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Technology25 Jul 2012

Study shows economic feasibility for capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air

With a series of papers published in chemistry and chemical engineering journals, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have advanced the case for extracting carbon dioxide directly from the air using newly-developed adsorbent materials. The technique might initially be used to supply carbon dioxide for such industrial applications as fuel production from algae or enhanced oil recovery. But the method could later be used to supplement the capture of CO2 from power plant flue gases as part of efforts to reduce concentrations of the atmospheric warming chemical. ...

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Medicine25 Jul 2012

SEARCH study shows 1-year drop in HIV virus levels in rural Ugandan parish after campaign

Population-wide levels of HIV virus dropped substantially between 2011 and May 2012 in a rural part of southwestern Uganda, the site of two community health campaigns led by doctors at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (SFGH) and Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. The campaign, which was part of the Sustainable East Africa Research in Community Health (SEARCH) Collaboration, involved free counseling, testing for HIV and other diseases, linkage to care and treatment. This comprehensive approach to ...

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Medicine25 Jul 2012

Greater availability of neurosurgeons could reduce risk of death from motor vehicle accidents

Charlottesville, VA (July 24, 2012). Researchers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire have found an association between increasing the distribution of neurosurgeons throughout the United States and decreasing the risk of death from motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). The findings of their study are described in the article "Increased population density of neurosurgeons associated with decreased risk of death from MVAs in the United States. Clinical article," by Atman Desai, M.D., and colleagues, published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal ...

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Science25 Jul 2012

Some harmful effects of light at night can be reversed

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Chronic exposure to dim light at night can lead to depressive symptoms in rodents -- but these negative effects can be reversed simply by returning to a standard light-dark cycle, a new study suggests. While hamsters exposed to light at night for four weeks showed evidence of depressive symptoms, those symptoms essentially disappeared after about two weeks if they returned to normal lighting conditions. Even changes in the brain that occurred after hamsters lived with chronic light at night reversed themselves after returning to a more normal light ...

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Medicine25 Jul 2012

A quarter of our very elderly have undiagnosed treatable heart problems, research reveals

The very oldest in our society are missing out on simple heart treatments which can prolong and improve their quality of life, Newcastle heart experts say. Studying a group of people aged 87 to 89 years old, the team of researchers at Newcastle University found that a routine test in the home revealed that around a quarter of them had undiagnosed heart problems which could be treated with established and cost-effective treatments. In the study, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), the team visited the homes of 376 people aged 87 to 89 years old and carried ...

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Physics25 Jul 2012

Physicists study the classics for hidden truths

The truth behind some of the world's most famous historical myths, including Homer's epic, the Iliad, has been bolstered by two researchers who have analysed the relationships between the myths' characters and compared them to real-life social networks. In a study published online today, 25 July, in the journal EPL (Europhysics Letters), Pádraig Mac Carron and Ralph Kenna from Coventry University performed detailed text analyses of the Iliad, the English poem, Beowulf, and the Irish epic, the Táin Bó Cuailnge. They found that the interactions between the characters ...

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Medicine25 Jul 2012

Lace plants explain programmed cell death

Programmed cell death (PCD) is a highly regulated process that occurs in all animals and plants as part of normal development and in response to the environment. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Plant Biology is the first to document the physiological events in the lace plant (Aponogeton madagascariensis) which occur via PCD to produce the characteristic holes in its leaves. The aquatic lace plant, endemic to Madagascar, uses PCD to generate holes in its leaves. Researchers from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, used long-term live ...

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Science25 Jul 2012

Use of sunbeds leads to 3000+ cases of melanoma a year in Europe and 'tougher actions' are needed

Of 63,942 new cases of cutaneous melanoma (a form of skin cancer) diagnosed each year in Europe an estimated 3,438 (5.4%) are related to sunbed use. Sunbed users are at a 20% increased relative risk of skin cancer compared with those who have never used a sunbed. This risk doubles if they start before the age of 35 and experts warn that "tougher actions" are needed to reduce this risk. Sun exposure is the most significant environmental cause of skin cancer and sunbeds have become the main non-solar source of UV exposure in Western Europe (UV is the wavelength associated ...

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Science25 Jul 2012

Concerns over accuracy of tools to predict risk of repeat offending

Research: Use of risk assessment instruments to predict violence and antisocial behaviour in 73 samples involving 24,827 people: systematic review and meta-analysis Tools designed to predict an individual's risk of repeat offending are not sufficient on their own to inform sentencing and release or discharge decisions, concludes a study published on bmj.com today. Although they appear to identify low risk individuals with high levels of accuracy, the authors say "their use as sole determinants of detention, sentencing, and release is not supported by the current evidence." Risk ...

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Medicine25 Jul 2012

Study reveals substantial misdiagnosis of malaria in parts of Asia

Research: Overdiagnosis and mistreatment of malaria among febrile patients at primary healthcare level in Afghanistan: observational study Substantial overdiagnosis and mistreatment of malaria is evident in south and central Asia, warns a study published on bmj.com today. With more than two billion people at risk of malaria in this part of Asia – larger than that of Africa - this is a major public health problem which needs to be confronted, say the authors. Malaria remains one of the most important infectious diseases of poverty. Recent global malaria treatment ...

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Medicine25 Jul 2012

New drug could treat Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and brain injury

CHICAGO --- A new class of drug developed at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine shows early promise of being a one-size-fits-all therapy for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury by reducing inflammation in the brain. Northwestern has recently been issued patents to cover this new drug class and has licensed the commercial development to a biotech company that has recently completed the first human Phase 1 clinical trial for the drug. The drugs in this class target a particular type of brain inflammation, ...

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Medicine25 Jul 2012

New research determines how a single brain trauma may lead to Alzheimer's disease

BOSTON (July 24, 2012, 5:00PM EST)—A study, performed in mice and utilizing post-mortem samples of brains from patients with Alzheimer's disease, found that a single event of a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can disrupt proteins that regulate an enzyme associated with Alzheimer's. The paper, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, identifies the complex mechanisms that result in a rapid and robust post-injury elevation of the enzyme, BACE1, in the brain. These results may lead to the development of a drug treatment that targets this mechanism to slow ...

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Medicine25 Jul 2012

New publication examines effect of early drug administration on Alzheimer's animal model

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 25, 2012) — In a study published June 25 in the Journal of Neuroscience, a collaborative team of researchers led by Linda J. Van Eldik, director of the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, and D. Martin Watterson of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, present results showing that a new central nervous system drug compound can reduce Alzheimer's pathology in a mouse model of the disease. The drug, called MW-151, is a selective suppressor of brain inflammation and overproduction of proinflammatory molecules from glial ...

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Science25 Jul 2012

EARTH: 2012

Alexandria, VA – December 21, 2012 – the purported last day of a 5,125-year cycle in the Mesoamerican calendar – has been added to an endless list of days when the world has been expected to end. But what are our real chances of being wiped out by a catastrophic event – the kind that has happened in the past and will inevitably occur again someday? In the August issue of EARTH, we explore four of the most probable global events that could change life on Earth forever. Near-Earth objects (NEOs), super-eruptions, solar storms and cataclysmic earthquakes all pose serious ...

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Medicine25 Jul 2012

Fine tuning cardiac ablation could lead to quicker results for patients with arrhythmias

University of Michigan heart researchers are shedding light on a safer method for steadying an abnormal heart rhythm that prevents collateral damage to healthy cells. Irregular heart rhythms, or arrhythmias, set the stage for a common, debilitating disorder called atrial fibrillation that puts adults as young as age 40 at risk for fatigue, fainting, cardiac arrest, and even death. Medications can help, but doctors also use catheter ablation in which electrical impulses are delivered to a region of the heart to disrupt the arrhythmia. However, studies show half of patients ...

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Medicine25 Jul 2012

Male Ontario students show declines in fighting; females show elevated bullying and mental distress

For Immediate Release – July 24, 2012 – (Toronto) – An ongoing survey of Ontario students in grades 7 to 12 conducted for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows that while the majority of students have healthy relationships and report overall good mental and physical health, some negative trends, especially among girls, have raised concerns. The 2011 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) Mental Health and Well-Being Report released today reveals important trends in mental and physical health and risk behaviours among Ontario students. Psychological ...

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Science25 Jul 2012

Super Bags to thwart rice wastage now available to Filipino farmers

An airtight, reusable plastic bag that protects stored rice from moisture, pests, and rats, and keeps rice seeds viable, is now available to Filipino farmers in almost 200 retail stores nationwide. IRRI Super Bags reduce losses incurred after harvest that usually stem from poor storage conditions – helping prevent physical postharvest losses that can be around 15%. On top of these losses, farmers also experience loss in quality. Developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)'s postharvest experts in collaboration with GrainPro Inc., the IRRI Super Bag ...

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Science25 Jul 2012

Bend or stretch? How stressful is hyperflexion of horses' necks?

Arguments over how best to train horses have raged for centuries. Two years ago, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) was even moved to ban the practice of hyperflexion as a result of a petition signed by over 40,000 people claiming that it caused the animals unnecessary discomfort. The FEI did make a distinction between hyperflexion by the use of extreme force and what it termed "low, deep and round" (LDR), which essentially achieves the same position without force. How forceful hyperflexion should be distinguished from permissible LDR training was not clearly ...

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Science25 Jul 2012

ESC says 50 percent of CVD deaths in Europe could be avoided with proper regulation

Up to 50% of deaths from cardiovascular disease in Europe could be avoided by implementing population level changes such as taxation and regulation of advertising. Population level prevention will produce greater impacts on CVD than individualised approaches, according to the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation (EACPR) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Cardiovascular disease is still the main cause of death in Europe, leading to more than 4.3 million deaths each year and costing at least €190 billion. But 80-90% of all cardiovascular ...

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Technology25 Jul 2012

UK research paves way to a scalable device for quantum information processing

Researchers at NPL have demonstrated for the first time a monolithic 3D ion microtrap array which could be scaled up to handle several tens of ion-based quantum bits (qubits). The research, published in Nature Nanotechnology, shows how it is possible to realise this device embedded in a semiconductor chip, and demonstrates the device's ability to confine individual ions at the nanoscale. As the UK's National Measurement Institute, NPL is interested in how exotic quantum states of matter can be used to make high precision measurements, of for example, time and frequency, ...

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Technology25 Jul 2012

Scientists create artificial mother of pearl

Mimicking the way mother of pearl is created in nature, scientists have for the first time synthesised the strong, iridescent coating found on the inside of some molluscs. The research was published today in the journal Nature Communications. Nacre, also called mother of pearl, is the iridescent coating that is found on the inside of some molluscs and on the outer coating of pearls. By recreating the biological steps that form nacre in molluscs, the scientists were able to manufacture a material which has a similar structure, mechanical behaviour, and optical appearance ...

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Medicine25 Jul 2012

Classifying neural circuit dysfunctions using neuroeconomics

Philadelphia, PA, July 24, 2012 – The traditional approach to psychiatric diagnosis is based on grouping patients on the basis of symptom clusters. This approach to diagnosis has a number of problems, as symptoms are not necessarily specific to a single diagnosis. Symptoms may vary among patients with a particular diagnosis, and there are no clear diagnostic biomarkers or tests for psychiatry as there are for other areas of medicine. With this in mind, Steve Chang, along with colleagues from Duke University, introduces a new classification scheme for psychiatric symptoms ...

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Medicine25 Jul 2012

Blood sugar diabetes risk for South Asians

A new diabetes study at the University of Leicester has discovered that South Asians (people of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lanka origin) have higher levels of blood sugar than white Europeans independent of risk factors that influence sugar levels. The study of 4,688 white Europeans and 1,352 South Asians was led by Dr. Samiul A Mostafa, of the University of Leicester, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, and was published in Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association. According to the study South Asians had higher levels of three measures ...

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Science25 Jul 2012

Bringing natural history collections out of the dark

In a special issue of ZooKeys, initiated by the Natural History Museum London, Vince Smith and Vladimir Blagoderov bring together 18 papers by 81 authors to look at progress and prospects for mass digitising entire natural history collections. Centuries of exploration and discovery have documented the diversity of life on Earth. Records of this biodiversity are, for the most part, distributed across varied and distinct natural history collections worldwide. That has made the task of assessing the information in these collections an immense challenge, the largest of which ...

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Social Science25 Jul 2012

Social networking pays off more in the US than Germany

New research from North Carolina State University shows that informal social networks play an important role when it comes to finding jobs in both the United States and Germany, but those networks are significantly more important for high-paying jobs in the United States – which may contribute to economic inequality. "It is interesting to note that the open market system in the United States, with minimal labor regulations, actually sees people benefiting more from patronage – despite the expectation that open markets would value merit over social connections," says ...

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