Together with the national science academies of the other G8 states, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina has prepared two statements for the G8 states in the run-up to the G8 Summit of Heads of State and Government. The recommendations contained in these statements were now presented to the participating governments for the negotiations in Deauville, France on 26 and 27 May. In a statement on the topic of "Education for a Science-Based Global Development", the academies urge governments to target investment to establish an infrastructure for a globalization ...

The University of Southampton is playing a key role in a major public/private partnership to evaluate the use of biomass to create a cost effective and sustainable UK energy system for 2050. Domestic biomass (a renewable energy source from living, or recently living organisms, such as plants, rubbish and wood), sustainably grown in the UK, could provide up to 10 per cent (1) of the UK's energy needs by 2050 and significantly contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Three new bio energy projects launched by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), ...

This week the scientific journal Ecology Letters has published a synthesis of the ecological impacts of invasive plants worldwide. This global analysis has been based on more than one thousand studies that in total describe the impacts of 135 invasive plant species. The lead author, Dr. Montserrat Vilà, a professor at the Spanish Higher Research Council (CSIC) adds: "This assessment would have been impossible to achieve ten years ago, because the evidence was anecdotal, it has only been in the last decade that well designed field studies have been conducted". Twenty-four ...

Many drugs sold as 'legal highs' on the internet do not contain the ingredients they claim. Some instead contain controlled substances and are illegal to sell over the internet. These are findings of Dr. Mark Baron, who bought a range of tablets from different websites to see what each contained. The study is published today in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis. "It is clear that consumers are buying products that they think contain specific substances, but that in reality the labels are unreliable indicators of the actual contents," says Dr. Baron, who works in the ...

VIDEO: Wizen and Gasith's current study shows that adult Epomis beetles can prey upon live amphibians, in addition to their regular diet. Click here for more information. New findings of researchers from Tel-Aviv University show that predator-prey interactions between ground beetles of the genus Epomis and amphibians are much more complex than expected. The study was published in the open access journal Zoo Keys. "Amphibians are typical insect predators and their diet ...

Rima Taher, an expert in the design of low-rise buildings for extreme winds and hurricanes, will speak next week at the Annual Conference of Construction Specifications Canada (Devis de Construction Canada) in Montreal. Taher, a university lecturer in NJIT's College of Architecture and Design, is a civil and structural engineer, http://www.njit.edu/news/experts/taher.php. Construction Specifications Canada (http://csc-dcc.ca) is a national, non-profit association with chapters across Canada. Its mission is to deliver and develop quality educational programs, publications ...

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State University's Hans van Leeuwen has moved his research team's award-winning idea for improving ethanol production from a laboratory to a pilot plant. Now he knows the idea, which produces a new animal feed and cleans water that can be recycled back into ethanol production, works more efficiently in batches of up to 350 gallons than on a lab bench. "We're learning we can reliably produce good quality and good quantities," said van Leeuwen, Iowa State's Vlasta Klima Balloun Professor of Engineering in the department of civil, construction and environmental ...

(Boston) - Investigators from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University have reported that African American women who consumed a diet high in vegetables and fruit gained less weight over a 14-year period than those who consumed a diet high in red meat and fried foods. This is the first prospective study to show that a healthier diet is associated with less weight gain in African American women, a population with a high prevalence of obesity. The study results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, were based on data from the Black Women's Health ...

TORONTO, Ont., May 20, 2011 – Today, one in four or five women in Ontario will give birth through a cesarean or "C-section." A new study, led by researchers from St. Michael's Hospital and The Wilson Centre for Research in Education and the Department of Anesthesia, University of Toronto, has found that many labour and delivery health professionals lack a clear understanding of the anesthesiologist's role as a physician with specialized skills in the management of seriously unwell pregnant patients. This role misperception may affect the quality of care delivered to mothers ...

A new company has launched in the United Kingdom providing quality Espresso Cups to consumers in Europe via their website. Espresso Deco aim to establish an ecommerce business using a mix of traditional and new marketing techniques coupled with high standards of customer service and quality products. The company was conceived due to the increasing popularity of coffee shops in the UK and the rise of the 'Home Barista'. With an established variety of consumer choice in espresso machines already Espresso Deco are focused on delivering value in retailing espresso cups from ...

New research presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Urology Association (AUA) in Washington, DC demonstrates that holmium laser therapy is a safe and durable treatment option for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) – an enlargement of the prostate that affects most men as they age. The study, conducted by researchers from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), is the longest comprehensive assessment of this technology to date, and researchers suggest it may now safely be considered the new, size independent, gold standard for treatment of BPH. A man's prostate ...

Forest fragmentation driven by demand for palm oil is having a catastrophic effect on multiple levels of biodiversity, scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have discovered. The researchers are worried that unless steps are taken to safeguard and manage the remaining forest, then certain species will struggle to survive. The study, which focused on bats as an indicator of environmental change, was published in one of the leading scientific journals, Ecology Letters. The team conducted bat surveys in pristine forest and also in forest patches of varying ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– New research at UC Santa Barbara is contributing to the basic biological understanding of how retinas develop. The study is part of the campus's expanding vision research. The new studies are published in recent online versions of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), and Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (IOVS). The scientists document how they used mice as a research model organism to show that the size of different populations of retinal neurons display wide-ranging variability among individuals. In the ...

If you are considering plastic surgery, it is imperative that you choose a qualified and highly experienced surgeon to perform your desired treatment. Not only will a qualified surgeon be able to give you optimal results, if there are any complications during surgery, he or she will know how to handle that situation. The more experience a Northern Virginia plastic surgeon has, the more time that professional will have to perfect their skills. Advice for Choosing a Plastic Surgeon To ensure that you choose one of the best plastic surgeons in your area, here are a ...

In late 2010, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) implemented an extensive new program to improve safety in the commercial trucking industry. Known as the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program, the initiative focuses on identifying and sanctioning trucking companies with track records of risky driving in order to prevent future trucking accidents. The CSA program evaluates trucking companies and keeps track of individual drivers. But, even though individuals are monitored, gaps in the system may allow unsafe truckers to remain behind the wheel. The ...

Individuals who are treated for cancer during childhood have a significantly higher risk of developing gastrointestinal (GI) complications – from mild to severe – later in life, according to a study led by the University of California, San Francisco. The findings underscore the need for childhood cancer survivors and their physicians to be aware of these risk factors to ensure patients' ongoing health care needs are met. "We have, in a relatively short period of time, made remarkable progress in treating pediatric cancer, which has resulted in a growing population of ...

GALVESTON, Texas — No one knows the cause of most cases of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders. But researchers have found that certain factors are consistently associated with these debilitating conditions. One is DNA damage by reactive oxygen species, highly destructive molecules usually formed as a byproduct of cellular respiration. Another is the presence of excessive levels of copper and iron in regions of the brain associated with the particular disorder. University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have discovered how ...

A proposed federal measure to improve motor vehicle safety will be delayed by nearly a year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was expected to publish a rule in late February of 2011 creating a phased-in requirement for backup cameras on cars and trucks sold in the U.S. But NHTSA recently requested another 45-day commentary period, and told Congress that the rule could be delayed by ten months. The rule will require that ten percent of new vehicles be equipped with backup cameras by September 2012, increasing to 40 percent a year later with full ...

Species pairs that disappear through hybridization after human-induced changes to the environment can reemerge if the disturbance is removed, according to a new mathematical model that shows the conditions under which reemergence might happen. The findings, published in the journal Evolution, are important for conservationists and ecosystem managers interested in preserving, or even restoring, systems that have been disturbed by human activity. By simulating environmental disturbances that reduce the ability of individuals to identify and select mates from their own ...

North American red foxes originated from two separate genetic lineages that were isolated from each other by glaciers some half a million years ago, according to a U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station study. The research—featured in the April/May 2011 issue of Science Findings, a monthly publication of the station—can assist efforts aimed at conserving potentially imperiled montane populations of the species. "When most people think of the red fox, they envision the ones that thrive in low-elevation, human-dominated landscapes," said Keith Aubry, ...

When patients entrust their health to physicians, surgeons and other health care professionals, they deserve to know the risks and expect a health care provider's best efforts to maximize the chance of a positive outcome. The fact is, many occurrences of surgical error, misdiagnosis, medication error or birth injury are preventable, and medical malpractice attorneys strive to help clients and surviving family members obtain justice when they suspect that standards were not followed. A patient's right to damages for the harm caused by medical errors is an established ...

An international team, including NASA-funded researchers, using radio telescopes located throughout the Southern Hemisphere has produced the most detailed image of particle jets erupting from a supermassive black hole in a nearby galaxy. "These jets arise as infalling matter approaches the black hole, but we don't yet know the details of how they form and maintain themselves," said Cornelia Mueller, the study's lead author and a doctoral student at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. The new image shows a region less than 4.2 light-years across -- ...

Since it began in 2009, the Home Affordable Modification Program has given over half a million Americans a realistic chance to hold on to their homes. Now, new legislation in the House of Representatives could put an end to the program and leave thousands of families out in the cold. Home Affordable Modification Program HAMP was created to give relief to Americans in danger of losing their homes through foreclosure by providing an avenue for mortgage modification. Currently, around 30,000 homeowners take advantage of HAMP loan modification every month. HAMP has ...

Tropical Storm 04W formed from the low pressure System 98W this morning in the northwestern Pacific. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite watched the towering thunderstorms in the center of the tropical storm grow to almost 10 miles (16 km) high as it powered up quickly. At 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) on May 20, Tropical Storm 04W (TS04W) was located 180 miles (290 km) east-southeast of Yap near 8.3 North and 141.9 East. It had maximum sustained winds near 35 knots (40 mph/65 kmh). On its west-northwest track it is already generating rough seas, with ...

A physician in a recent New York Times article lamented the current lack of more intimate doctor-patient relationships, and their replacement by technology-driven diagnoses. Our medical facilities might have the latest imaging devices and computer programs, but the human element is sometimes lost, and patients may be suffering as a result. American hospitals and physicians are among the best in the world, and patient care and safety has always been a priority. Medical students and interns are trained on the newest advances in diagnosing illnesses with the latest technology ...