(Press-News.org) The U.S. Department of Energy's costs for securing its facilities that house nuclear weapons and material have increased from $550 million in 2002 to around $930 million in 2010. UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING RISK IN SECURITY SYSTEMS FOR THE DOE NUCLEAR WEAPONS COMPLEX, a congressionally requested report from the National Research Council, examines whether risk-based approaches, including probabilistic risk assessment, could be used to improve methods for determining security requirements at these facilities.
###Advance copies of the report will be available to reporters only beginning at 10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, March 24. The report is embargoed and not for public release before 5 p.m. EDT March 24. Reporters can obtain a copy by contacting the National Academies' Office of News and Public Information at tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu.
Risk-based approaches to security at DOE nuclear weapons facilities -- new report
2011-03-24
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Research brings habitat models into the future
2011-03-24
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Time marches on, and thanks to Michigan State University research, models of wildlife habitat now can monitor changes over time more accurately and more easily.
"Monitoring and projecting future changes are essential for sustainable management of coupled human and natural systems, including wildlife habitat," said Jianguo "Jack" Liu, Rachel Carson Chair in Sustainability at MSU. "Innovative computer models are urgently needed for effective monitoring and projection."
Mao-Ning Tuanmu, doctoral student in MSU's Center for Systems Integration and ...
Prostate cancer spreads to bones by overtaking the home of blood stem cells
2011-03-24
ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Like bad neighbors who decide to go wreck another community, prostate and breast cancer usually recur in the bone, according to a new University of Michigan study.
Now, U-M researchers believe they know why. Prostate cancer cells specifically target and eventually overrun the bone marrow niche, a specialized area for hematopoietic stem cells, which make red and white blood cells, said Russell Taichman, professor at the U-M School of Dentistry and senior author of the study.
Once in the niche, the cancer cells stay dormant and when they become active ...
Molecular muscle: Small parts of a big protein play key roles in building tissues
2011-03-24
BETHESDA, Md., March 24, 2011 – We all know the adage: A little bit of a good thing can go a long way. Now researchers in London are reporting that might also be true for a large protein associated with wound healing.
The team at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology at Imperial College reports in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that a protein generated when the body is under stress, such as in cases of physical trauma or disease, can affect how the protective housing that surrounds each cell develops. What's more, they say, tiny pieces of that protein may one day ...
Does belief in free will lead to action?
2011-03-24
Free will may be an illusion. Yet we persist in believing we are the masters of our fates—and that belief affects how we act. Think you determine the course of your life and you're likely to work harder toward your goals and feel better about yourself too. Think you don't, and you're likelier to behave in ways that fulfill that prophesy.
"Folk psychology tells us if you feel in control, you perform better," says Davide Rigoni, an experimental psychologist now at the University of Marseille. "What is crucial is that these effects are present at a very basic motor level, ...
Earning its stripes
2011-03-24
WORCESTER, Mass. – Looking at the dark stripes on the tiny zebrafish you might not expect that they hold a potentially important clue for discovering a treatment for the deadly skin disease melanoma. Yet melanocytes, the same cells that are are responsible for the pigmentation of zebrafish stripes and for human skin color, are also where melanoma originates. Craig Ceol, PhD, assistant professor of molecular medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and collaborators at several institutions, used zebrafish to identify a new gene responsible for promoting ...
New way to detect epileptic seizures
2011-03-24
This press release is available in French. Montreal, March 23, 2011 – Researchers at Concordia University have pioneered a computer-based method to detect epileptic seizures as they occur – a new technique that may open a window on the brain's electrical activity. Their paper, "A Novel Morphology-Based Classifier for Automatic Detection of Epileptic Seizures," presented at the annual meeting of the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, documents the very successful application of this new seizure-detection method.
An epileptic seizure, which is caused by disruptions ...
UCSB scientists get glimpse of how the 'code' of life may have emerged
2011-03-24
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– A portion of the "code" of life has been unraveled by a UC Santa Barbara graduate student from the town of Jojutla, Mexico.
Annia Rodriguez worked with John Perona, professor in UCSB's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, to decipher intramolecular communication within a large RNA-protein enzyme responsible for expressing the genetic code for the amino acid glutamine.
To their surprise, the experiments by Rodriguez captured a partial glimpse of how the genetic coding of life may have emerged. The results of the study are published in ...
Staten Island Dentist Creates Smiles All Over The World
2011-03-24
For his generous heart and giving spirit, Dr. Frederick S. Hecht, of Staten Island Dental Care was the recipient of the 2011 Humanitarian Dentist of the Year Award at the Crown Council 16th Annual Event in Phoenix, Arizona on February 5th.
The Frances Hammond Humanitarian Award recognizes an individual, who, in the spirit of Frances Hammond, has shown a commitment to the humanitarian ideals she so lovingly gave in a lifetime of service to others.
Dr. Ron Arndt says: "Dr. Hecht is this rather robust, outspoken, often imposing and loud man's outside persona. But just ...
UC research produces novel sensor with improved detection selectivity
2011-03-24
A highly sensitive sensor that combines a variety of testing means (electrochemistry, spectroscopy and selective partitioning) into one device has been developed at the University of Cincinnati. It's already been tested in a variety of settings – including testing for components in nuclear waste.
The sensor is unusual in that most sensors only have one or two modes of selectivity, while this sensor has three. In practical terms, that means the UC sensor has three different ways to find and identify a compound of interest. That's important because settings like a nuclear ...
First French bulldog with sex reversal identified in Spain
2011-03-24
Tana, a female French bulldog, was brought to a veterinary centre for her first vaccination. Specialists there were alerted by the size of her clitoris, which was "larger than normal", and they started to carry out tests. These revealed the first ever genetic alteration ever detected in the reproductive system of this breed – the female puppy had cryptorchid testicles (outside the scrotum).
Genetic alteration of the reproductive system or sexual reversal "has been described in many species, such as goats, pigs, horses and even human beings", Marcos Campos, lead author ...