Porous ceramic water filters are often coated with colloidal silver, which prevents the growth of microbes trapped in the micro- and nano-scale pores of the filter. Other metals such as copper and zinc have also been shown to exhibit anti-microbial activity. Researchers from Princeton University in New Jersey used atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements to study the adhesion interaction between Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria and colloidal silver, silver nanoparticles, and copper nanoparticles, as well as the interactions of the bacteria and the three different types ...

VIDEO: Nir Barzilai, M.D., discusses his new research on how personality traits like being outgoing, optimistic, easygoing, and enjoying laughter as well as staying engaged in activities may also be part... Click here for more information. May 24, 2012 – (BRONX, NY) – "It's in their genes" is a common refrain from scientists when asked about factors that allow centenarians to reach age 100 and beyond. Up until now, research has focused on genetic variations that offer a physiological ...

Scientists on NASA's asteroid sample return mission, Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx), have measured the orbit of their destination asteroid, 1999 RQ36, with such accuracy they were able to directly measure the drift resulting from a subtle but important force called the Yarkovsky effect – the slight push created when the asteroid absorbs sunlight and re-emits that energy as heat. "The new orbit for the half-kilometer (one-third mile) diameter 1999 RQ36 is the most precise asteroid orbit ever obtained," ...

Measuring bone age should be a standard practice of care for pediatric patients with Crohn's disease, in order to properly interpret growth status and improve treatment, according to a new study from the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. "Not only is bone age helpful in predicting a child's remaining growth potential, our study demonstrates that bone age is necessary to correctly interpret a patient's growth status in pediatric Crohn's disease," said lead study researcher Neera Gupta, MD, MAS, a pediatric gastroenterologist at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. Impaired ...

NEW YORK, May 25, 2012 – Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have created a man-made oasis in the desert with the successful application of a solar-powered desalination system that provides water for irrigation in arid regions. The project was made possible with support from American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU). The solar-powered system uses nanofiltration membranes to treat the local brackish (saline) water, resulting in high-quality desalinated irrigation water. The results of the Josefowitz Oasis Project indicate that irrigation ...

Scientists with the University of Arizona-led asteroid sample return mission OSIRIS-REx have measured the orbit of their destination asteroid, 1999 RQ36, with such accuracy they were able to directly determine the drift resulting from a subtle but important force called the Yarkovsky effect – the slight push created when the asteroid absorbs sunlight and re-emits that energy as heat. The new orbit for the half-kilometer (one-third mile) diameter 1999 RQ36 is the most precise asteroid orbit ever obtained, OSIRIS-REx team member Steven Chesley of the NASA Jet Propulsion ...

LOS ANGELES (May 25, 2012) – An overgrowth of bacteria in the gut has been definitively linked to Irritable Bowel Syndrome in the results of a new Cedars-Sinai study which used cultures from the small intestine. This is the first study to use this "gold standard" method of connecting bacteria to the cause of the disease that affects an estimated 30 million people in the United States. Previous studies have indicated that bacteria play a role in the disease, including breath tests detecting methane – a byproduct of bacterial fermentation in the gut. This study was the ...

A new technique that converts stem cells into brain cells has been developed by researchers at Lund University. The method is simpler, quicker and safer than previous research has shown and opens the doors to a shorter route to clinical cell transplants. By adding two different molecules, the researchers have discovered a surprisingly simple way of starting the stem cells' journey to become finished brain cells. The process mimics the brain's natural development by releasing signals that are part of the normal development process. Experiments in animal models have shown ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Scientists have just identified a new reason why some curry dishes, made with spices humans have used for thousands of years, might be good for you. New research at Oregon State University has discovered that curcumin, a compound found in the cooking spice turmeric, can cause a modest but measurable increase in levels of a protein that's known to be important in the "innate" immune system, helping to prevent infection in humans and other animals. This cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, or CAMP, is part of what helps our immune system fight off various ...

OAKLAND, Calif., May 25, 2012 – Among women with gestational diabetes mellitus, referral to a telephone-based nurse management program was associated with lower risk of high baby birth weight and increased postpartum glucose testing, according to Kaiser Permanente researchers. Investigators for the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research examined the associations between referral to telephone-based nurse consultation and outcomes in 12 Kaiser Permanente medical centers with variation in the percent of patients referred to telephonic nurse management. ...

Originally endemic to the Atlantic Coast of North America, over the past 30 years Dyspanopeus sayi has been involuntarily introduced in the UK, France, the Netherlands, the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea. A study shows that in recent years the sea crab has established itself along the Western Mediterranean Coast. A team of Spanish and German researchers have recorded the first American Dyspanopeus sayi sea crab in the bay of Els Alfacs in the Ebro Delta (Spain). Both sexes were captured along with many ovigerous females (carrying eggs) in different areas and different ...

Recent work in mice suggested that the immune system is involved in removing beta-amyloid, the main Alzheimer's-causing substance in the brain. Researchers have now shown for the first time that this may apply in humans. Researchers at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter with colleagues in the National Institute on Aging in the USA and in Italy screened the expression levels of thousands of genes in blood samples from nearly 700 people. The telltale marker of immune system activity against beta-amyloid, a gene called CCR2, emerged as ...

How processes below a volcano are linked to seismic signals at the surface is described by scientists from the petrology group of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and their colleagues from Bristol in a paper published today in Science. They analyzed the growth of crystals in the magma chamber and used results obtained from the monitoring of seismic signals. The research could ultimately help to predict future volcanic eruptions with greater accuracy. Like tree rings: Crystals in a magma chamber A few kilometers below the volcano a liquid reservoir exists, the magma chamber, ...

VIDEO: Depicting each copy of COPI as a triangle, the different arrangements of these building blocks become easier to spot. Click here for more information. These spheres may look almost identical, but subtle differences between them revealed a molecular version of the robots from Transformers. Each sphere is a vesicle, a pod that cells use to transport materials between different compartments. The images, produced by Marco Faini from John Briggs' lab at the European Molecular ...

On a marble plate, measuring 40 by 60 centimetres, the name "Yehiel" can be read, followed by further letters which have not yet been deciphered. The Jena Archaeologists believe that the new discovery might be a tomb slab. Antlers, which were found very close to the tomb slab in the rubble gave a clue to the age determination. "The organic material of the antlers could be dated by radiocarbon analysis with certainty to about 390 AD," excavation leader Dr. Dennis Graen of the Jena University explains. "Therefore we have a so-called 'terminus ante quem' for the inscription, ...

VIDEO: Contraceptive use in Spain during the first sexual encounter is similar to other European countries. However, there are some geographical differences between Spanish regions: women in Murcia use contraceptives less... Click here for more information. Contraceptive use in Spain during the first sexual encounter is similar to other European countries. However, there are some geographical differences between Spanish regions: women in Murcia use contraceptives less (55.8%) ...

The blueprint of all living beings is stored in their genetic material. In higher organisms this is stored in the well-protected cell nucleus. "Here a kind of copier works around the clock to make copies of the information needed at the time," says first author Jan Peter Siebrasse from the Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Bonn. The copies contain the information which the cells need to produce vital enzymes or other cell building materials. These copies consist of messenger RNA which travels on random paths to the membrane of the cell ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A small inherited change in DNA is largely responsible for overactivating a gene linked to poor treatment response in people with acute leukemia. The study by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) focused on a gene called BAALC. This gene is often overactive, or overexpressed, in people with acute myeloid or acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and it indicates that the disease is likely to respond poorly to standard therapy. This study ...

Geneva, Switzerland – May 25, 2012 – Ministers of Health from 194 countries at the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly today endorsed a landmark Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP), a roadmap to prevent millions of deaths by 2020 through more equitable access to existing vaccines for people in all communities. The GVAP was coordinated by the Decade of Vaccines Collaboration, a group of leading international vaccine experts, and represents the collective vision of hundreds of global health stakeholders to extend the full benefits of immunization to all people, regardless of ...

Chromosomal deletions in DNA often involve just one of two gene copies inherited from either parent. But scientists haven't known how a deletion in one gene from one parent, called a "hemizygous" deletion, can contribute to cancer. A research team led by Stephen Elledge, a professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and his post-doctoral fellow Nicole Solimini, has now provided an answer. The most common hemizygous deletions in cancer, their research shows, involve a variety of tumor suppressing genes called STOP genes (suppressors of tumorigenesis ...

AMHERST, Mass. – Using camera traps, wildlife researchers including doctoral candidate Jennifer McCarthy and environmental conservation professor Todd Fuller of the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently captured photographs of one of the rarest animals on earth, the Sumatran striped rabbit. They say it may now be found only in two remote national parks on the Indonesian island. Their pictures and other observations are reported in the current issue of Oryx, The International Journal of Conservation. The rare rabbit was first photographed in Kerinci Seblat National ...

ALEXANDRIA, VA, May 25, 2012 – A new study published in Spine shows that early treatment by a physical therapist for low back pain (LBP), as compared to delayed treatment, was associated with reduced risk of subsequent healthcare utilization and lower overall healthcare costs. Using a national database of employer-sponsored health plans, researchers examined a sample of 32,070 patients who were newly consulting a primary care physician for low back pain. Patients were identified and categorized based on their use of physical therapist services within 90 days of the ...

Ferret.com (www.ferret.com), an online retailer based out of Pennsylvania, that sells a vast variety of ferret products, is the most recent corporation to make a donation to assist in the making of the independent feature film, The Ferret Squad. Ferret.com is a subsidiary of TABcom LLC. TABcom LLC, founded in 1969, is the parent company to a wide variety of pet-related websites, including Dog.com, Bird.com, Horse.com, Ferret.com, Fish.com and StateLineTack.com. All sites provide a broad range of competitively priced pet supplies, as well as community forums and partnerships ...

VIDEO: This animation from a computer model shows how forces from proteins in the larger pre-platelet form the barbell-shaped pro-platelet. Proplatelets form platelets of the correct size and shape.... Click here for more information. UC Davis mathematicians have helped biologists figure out why platelets, the cells that form blood clots, are the size and shape that they are. Because platelets are important both for healing wounds and in strokes and other conditions, a better ...

NASA satellites are providing rainfall, temperature, pressure, visible and infrared data to forecasters as Hurricane Bud is expected to make a quick landfall in western Mexico this weekend before turning back to sea. NASA's TRMM and Aqua satellites have been flying over Bud as it nears the Mexican coast. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite passed above Hurricane Bud early this morning, May 25 at 0429 UTC (12:49 a.m. EDT/U.S.). A large area of moderate to heavy rainfall with rates of over 30mm/hr (~1.2 inches) was revealed in Bud by TRMM's Microwave ...