CORVALLIS, Ore. – Electrical engineers at Oregon State University have developed new technology to monitor medical vital signs, with sophisticated sensors so small and cheap they could fit onto a bandage, be manufactured in high volumes and cost less than a quarter. A patent is being processed for the monitoring system and it's now ready for clinical trials, researchers say. When commercialized, it could be used as a disposable electronic sensor, with many potential applications due to its powerful performance, small size, and low cost. Heart monitoring is one obvious ...

Magnetotactic bacteria, like Magnetospirillum magneticum, have evolved cellular processes that allow them to take up iron molecules to produce magnetic nanocrystals like magnetite. Since they were first discovered and isolated in 1975 by Robert Blakemore, scientists continue to be fascinated by these unique bacteria, whether as a means to isolate biogenic magnetite or to understand the evolutionary advantages of producing these minerals. A new video-article in JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments) details a procedure to purify and enrich samples of magnetotactic bacteria ...

Last March, researchers at UCLA reported the development of a molecular compound called CLR01 that prevented toxic proteins associated with Parkinson's disease from binding together and killing the brain's neurons. Building on those findings, they have now turned their attention to Alzheimer's disease, which is thought to be caused by a similar toxic aggregation or clumping, but with different proteins, especially amyloid-beta and tau. And what they've found is encouraging. Using the same compound, which they've dubbed a "molecular tweezer," in a living mouse model ...

PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University researchers have found an unlikely recipe for antibiotic resistant bacteria: Mix cow dung and soil, and add urine infused with metabolized antibiotic. The urine will kill off normal E. coli in the dung-soil mixture. But antibiotic-resistant E. coli will survive in the soil to recolonize in a cow's gut through pasture, forage or bedding. "I was surprised at how well this works, but it was not a surprise that it could be happening," says Doug Call, a molecular epidemiologist in WSU's Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health. ...

What can high school and college-age video game enthusiasts teach young surgeons-in-training? According to a new study from researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) – a world leader in minimally invasive and robotic surgery – the superior hand-eye coordination and hand skills gained from hours of repetitive joystick maneuvers mimic the abilities needed to perform today's most technologically-advanced robotic surgeries. To offer insight on how best to train future surgeons, the study placed high school and college students head to head ...

Some arid lands in the American West degraded by military exercises that date back to General George Patton's Word War II maneuvers in the Mojave Desert should get a boost from an innovative research project led by the University of Colorado Boulder. Headed up by CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Nichole Barger, the research team is focused on developing methods to restore biological soil crusts -- microbial communities primarily concentrated on soil surfaces critical to decreasing erosion and increasing water retention and soil fertility. Such biological soil crusts, known ...

By combining the power of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and one of nature's zoom lenses, astronomers have found what is probably the most distant galaxy yet seen in the Universe. The object offers a peek back into a time when the Universe was only 3 percent of its present age of 13.7 billion years. We see the newly discovered galaxy, named MACS0647-JD, as it was 420 million years after the Big Bang. Its light has travelled for 13.3 billion years to reach Earth, which corresponds to a redshift of approximately 11 [1]. This is the ...

An efficient, high-volume technique for testing potential drug treatments for Alzheimer's disease uncovered an organic compound that restored motor function and longevity to fruit flies with the disease, according to new research that could help put the search for an effective Alzheimer's drug on a faster track. Princeton University researchers report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that they discovered an organic compound that prevented the formation of protein clumps, or aggregates, found on human brain cells afflicted by Alzheimer's disease. The researchers ...

LA JOLLA, Calif., November 15, 2012 – Researchers and patients look forward to the day when stem cells might be used to replace dying brain cells in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Scientists are currently able to make neurons and other brain cells from stem cells, but getting these neurons to properly function when transplanted to the host has proven to be more difficult. Now, researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have found a way to stimulate stem cell-derived neurons to direct cognitive function after ...

(Phoenix, AZ Nov. 15, 2012) -- Vision researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute have made a groundbreaking discovery into the optimization of light sources to human vision. By tuning lighting devices to work more efficiently with the human brain the researchers believe billions of dollars in energy costs could be saved. The research was conducted by Stephen Macknik, PhD, of Barrow's Laboratory of Behavioral Neurophysiology, and Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD, of Barrow's Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience. The study is published Proceedings of the National Academy ...

Untreated depression is one of the leading causes of teen suicide, and signs of depression can also be a warning that a teen is contemplating suicide. In an article published this week in the quarterly journal, The Prevention Researcher, University of Cincinnati researchers are describing how positive connections can help offset these tragedies. In the current issue, titled, "Teen Depression," UC researchers Keith King, a professor of health promotion, and Rebecca Vidourek, an assistant professor of health promotion, report that depression and suicide are "intricately ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Gels that can be injected into the body, carrying drugs or cells that regenerate damaged tissue, hold promise for treating many types of disease, including cancer. However, these injectable gels don't always maintain their solid structure once inside the body. MIT chemical engineers have now designed an injectable gel that responds to the body's high temperature by forming a reinforcing network that makes the gel much more durable, allowing it to function over a longer period of time. The research team, led by Bradley Olsen, an assistant professor of ...

BETHESDA, Md. (Nov. 15, 2012)—Chronic wounds such as foot ulcers are a common problem for diabetics and are the cause of more than 80 percent of the lower leg amputations in these patients. There is currently no effective way to improve healing of these types of wounds, but new research offers hope. French researchers found that diabetic rats on a high protein diet with arginine and proline—specific molecules found in protein—showed better wound healing over rats fed either standard or high protein food without arginine and proline supplementation. The article is entitled ...

A Simon Fraser University archaeologist and his colleagues at the University of Queensland in Australia have significantly narrowed down the time frame during which the last major chapter in human colonization, the Polynesian triangle, occurred. SFU professor David Burley, Marshall Weisler and Jian-Xin Zhao argue the first boats arrived between 880 and 896 BC. The 16-year window is far smaller than the previous radiocarbon-dated estimate of 178 years between 2,789 and 2,947 years ago. Burley, the lead author, and his colleagues have recently had their claims published ...

Tropical Depression 25W was raining on southern Vietnam on Nov. 14 when NASA's TRMM satellite passed overhead and measured rainfall rates within the storm. TRMM noticed that the heaviest rainfall was limited to a small area and was located over open waters. NASA's TRMM or Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite was launched in 1997, and can read that rate at which rain falls in storms on Earth from its orbit in space. NASA's TRMM satellite flew over Tropical Depression 25W on Nov. 14 at 0133 UTC and captured rainfall rate data. The TRMM data showed a small area ...

Pasadena, CA— A team of astronomers including Carnegie's Daniel Kelson have set a new distance record for finding the farthest galaxy yet seen in the universe. By combining the power of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, and one of nature's own natural "zoom lenses" in space, they found a galaxy whose light traveled 13.3 billion years to reach Earth. Their work will be published in The Astrophysical Journal. The diminutive blob--only a tiny fraction of the size of our Milky Way galaxy--offers a peek back in time to when the universe was 3 percent ...

VIDEO: The JAXA/NASA Hinode mission witnessed two solar eclipses on Nov. 13, 2012, near in time to when a solar eclipse was visible in the southern hemisphere. This movie shows the... Click here for more information. Observers in Australia and the South Pacific were treated to a total solar eclipse on Nov. 13, 2012. The orbit of Hinode resulted in two eclipses this time, each with a somewhat different perspective. The first eclipse was total. During the second, the moon skimmed ...

Chicago --- In a new study, Northwestern Medicine researchers found that patients at high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) are more likely to receive a prescription for cholesterol-lowering medication, and to achieve lower long-term cholesterol levels, when doctors use electronic health records (EHRs) to deliver personalized risk assessments via mail. "It is important to get high priority preventive care messages to patients in a variety of ways," said Stephen Persell, MD, assistant professor of general internal medicine and geriatrics at Feinberg, and first author ...

By combining the power of NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes and one of nature's own natural "zoom lenses" in space, astronomers have set a new record for finding the most distant galaxy seen in the universe. The farthest galaxy appears as a diminutive blob that is only a tiny fraction of the size of our Milky Way galaxy. But it offers a peek back into a time when the universe was 3 percent of its present age of 13.7 billion years.The newly discovered galaxy, named MACS0647-JD, was observed 420 million years after the big bang, the theorized beginning of the universe. ...

An innovative alcohol monitoring program imposed upon thousands of alcohol-involved offenders in South Dakota helps reduce repeat DUI arrests and domestic violence arrests, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Examining the first six years of South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety Project, researchers found that frequent alcohol testing with swift and moderate sanctions for those caught using alcohol reduced county-level repeat DUI arrests by 12 percent and domestic violence arrests by 9 percent. There was mixed evidence about whether the program reduced traffic crashes. The ...

Electron microscopy at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is providing unprecedented views of the individual atoms in graphene, offering scientists a chance to unlock the material's full potential for uses from engine combustion to consumer electronics. Graphene crystals were first isolated in 2004. They are two-dimensional (one-atom in thickness), harder than diamonds and far stronger than steel, providing unprecedented stiffness, electrical and thermal properties. By viewing the atomic and bonding configurations of individual graphene atoms, scientists ...

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Supercharging is a technique no longer confined to automotive enthusiasts. Artem Rudenko, a new assistant professor of physics at Kansas State University and member of the James R. Macdonald Laboratory, was one of the principal investigators in an international physics collaboration that used the world's most powerful X-ray laser to supercharge an atom. By stripping a record 36 electrons from a xenon atom, researchers were able to bring the atom to a high positively charged state thought to unachievable with X-ray energy. The findings will help scientists ...

PHILADELPHIA — Passing one's genes on to the next generation is a mark of evolutionary success. So it makes sense that the body would work to ensure that the genes the next generation inherits are exact replicas of the originals. New research by biologists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine has now identified one way the body does exactly that. This protective role is fulfilled in part by a class of small RNA molecules called pachytene piwi-interacting RNAs, or piRNAs. Without them, germ-cell development in males comes to a halt. Because ...

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- An international scientific collaboration that includes two Kansas State University researchers is bringing home the bacon when it comes to potential animal and human health advancements, thanks to successfully mapping the genome of the domestic pig. The sequenced genome gives researchers a genetic blueprint of the pig. It includes a complete list of DNA and genes that give pigs their traits like height and color. Once all of the genetic information is understood, scientists anticipate improvements to the animal's health as well as human health, as ...

Colleges are often perceived as leaning left, but research by social scientists at the University of Iowa suggests the reality is more nuanced and that higher education attracts students from across the political spectrum. The researchers say fraternities and sororities in particular tend to be a locus for students who are more conservative than classmates unaffiliated with the Greek system. They also provide a buffer from influences that can make students more liberal over the course of their college careers. Study co-author Michael Hevel, an alumnus of the University ...