Oxford, October 8, 2012 - A nanotech material containing an extract from liquorice can be used to sterilize and protect medical devices and implants which include biological components, and protects these functional bio-components during the sterilization process. Publishing their findings in the latest issue of Materials Today, a team of researchers from Germany and Austria explain how conventional sterilization techniques based on a blast of radiation, or exposure to toxic gas can damage the functional biological components of the device. The coating, containing a component ...

This press release is available in German.Ferrara/Leipzig. New methods might allow polluted sites to be investigated and monitored long term at significantly reduced costs. Authorities and those who have to remediate polluted sites in Europe might therefore be able to save costs and use these to treat other areas. This is the conclusion of the EU research project ModelPROBE, which was coordinated by the UFZ. The results, with which the scientists aimed to lower the workload of authorities and consultants, include a handbook detailing the methods for characterising contaminated ...

VIDEO: This is about the worldwide patent for a Spanish stroke rehabilitation robot. Click here for more information. Robotherapist 3D, a robot which aids stroke patients' recovery, is to be brought to market by its worldwide patent holder, a spin-off company from the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (Alicante, Spain). It is the first robot to enable patients to start doing exercises while supine, allowing them to begin shortly after the stroke and expediting recovery. ...

Almost 100 freshwater species not native to the UK have invaded the River Thames catchment making it one of the most highly invaded freshwater systems in the world, according to scientists at Queen Mary, University of London. The research, published in the journal Biological Invasions at the weekend, suggests that legislation to prevent the introduction of non-native species across the UK has been unsuccessful. The cost to the British economy of invasive non-native species is £1.7bn every year (CABI report, 2010). Lead author, Dr Michelle Jackson* who undertook the ...

The scientific analysis in this document shows that the research design of Séralini et al. contained fundamental shortcomings that preclude any sensible conclusions from being drawn. In other words, the statements that Séralini made about the health effects of GMOs and Roundup were baseless. Moreover, the research shows signs of selective interpretation of the findings or a misleading representation of these, which is contrary to prevailing scientific ethical standards. ###View the entire analysis online: http://www.vib.be/en/news/Pages/VIB-concludes-that-Seralini-study-is-not-substantiated-.aspx ...

This press release is available in Spanish. The goal of the scientists in the Information and Communications Technology Security Group (Seguridad de las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones - SeTI) at UC3M who are working on the E-SAVE project is to use information technologies (ITs) to improve the enforcement of certain traffic regulations. Specifically, they propose a set of systems for the automated, immediate and telematic supervision and management of the administrative sanctioning process. The purpose is to reduce highway accidents, given that one of ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique that allows users to better determine the amount of charge remaining in a battery in real time. That's good news for electric vehicle drivers, since it gives them a better idea of when their car may run out of juice. The research is also good news for battery developers. "This improved accuracy will also give us additional insight into the dynamics of the battery, which we can use to develop techniques that will lead to more efficient battery management," says Dr. Mo-Yuen Chow, a professor ...

Signs that are too small or unclear to consumers seem to be a growing national issue, leading some business owners to lose potential customers, according to University of Cincinnati Marketing Professor James Kellaris. "This persistent, growing national problem is frustrating for consumers and can lead to loss of business and, by extension, loss of tax revenue for the community," Kellaris said. Kellaris, the James S. Womack/Gemini Chair of Signage and Visual Marketing in the UC Carl H. Lindner College of Business, will present this research during the October 10 -11 ...

To understand the effects of continuous computerized surveillance on individuals, a Finnish research group instrumented ten Finnish households with video cameras, microphones, and logging software for personal computers, wireless networks, smartphones, TVs, and DVDs. The twelve participants filled monthly questionnaires to report on stress levels and were interviewed at six and twelve months. The study was carried out by Helsinki Institute for Information Technology HIIT, a joint research institute of Aalto University and the University of Helsinki, Finland. The results ...

Researchers at the University of Southampton have developed a model which explains how the spin of a pulsar slows down as the star gets older. A pulsar is a highly magnetised rotating neutron star which was formed from the remains of a supernova – an explosion which happens after a massive star runs out of nuclear fuel. A pulsar emits a rotating beam of electromagnetic radiation, rather like that of a lighthouse. This beam can be detected by powerful telescopes when it points towards and sweeps past the Earth. Pulsars rotate at very stable speeds, but slow down as ...

The National Center for Educational Statistics reported that only 73% of high school freshmen graduate within four years. For those students who continue their education at the collegiate level, slightly more than half (57%) earn a bachelor's degree and over 18% will leave college altogether. Although many factors can contribute to students' academic risk, negative emotions associated with learning—such as a lack of interest and engagement in their courses—could be a vital reason for students' disengagement, withdrawal, and failure in school. Joseph Mazer's article, published ...

Businesses and consumers may soon have a simple, cheaper way to store large amounts of digital data. Case Western Reserve University researchers have developed technology aimed at making an optical disc that holds 1 to 2 terabytes of data – the equivalent of 1,000 to 2,000 copies of Encyclopedia Britannica. The entire print collection of the Library of Congress could fit on five to 10 discs. The discs would provide small- and medium-sized businesses an alternative to storing data on energy-wasting magnetic disks or cumbersome magnetic tapes, the researchers say. To ...

This press release is available in German. Using demographic methods, ecologist Roberto Salguero-Gómez investigates desert plants to find out how vulnerable they are to climate change. The results of his newest study are surprising: Climate change may have a positive impact on some plants. Climate models used by scientists to forecast the effect of climate change on the various ecosystems predict a bleak future for these regions: temperatures will rise, there will be less rain, and it will rain more erratically – all conditions seemingly unfavorable to plants. To ...

Boston, Mass.—Using tiny spheres filled with an anesthetic derived from a shellfish toxin, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a way to delay the rise of neuropathic pain, a chronic form of pain that arises from flawed signals transmitted by damaged nerves. The method could potentially allow doctors to stop the cascade of events by which tissue or nerve injuries evolve into neuropathic pain, which affects 3.75 million children and adults in the United States alone. The researchers, led by Daniel Kohane, ...

In the face of mounting evidence, doctors' leaders and government should take a stand and set clear guidelines on an activity that has so far eluded the scrutiny that other health issues attract, argues Dr Aric Sigman. Children of all ages are watching more screen media than ever before, he says, and what is more, they are starting earlier and earlier. Britain's children have regular access to an average of five different screens at home by the time they are 10 years old, in the form of TVs, games consoles, smart phones, laptops and tablets. By the age of 7, a child ...

Up to 90 per cent of MS patients endure painful muscle stiffness at some point during the course of their disease, which reduces their mobility and interferes with daily routine activities and sleep quality. But current treatments often fail to resolve symptoms fully, and can be harmful, as a result of which many MS patients have experimented with alternative therapies, including cannabis. Adult MS patients with stable disease, from 22 different specialist centres across the UK, were either randomly assigned to cannabis extract (tetrahydrocannabinol) daily (144) or a ...

Engineering faculty and students at the University of Colorado Boulder have produced the first experimental results showing that atomically thin graphene membranes with tiny pores can effectively and efficiently separate gas molecules through size-selective sieving. The findings are a significant step toward the realization of more energy-efficient membranes for natural gas production and for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power plant exhaust pipes. Mechanical engineering professors Scott Bunch and John Pellegrino co-authored a paper in Nature Nanotechnology ...

The findings indicate that it is the intensity, rather than the duration, of exercise that counts in combating the impact of metabolic syndrome - a combination of factors, including midriff bulge, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, higher than normal levels of blood glucose and abnormal blood fat levels - say the authors. Genes, diet, and lack of exercise are thought to be implicated in the development of the syndrome, which is conducive to inflammation and blood thickening. The authors base their findings on more than 10,000 Danish adults, between the ages of ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - In two separate studies, researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center have discovered a new class of treatment against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as well as evidence of a growing need to quickly genotype individual strains of the organism most commonly referred to as the "superbug." "The public is most familiar with the dramatic progression of skin infections caused by MRSA, but MRSA is responsible for a range of difficult to treat illnesses," noted Dr. Kurt B. Stevenson, an infectious disease expert at Ohio ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – As the economy and job market continue to recover, many young adults have moved in with their parents to save money. For teens and 20-somethings who grew up in foster care, saving money is especially difficult because they have aged out of a system that provided support in earlier years and lack important family ties they can depend upon, particularly as they enter adulthood and embark on their own. Now, a University of Missouri child welfare expert says youths in foster care need financial education and support to build assets so they can become financially ...

Synthetic biology is the latest and most advanced phase of genetic engineering, holding great promise for helping to solve some of the world's most intractable problems, including the sustainable production of energy fuels and critical medical drugs, and the safe removal of toxic and radioactive waste from the environment. However, for synthetic biology to reach its promise, the design and construction of biological systems must be as predictable as the assembly of computer hardware. An important step towards attaining a higher degree of predictability in synthetic biology ...

Whether it's a wedding, birthday party or other celebration, these days the chances are you'll have your camcorder with you to record the great occasion. But we often forget to bring the data cable along with us, so despite promising the hosts to transfer the images to their computer the morning after, we hardly ever do. "No problem," we say, "I'll burn you a CD when I get home." It would be so much easier, though, to transfer the data wirelessly. This thought also occurred to Frank Deicke, a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden. ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) — Cyber-crime is expanding to the fertile grounds of social networks and University of California, Riverside engineers are fighting it. A recent four-month experiment conducted by several UC Riverside engineering professors and graduate students found that the application they created to detect spam and malware posts on Facebook users' walls was highly accurate, fast and efficient. The researchers also introduced the new term "socware" to describe a combination of "social malware," encompassing all criminal and parasitic behavior on online ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers have found what they say is the only fossil ever discovered of a spider attack on prey caught in its web – a 100 million-year-old snapshot of an engagement frozen in time. The extraordinarily rare fossils are in a piece of amber that preserved this event in remarkable detail, an action that took place in the Hukawng Valley of Myanmar in the Early Cretaceous between 97-110 million years ago, almost certainly with dinosaurs wandering nearby. Aside from showing the first and only fossil evidence of a spider attacking prey in its web, the piece ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Keeping the lungs healthy could be an important way to retain thinking functions that relate to problem-solving and processing speed in one's later years, new research suggests. While these two types of "fluid" cognitive functions were influenced by reduced pulmonary function, a drop in lung health did not appear to impair memory or lead to any significant loss of stored knowledge, the study showed. Researchers used data from a Swedish study of aging that tracked participants' health measures for almost two decades. An analysis of the data with statistical ...