PRESS RELEASE Date Released: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 Source: Alliant Techsystems ATK Will Webcast Conference Call on Its Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2007 Financial Results ATK (Alliant Techsystems), (NYSE: ATK) will webcast its investor conference call on fiscal year 2007-third quarter... Read more…
PRESS RELEASE Date Released: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 Source: Arianespace Arianespace looks to the future with its "services and solutions" approach to the space launch business Arianespace is ready to support the commercial satellite sector in 2007 and beyond with its "services and solutions"... Read more…
PRESS RELEASE Date Released: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 Source: Lockheed Martin Corporation Lockheed Martin Instrument on Latest NASA Sun Mission Sees First Light The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUVI) instrument -- designed and built at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory of the Lockheed... Read more…
PRESS RELEASE Date Released: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 Source: 30th Space Wing Vandenberg AFB Vandenberg successfully launches Delta II 12/18/2006-VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. Read more…
A University of Virginia neuroscientist has found that women under stress who hold their husbands' hands show signs of immediate relief, which can clearly be seen on their brain scans. "This is the first study of the neurological reactions to human touch in a threatening situation, and the first study to measure how the brain facilitates the health-enhancing properties of close social relationships," says Dr. James A. Coan. Read more…
With a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine are exploring whether fat stored around the heart accelerates the development of atherosclerosis. The study uses the latest tests, including computed tomography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging, to screen healthy men and women between the ages of 45 and 84 for early heart disease. Read more…
A new research report by The George Institute for International Health, in collaboration with Auckland City Hospital and the University of Auckland, has revealed a 40 percent decline in the number of deaths after stroke in the total population of Auckland, New Zealand over the past 25 years. Read more…
As an expanding body of work continues to confirm links between exercise and improved brain function in older adults, a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam suggests similar improvements among younger populations as well. Read more…
A team from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee has applied for a patent on their work to isolate, grow and identify a new and readily-available type of adult stem cell that is found in the bulge of hair follicles, and appears to have a potential for diversification similar to that of embryonic stem cells. Read more…
A Vanderbilt researcher has discovered that some stealthy mammals have been doing something heretofore thought impossible -- using the sense of smell under water. Read more…
Going to church might help you breathe easier. A new study by Temple University's Joanna Maselko, Sc.D., found that religious activity may protect and maintain pulmonary health in the elderly. Read more…
The decomposition of plant, animal and microbial material in soil and water produces a variety of complex organic molecules, collectively called natural organic matter. These compounds play many important roles in the environment. Read more…
For millennia anglers have wondered how fish see colors, and the rainbow of lures in every bait shop reveal that we're still guessing. But, in fish, reptiles and birds, that's all we can do for now, according to husband and wife vision researchers, Drs. Jay and Maureen Neitz at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Read more…
Researchers will reconstruct the process of evolution, determine relationships between species and build phylogenetic trees with greater accuracy thanks to new method for identifying extremely short strings of inverted nucleotides called "micro-inversions." This new work from researchers at UC-San Diego and Brown University will appear in the online version of PNAS on Dec. 18, 2006. Read more…
A key enzyme that cuts short our cellular lifespan in an effort to thwart cancer has now been linked to body mass. Until now, scientists believed that our relatively long lifespans controlled the expression of telomerase -- an enzyme that can lengthen the lives of cells, but can also increase the rate of cancer. Read more…
A fascinating new study in the January/February 2007 issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology looks at the benefits of huddling vs. solitude, comparing strategies used by striped skunks to get through long, cold winters in northern climates. While most male skunks den underground alone during the winter, a group of female skunks will often snuggle together with one male in communal dens. Read more…
To avoid pain associated with whiplash injury, safety considerations in cars could go beyond seat belts and airbags to examine the position of the driver and passenger head restraints, according to research at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. The study was conducted at the VA Medical Center in Milwaukee, a major teaching affiliate of the college. Read more…
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Center for Micronutrient Research at Annamalai University in India report that the consumption of milk fortified with specific micronutrients -- zinc, iron, selenium, copper, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E -- significantly reduces diarrhea and acute lower respiratory illness among children in developing countries. Read more…
Kenneth M. Olsen, Ph.D., a plant evolutionary biologist at Washington University in St. Louis, has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) at $1.12 million for two years to perform genetic studies on red rice -- a nuisance weed resembling cultivated rice -- to understand molecular differences between the two that someday could provide the basis for a plan to eradicate the weed. Read more…
Preliminary research suggests that whole-body PET and CT scans could provide a suitable method for diagnosing the stage of colorectal cancer, according to a study in the Dec. 6 issue of JAMA. Read more…
According to the "Strange Matter Hypothesis," which gained popularity in the paranormal 1980's, nuclear matter, too, can be strange. The hypothesis suggests that small conglomerations of quarks, the infinitesimally tiny particles that attract by a strong nuclear force to form neutrons and protons in atoms, are the true ground state of matter. The theory has captivated particle physicists worldwide, including one of Washington University's own. Read more…
A George Institute road safety study has revealed an alarmingly high rate of mobile phone use amongst Australian drivers. Read more…
The discovery of a DNA marker for two key rust resistance genes is enabling plant breeders around the world to breed more effective rust resistant wheat varieties. The genes, Lr34 and Yr18, are inherited together and provide wheat plants with improved protection against leaf rust and stripe rust -- two major diseases of wheat in Australia and worldwide. Read more…
Researchers at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report that MK-0457 (VX-680), a novel multi-kinase inhibitor, is clinically active against multiple target mutations in two types of leukemia and myeloproliferative disorders, and produces few side effects for patients. Read more…
Why do we forget? Do memories decay on their own, or are they harmed by interference from similar memories? Using a technique called "transcranial magnetic stimulation" (TMS), brain researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison may have found the answer. Read more…
