A staggering 320 tons of gold and more than 7,500 tons of silver are now used annually to make PCs, cell phones, tablet computers and other new electronic and electrical products worldwide, adding more than $21 billion in value each year to the rich fortunes in metals eventually available through "urban mining" of e-waste, experts say. Manufacturing these high-tech products requires more than $16 billion in gold and $5 billion in silver: a total of $21 billion -- equal to the GDP of El Salvador -- locked away annually in e-products. Most of those valuable metals will ...

Washington, D.C. (July 2, 2012)– Forty years into the Title IX era, female athletes have risen to prominence and populate the sports landscape. Female viewership, however, has not witnessed the same rise. What sports are women watching (or not), and why? Of the many events in this summer's Olympics, which will be favored by women viewers? A recent study conducted by Erin Whiteside (University of Tennessee) and Marie Hardin (Pennsylvania State University) explores these questions. The results, published in Communication, Culture & Critique, show that women prefer condensed ...

Women using fertility drugs who did not conceive a 10-plus week pregnancy were at a statistically significant reduced risk of breast cancer compared to nonusers; however, women using the drugs who conceived a 10-plus week pregnancy had a statistically significant increased risk of breast cancer compared to unsuccessfully treated women, but a comparable risk to nonusers, according to a study published July 6 in the Journal of The National Cancer Institute. Ovulation-stimulating fertility drugs temporarily elevate estrogen levels in women, and estrogen is known to play ...

Cambridge, Mass. - July 6, 2012 - Atmospheric scientists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and Nanjing University have produced the first "bottom-up" estimates of China's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, for 2005 to 2009, and the first statistically rigorous estimates of the uncertainties surrounding China's CO2 emissions. The independent estimates, rooted in part in measurements of pollutants both at the sources and in the air, may be the most accurate totals to date. The resulting figures offer an unbiased basis on which China might measure ...

Professor Ian Simmonds from the University of Melbourne's School of Earth Sciences co-authored the study and said the new information showed this combined effect at both ground and atmospheric level played a key role in increasing the rate of warming in the Arctic. "Loss of sea ice contributes to ground level warming while global warming intensifies atmospheric circulation and contributes to increased temperatures higher in the Arctic atmosphere," Professor Simmonds said. Lead author, Dr James Screen of the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne said ...

These kinds of experiments are important as they reveal the interaction strength of the X-rays with the liquids and therefore allow for the structural analysis of substances dissolved in solution. "The method will achieve its absolute apprehension when will be applied to metal ions that are part of chemical catalysts used for clean energy production and biocatalysts (protein enzymes) used in biochemical transformation inside the living cells – the team leader Prof. Aziz stated, which is the next milestone in our research progress. Previously, these types of experiments ...

Research from the University of Southampton and National Oceanography, Southampton has provided new insight into the basic immune response and repair mechanisms of corals to disease and changing environmental conditions. The study, published in the latest issue of the journal Coral Reefs, found that increased growth is the underlying physiological process associated with disease, wounding and stress-related colour changes in reef-building corals. The study investigated distinct green fluorescent protein (GFP)-like pigments responsible for the green, red and purple-blue ...

A team of researchers from the Technical University of Valencia, the University Hospital La Fe, the University of Valencia and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona conducted in vitro studies of cytotoxicity (cellular affection) to assess the optimal concentration level of propolis in which this natural substance extracted from bee resin would offer the maximum protection against ionised radiation and not be toxic for blood cells. According to the results of the research, this optimal concentration level is between 120-500 micrograms/mL. "Within this range can be found ...

The effect of spaceflight on a microscopic worm — Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) — could help it to live longer. The discovery was made by an international group of scientists studying the loss of bone and muscle mass experienced by astronauts after extended flights in space. The results of this research have been published today, July 5 2012, in the online journal Scientific Reports. Dr Nathaniel Szewczyk, from The University of Nottingham, was part of the ICE-FIRST project which involved scientists from Japan, France, the US, and Canada. They discovered that ...

The University of Nottingham has begun the search for a new class of injectable materials that will stimulate stem cells to regenerate damaged tissue in degenerative and age related disorders of the bone, muscle and heart. The work, which is currently at the experimental stage, could lead to treatments for diseases that currently have no cure. The aim is to produce radical new treatments that will reduce the need for invasive surgery, optimise recovery and reduce the risk of undesirable scar tissue. The research, which brings together expertise in The University of ...

Bethesda, MD—A new research report published online in the FASEB Journal reveals a connection among sugar, cancer, and dependence on breathing machines--microRNA-320a. In the report, Stanford scientists show that the molecule microRNA-320a is responsible for helping control glycolysis. Glycolysis is the process of converting sugar into energy, which fuels the growth of some cancers, and contributes to the wasting of unused muscles such as the diaphragm when people are using ventilators. Identifying ways to use microRNA-320a to starve tumors and keep unused muscles strong ...

London (July 05 2012 ) -- European experts in cardiovascular medicine will today gather at a two day symposium to address the national agenda on cardiovascular disease prevention, held at Imperial College London and sponsored by leading independent academic and professional publisher SAGE. One session at the conference, chaired by Professors Joep Perk and David Wood will focus on the new 2012 Joint European Societies' Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice, which will appear in August issue (volume 19, issue 4) of the European Society of ...

Feelings of anxiety very effectively prevent people from getting into situations that are too dangerous. Those who have had a terrible experience initially tend to avoid the place of tragedy out of fear. If no other oppressive situation arises, normally the symptoms of fear gradually subside. "The memory of the terrible events is not just erased." states first author, PD Dr. Andras Bilkei Gorzo, from the Institute for Molecular Psychiatry at the University of Bonn. "Those impacted learn rather via an active learning process that they no longer need to be afraid because ...

Frequently recommended in weight-loss diets, dietary proteins have proven effectiveness thanks to their appetite-suppressing effects. A team led by Gilles Mithieux, Director of Inserm's Unit 855 "Nutrition and the Brain" in Lyon, has managed to explain the biological mechanisms behind these properties. The researchers describe in detail the chain reactions triggered by digesting proteins, sending a 'satiety' message to the brain long after a meal. Their results, published on 5 July in the Cell review, will make it possible envisage improved care for obese or overweight ...

Bethesda, MD—If you're concerned about losing your hearing because of noise exposure (earbud deafness syndrome), a new discovery published online in the FASEB Journal offers some hope. That's because scientists from Germany and Canada show that the protein, AMPK, which protects cells during a lack of energy, also activates a channel protein in the cell membrane that allows potassium to leave the cell. This activity is important because this mechanism helps protect sensory cells in the inner ear from permanent damage following acoustic noise exposure. This information could ...

On this July 4th week, U.S. beachgoers are thronging their way to seaside resorts and parks to celebrate with holiday fireworks. Across the horizon and miles out to sea toward the north, the Atlantic Ocean's own spring and summer ritual is unfolding: the blooming of countless microscopic plant plankton, or phytoplankton. In what's known as the North Atlantic Bloom, an immense number of phytoplankton burst into color, first "greening" then "whitening" the sea as one species follows another. In research results published in this week's issue of the journal Science, ...

Copenhagen, Denmark – A landmark conference has agreed key priorities for harnessing the power of information technologies and social networks to understand better the workings of life on Earth, focussing on how biodiversity can continue to sustain human lives and livelihoods. The Global Biodiversity Informatics Conference (GBIC), gathering some 100 experts from around the world from 2-4 July, identified critical areas in which greater investment and better coordination could give society much better, innovative tools to monitor and manage biological resources. These ...

July 4, 2012, was an historic day in science with researchers at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) announcing the discovery of a new particle that is "consistent with the Higgs boson." It was also an historic day for the University of Rochester. Not only was one of its faculty members an originator of the theory for the Higgs mechanism and the Higgs boson, three of its scientists worked on one of the experiments that led to the CERN discovery. Physicist Carl Hagen's 1964 article Global Conservation Laws and Massless Particles, co-written by Gerald Guralnik ...

BOSTON, MA—Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have discovered a new vaccine candidate for the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa taking advantage of a new mechanism of immunity. The study was published online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine on June 21, 2012. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections, particularly in patients on respirators, where it can cause so-called ventilator-associated pneumonia, which carries a very high mortality rate. Pseudomonas also causes lung infections in people ...

Bethesda, MD—In what could be a breakthrough in the practical application of epigenetic science, U.K. scientists used human tissue samples to discover that those with osteoarthritis have a signature epigenetic change (DNA methylation) responsible for switching on and off a gene that produces a destructive enzyme called MMP13. This enzyme is known to play a role in the destruction of joint cartilage, making MMP13 and the epigenetic changes that lead to its increased levels, prime targets for osteoarthritis drug development. In addition to offering a new epigenetic path toward ...

NEW YORK, July 6, 2012 -- Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) undergraduate students have developed a new privacy solution for Facebook. The Social Privacy Protector (SPP) can help parents adjust their children's profiles in one click, prevent criminals from garnering valuable personal information and keep teens safe from pedophiles. The SPP "app" has multiple levels of protection, but the most important component reviews a user's friends list in seconds to identify which have few or no mutual links and might be "fake" profiles. The app analyzes each friend and ...

Bethesda, MD—Whether from surgery or battle wounds, ugly scars can affect body and mind. Now a new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal offers a new strategy to reduce or eliminate scars on the skin. Specifically, scientists from NYU describe how agents that block receptors for adenosine (a molecule generated from ATP which is used by the body to provide energy to muscles) can be applied topically to healing wounds to reduce scar size, yielding skin that feels more like the original, unscarred skin. "Scars can be disfiguring and, if extensive enough, ...

VIDEO: Professor Joe Lyding has recently developed a new method for sharpening probes for Scan Probe Microscopes. Using ions to sharpen the tip to an atomic level, the ultrasharp probes allow... Click here for more information. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A simple new improvement to an essential microscope component could greatly improve imaging for researchers who study the very small, from cells to computer chips. Joseph Lyding, a professor of electrical and computer engineering ...

Rainfall and temperature affect the abundance of two mosquito species linked to West Nile Virus in storm catch basins in suburban Chicago, two University of Illinois researchers report. Marilyn O'Hara Ruiz, a professor of pathobiology, led the study with graduate student Allison Gardner. The study was conducted using mosquito larvae collected from catch basins in Alsip, a southwest suburb. The researchers examined weather factors that influenced the levels of mosquito larvae in the basins. They found that low rainfall and high temperatures are associated with high numbers ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- University at Buffalo physicists are among researchers engaged in one of modern history's most exciting scientific endeavors: The hunt for the elusive Higgs boson, a subatomic particle that could help explain why objects have mass. The particle is the last particle in the Standard Model of particle physics that scientists have yet to observe conclusively. If discovered, the Higgs boson would help validate the model, which describes how particles and forces interact with one another. The model enables physicists to describe how the world around us works. On ...