warning, would be to gently nudge the object into a safer orbit. Learning how to nudge the incoming asteroid away is very important because experts believe it is inevitable that we will face this frightening scenario. A near miss, when asteroid QW7 came within 4m km of Earth in September 2000, led Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik to declare: "It's not a case of if we will be hit, it is a question of when. Each of us is 750 times more likely to be killed by an asteroid than to win this weekend's lottery." Astronomers are constantly monitoring for potential asteroid threats. They have already spotted one potential threat called Apophis. It would serve us well to have a working plan in place years before Apophis or a similar asteroid gets close enough to start making everyone nervous. Read more…
Scientists have discovered a dramatic variation in the genetic make-up of humans that could lead to a fundamental reappraisal of what causes incurable diseases and could provide a greater understanding of mankind. The discovery has astonished scientists studying the human genome - the genetic recipe of man. Until now it was believed the variation between people was due largely to differences in the sequences of the individual " letters" of the genome. It now appears much of the variation is explained instead by people having multiple copies of some key genes that make up the human genome. The findings mean people could be much more different than previously thought which probably explains why drugs that do well for some people do not work at all for others or even make them sicker. Scientists still don't know many multiples of a gene a person may carry. The findings mean that instead of humanity being 99.9 per cent identical, as previously believed, we are at least 10 times more different between one another than once thought - which could explain why some people are prone to serious diseases. The studies published today have found that instead of having just two copies of each gene - one from each parent - people can carry many copies, but just how many can vary between one person and the next. The article says it means we are only 96% similar to the chimpanzee instead of 99% as was previously thought. The article also includes a helpful FAQ that includes this information about how we may be only 99% similar to other humans instead of 99.9% as was previously thought. That is a considerable difference. What have scientists discovered today? They have found that each of us is more different genetically than we previously believed. Instead of being 99.9 per cent identical, it may turn out to be more like 99 per cent identical - enough of a difference to explain many variations in human traits. Instead of having just two copies of every gene - one from each parent - we have some genes that are multiplied several times. Furthermore these "multiple copy numbers" differ from one person to another, which could explain human physical and even mental variation. The scientists involved in the amazing discovery are hopeful it will eventually lead to breakthroughs in treating different diseases. Read more…
SPACE.com - HOUSTON -- Seven shuttle astronauts will say their orbital goodbyes to the three-person crew of the International Space Station (ISS) after a busy week of construction aboard the high-flying laboratory. Read more…
AP - The shuttle Discovery backed away from the international space station and started a two-day journey home after its crew bade farewell to the residents of the orbiting outpost and left behind U.S. astronaut Suni Williams for a six-month stay. Read more…
About eight years ago, I lived in a large bungalow in the plantation I was working in. It had several rooms, all with attached bathrooms, and had a large hall and dining area. The house was also equipped with all the latest electronic gadgets. Read more…
AFP - French and Chinese paleontologists have identified the fossil of a two-headed reptile from a species that lived in what is now China nearly 150 million years ago. Read more…
