Theoretical physicist Moumita Maiti and colleagues at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore, India, have now implemented an algorithm for analysing void space in sphere packing, where the spheres need not all be the same size. This method, about to be published in EPJ E, could be applied to analyse the geometry of liquids present between multi-sized spheres that are akin to a model for porous material. This provides a tool for studying the flow of such fluids through porous material. More importantly, it can also be used to study the ...

Coral reefs are predicted to decline under the pressure of global warming. However, a number of coral species can survive at seawater temperatures even higher than predicted for the tropics during the next century. How they survive, while most species cannot, is being investigated by researchers at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS) and New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). We tend to associate coral reefs with tropical seas of around 28 degrees, where even slight warming can have devastating effects on corals. But in the Arabian/Persian Gulf, corals ...

January 31, 2013 - At the HiPEAC 2013 conference in Berlin, KALRAY demonstrated MPPA256, the world's first supercomputer-on-a-chip, consisting of 256 computing cores. This innovative processor combines the ultimate in several processor types and will enable a whole new class of embedded and industrial applications in the fields of image processing, signal processing, control, communications and data security. The MPPA256 is completely designed in Europe and is only one of the success stories resulting from the 170 million Euro investment in carefully selected European funded ...

A new way of growing graphene without the defects that weaken it and prevent electrons from flowing freely within it could open the way to large-scale manufacturing of graphene-based devices with applications in fields such as electronics, energy, and healthcare. A team led by Oxford University scientists has overcome a key problem of growing graphene – a one atom-thick layer of carbon – when using an established technique called chemical vapour deposition, that the tiny flakes of graphene form with random orientations, leaving defects or 'seams' between flakes that ...

Washington, DC, February 1, 2013 – There is general agreement among hospital infection preventionists (IPs) with respect to which practices have weak or strong evidence supporting their use to prevent healthcare-associated infection, according to a new study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). Furthermore, IPs with certification in infection prevention and control (CIC®) are two to three times more likely to perceive the ...

Boston - A study by researchers at the Institute for Aging Research (IFAR) at Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School (HMS), has found that dairy intake —specifically milk and yogurt —is associated with higher bone mineral density (BMD) in the hip, but not the spine. Cream, on the other hand, may be associated with lower BMD overall. Published today in the journal Archives of Osteoporosis, these findings suggest that not all dairy products are equally beneficial in promoting bone strength. "Dairy foods provide several important nutrients that are beneficial ...

Philadelphia, PA, February 1, 2013 – Poor impulse control contributes to one's inability to control the consumption of rewarding substances, like food, alcohol, and other drugs. This can lead to the development of addiction. FDA-approved medications for alcoholism, like naltrexone (Revia) and disulfiram (Antabuse), are thought to reduce alcohol consumption by curbing cravings and creating unpleasant reactions to alcohol, effects which reduce the desire to drink alcohol. New medications, however, might target the uncontrollable urges to consume drugs of abuse. The idea ...

In a project that began with the retinal cells of nocturnal animals and has led to fundamental insights into the organization of genomic DNA, researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich show how the nuclear envelope affects nuclear architecture - and gene regulation. The double-stranded DNA molecules that make up the genetic material are wrapped around protein complexes to form compacted "chromatin". The active portion of the genome is less densely packed, and thus more easily accessible, than the inactive fraction, and is referred to as euchromatin. ...

We've all heard examples of animal altruism: Dogs caring for orphaned kittens, chimps sharing food or dolphins nudging injured mates to the surface. Now, a study led by the University of Colorado Boulder suggests some plants are altruistic too. The researchers looked at corn, in which each fertilized seed contained two "siblings" -- an embryo and a corresponding bit of tissue known as endosperm that feeds the embryo as the seed grows, said CU-Boulder Professor Pamela Diggle. They compared the growth and behavior of the embryos and endosperm in seeds sharing the same mother ...

Highlights African Americans and individuals without private health insurance are less likely to receive a kidney transplant before needing dialysis. Geographic region is not a major factor in determining whether a patient receives a kidney transplant before starting dialysis. Nearly 90,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for a kidney transplant, and many will die before a suitable organ becomes available. Washington, DC (January 31, 2013) — African-Americans and individuals without private health insurance are less likely than others to receive a kidney transplant ...

People having an ischemic stroke should receive clot-dissolving therapy – if appropriate -- within 60 minutes of arriving at the hospital, according to new American Stroke Association guidelines published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. Ischemic stroke, which accounts for nine in 10 strokes, is caused by a blood clot in the arteries leading to the brain. Calling 9-1-1 immediately after recognizing any of the warning signs of stroke -- and getting to a stroke center as fast as possible -- are still the most important steps for optimal stroke care. During ...

A relatively inexpensive program set up to combat river blindness, an infectious disease, has resulted in major health improvements in Africa, shows a study conducted by Erasmus University Medical Center researchers. The study, due to be published January 31 in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, shows that US$250 million helped cure or prevent blindness, skin disease, severe itching, and other symptoms in millions of people. In collaboration with the Management of the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC), the researchers calculated the health impact of APOC. Onchocerciasis, ...

DARIEN, IL – A new study found a high prevalence of sleep disorders and a startlingly high rate of short sleep duration among active duty military personnel. The study suggests the need for a cultural change toward appropriate sleep practices throughout the military. "While sleep deprivation is part of the military culture, the high prevalence of short sleep duration in military personnel with sleep disorders was surprising," said Vincent Mysliwiec, MD, the study's principal investigator, lead author and chief of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Madigan ...

SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 31, 2013 – University of Utah researchers decoded the genetic blueprint of the rock pigeon, unlocking secrets about pigeons' Middle East origins, feral pigeons' kinship with escaped racing birds, and how mutations give pigeons traits like a fancy feather hairdo known as a head crest. "Birds are a huge part of life on Earth, and we know surprisingly little about their genetics," especially compared with mammals and fish, says Michael D. Shapiro, one of the study's two principal authors and an assistant professor of biology at the University of ...

New York University physicists have developed a method for moving microscopic particles with the flick of a light switch. Their work, reported in the journal Science, relies on a blue light to prompt colloids to move and then assemble—much like birds flock and move together in flight. The method offers the potential to enhance the design of a range of industrial products, including the architecture of electronics. The study's authors were: Jeremie Palacci and Stefano Sacanna, post-doctoral fellows in NYU's Center for Soft Matter Research who devised the research; ...

Medical illustrators and neurological imaging experts at Johns Hopkins have figured out how night-hunting owls can almost fully rotate their heads - by as much as 270 degrees in either direction - without damaging the delicate blood vessels in their necks and heads, and without cutting off blood supply to their brains. In what may be the first use of angiography, CT scans and medical illustrations to examine the anatomy of a dozen of the big-eyed birds, the Johns Hopkins team, led by medical illustrator Fabian de Kok-Mercado, M.A., a recent graduate student in the Department ...

According to a Johns Hopkins earth scientist, the hole in the Antarctic ozone layer has caused changes in the way that waters in those southern oceans mix – a situation that has the potential to alter the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and eventually could have an impact on global climate change. In a paper published in this week's issue of the journal Science, Darryn W. Waugh and his team show that subtropical intermediate waters in the southern oceans have become "younger" as the upwelling, circumpolar waters have gotten "older" – changes that are consistent with ...

A genetically reprogrammed Herpes simplex virus (HSV) can cure metastatic diffusion of human cancer cells in the abdomen of laboratory mice, according to a new study published January 31 in the Open Access journal PLOS Pathogens. The paper reports on the collaborative research from scientists at the at the University of Bologna and specifically describes that the HSV converted into a therapeutic anticancer agent attacks breast and ovarian cancer metastases. Past decades have witnessed significant progress in the ability to treat numerous cancers by means of surgery, ...

Each intravenous drug user contracting Hepatitis C is likely to infect around 20 other people with the virus, half of these transmissions occurring in the first two years after the user is first infected, a new study estimates. The work, led by researchers from Oxford University, suggests that early diagnosis and treatment of Hepatitis C in intravenous drug users could prevent many transmissions by limiting the impact of these 'super-spreaders' (a highly infectious person who spreads a disease to many other people). Working out 'who has infected who' in fast-spreading ...

Cell division is serious business. Cells that divide incorrectly can lead to birth defects or set the stage for cancer. A new discovery from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has identified how two genes work together to make sure chromosomes are distributed properly when cells divide, providing new insights that could contribute to the future development of cancer treatments. In a paper published in the new issue of the journal Science, OMRF researchers Dean Dawson, Ph.D., and Regis Meyer, Ph.D., reveal how two genes—known as Ipl1 and Mps1—are integral to the ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Depletion of Antarctic ozone is a more important factor than increasing greenhouse gases in shifting the Southern Hemisphere jet stream in a southward direction, according to researchers at Penn State. "Previous research suggests that this southward shift in the jet stream has contributed to changes in ocean circulation patterns and precipitation patterns in the Southern Hemisphere, both of which can have important impacts on people's livelihoods," said Sukyoung Lee, professor of meteorology. According to Lee, based on modeling studies, both ...

New research has shown the presence of a disease affecting small blood vessels, known as microangiopathy, in the bone marrow of diabetic patients. While it is well known that microangiopathy is the cause of renal damage, blindness and heart attacks in patients with diabetes, this is the first time that a reduction of the smallest blood vessels has been shown in bone marrow, the tissue contained inside the bones and the main source of stem cells. These precious cells not only replace old blood cells but also exert an important reparative function after acute injuries ...

A process that normally occurs in developing embryos – the changing of one basic cell type into another – has also been suspected of playing a role in cancer metastasis. Now a study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center researchers has associated this process, called epithelial-mesenchymal transition or EMT, with disease progression and treatment response in breast cancer patients. The report also identifies underlying mechanisms that someday may become therapeutic targets. "Until now, EMT had only been modeled in experimental systems, but its clinical ...

Overdoses of opioid drugs are a major cause of emergency hospital admissions and preventable death in many countries. In Massachusetts, annual opioid-related overdose deaths have exceeded motor vehicle deaths since 2005, so several strategies have been introduced to tackle this growing problem. For example, overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) programs train drug users, their families and friends, and potential bystanders to prevent, recognize, and respond to opioid overdoses. OEND participants are trained to recognize signs of overdose, seek help, rescue ...

Medical school policies that restrict gifts to physicians from the pharmaceutical and device industries are becoming increasingly common, but the effect of such policies on physician prescribing behaviour after graduation into clinical practice is unknown. So a team of US researchers set out to examine whether attending a medical school with a gift restriction policy affected subsequent prescribing of three newly marketed psychotropic (stimulant, antidepressant, and antipsychotic) drugs. They identified 14 US medical schools with an active gift restriction policy ...