College Park, Md. (July 13, 2011) -- Conventional wisdom suggests that because we're approaching the theoretical limit on individual wind turbine efficiency, wind energy is now a mature technology. But California Institute of Technology researchers revisited some of the fundamental assumptions that guided the wind industry for the past 30 years, and now believe that a new approach to wind farm design—one that places wind turbines close together instead of far apart—may provide significant efficiency gains. This challenges the school of thought that the only remaining ...

A custom-built, $2.5 million "split magnet" system with the potential to revolutionize scientific research in a variety of fields has made its debut at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University. The world-record magnet is operating at 25 tesla, easily besting the 17.5 tesla French record set in 1991 for this type of magnet. ("Tesla," named for early 20th-century inventor and engineer Nikola Tesla, is a measurement of the strength of a magnetic field.) In addition to being 43 percent more powerful than the previous world best, the new magnet ...

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, with assistance from the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego, have found a new approach to the creation of customized therapies for virulent flu strains that resist current antiviral drugs. The findings, published online this week in Nature Communications, could aid development of new drugs that exploit so-called flu protein 'pockets.' Using powerful computer simulations on SDSC's new Trestles system, launched earlier this year under a $2.8 million National Science Foundation (NSF) award, UCI's Rommie ...

To arrange for an interview with a researcher, please contact the Communications and External Relations staff member identified at the end of each tip. For more information on ORNL and its research and development activities, please refer to one of our Media Contacts. If you have a general media-related question or comment, you can send it to news@ornl.gov. MATERIALS – Moving toward nanorobots . . . Nanoscale robots that can flow through blood or repair complex electronics may yet be a possibility with the help of a new strategy developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. ...

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- A new University of Maryland-led study finds that 'sex' between the virus responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic (H1N1) and a common type of avian flu virus (H9N2) can produce offspring -- new combined flu viruses -- with the potential for creating a new influenza pandemic. Of course, viruses don't actually have sex, but University of Maryland virologist Daniel Perez, who directed the new study, says new pandemic viruses are formed mainly through a process called reassortment, which can best be described as viral sexual reproduction. "In reassortment, ...

Fewer Mexican immigrants returned home from the United States during 2008 and 2009 than in the two years prior to the start of the recession, a finding that contradicts the notion that the economic downturn has hastened return migration to Mexico, according to a new RAND Corporation study. The study, published online by the journal Demography, is the first to track return migration trends by analyzing household survey information routinely collected by the Mexican government. "The recession in the United States and the global financial crisis did not increase the number ...

A new promotion Tasty Bingo has cooked up is the Friday Feast which takes place every Friday evening at 8.30pm. A player can win GBP150 for a full house, GBP30 for two lines and GBP20 for one line. Cards for this game cost just 50p each. Players are able to buy anywhere from one to 48 cards for this game. Only funded players can participate in this and should there be more than one winner, the prizes will be shared. Then there is the GBP500 Tasty Treat Bingo. This takes place on Wednesday nights at 9pm. A player can win GBP300 for a full house which is indeed a Tasty ...

Irvine, Calif., July 13, 2011 — Human neural stem cells are capable of helping people regain learning and memory abilities lost due to radiation treatment for brain tumors, a UC Irvine study suggests. Research with rats found that stem cells transplanted two days after cranial irradiation restored cognitive function, as measured in one- and four-month assessments. In contrast, irradiated rats not treated with stem cells showed no cognitive improvement. "Our findings provide solid evidence that such cells can be used to reverse radiation-induced damage of healthy tissue ...

Scientists at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle have determined the atomic architecture of a sodium channel. The achievement opens new possibilities for molecular medicine researchers around the world in designing better drugs for pain, epilepsy, and heart rhythm disturbances. Sodium channels are pores in the membranes of excitable cells – such as brain nerve cells or beating heart cells – that emit electrical signals. Sodium channels selectively open and close to allow the passage of millions of tiny charged particles across the cell membrane. The gated flow ...

Advanced Visual Systems Inc., a leading data visualization software and solutions company (OTCIQ:AVSC; www.avs.com) has appointed Paula LaPuma to the post of Vice President of Business Development. LaPuma joins AVS to direct the expansion of the company's U.S. Enterprise and OEM solution licensing programs that provide comprehensive data visualization strategies to development teams that build business intelligence, customer analytics, risk management and social media solutions. According to Steve Sukman, Executive Vice President of AVS, "Paula LaPuma brings a highly ...

Seattle – Rice – which provides nearly half the daily calories for the world's population – could become adapted to climate change and some catastrophic events by colonizing its seeds or plants with the spores of tiny naturally occurring fungi, just-published U.S. Geological Survey-led research shows. In an effort to explore ways to increase the adaptability of rice to climatic scourges such as tsunamis and tidal surges that have already led to rice shortages, USGS researchers and their colleagues colonized two commercial varieties of rice with the spores of fungi that ...

BOTOX Cosmetic revolutionized cosmetic medicine. Since its approval by the FDA in 2002 for the treatment of glabellar lines, it has become the most popular cosmetic treatment in the world. In the US alone, more than 5 million treatments were performed in 2010 using BOTOX Cosmetic and similar compounds. However, many people still have questions about BOTOX Cosmetic. Here are some of the questions people have about BOTOX Cosmetic. What is BOTOX Cosmetic? BOTOX Cosmetic is a purified form of botulinum toxin A. The botulinum bacteria is named for the disease it causes, ...

EVANSTON, Ill. --- So much has changed since 1963, when Betty Friedan's influential "The Feminine Mystique" provoked a national discussion about the deep dissatisfaction women were feeling about the limitations of their lives. Many women came to believe that discrimination limited their opportunities, especially in relation to leadership roles. But a new Northwestern University meta-analysis (an integration of a large number of studies addressing the same question) shows that even today leadership continues to be viewed as culturally masculine. Thus, women suffer from ...

Surveys show that about 70% of women are unhappy with their breasts, and with age it is increasingly sagging that makes them unhappy. There are many myths surrounding breast sagging, but what really causes breasts to sag? And once they have begun to sag, how can you combat sagging? Causes of Breast Sagging The main cause of breast sagging is just gravity, the most implacable force in the universe. Over time, gravity stretches out breast tissue. However, the speed at which your breasts sag can be increased by: - Pregnancy - Larger breasts - Breast composition ...

Faculty and students at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin are developing ways for cancer patients and children born with facial deformities to make more informed decisions about which reconstructive surgeries would be most aesthetically pleasing and practical based on their individual body types and personal preferences. The interdisciplinary research, which includes biomedical engineering Professor Mia K. Markey and aerospace engineering Professor K. Ravi-Chandar, pairs faculty and students with doctors and patients at The University ...

If you have been hurt in a car accident, you may want to file a lawsuit against the other driver and his insurance company. In order to win a personal injury case, you must prove the other drive was at fault, or liable, for your injuries. If a loved one has died due to someone else's reckless driving, you will have to prove the other driver was responsible for your loved one's death. Proving Fault in a Car Accident In its purest form, fault for causing an accident is either created by statute or defined by common law. Common law recognizes four basic levels of fault: - ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- At an atomic scale, the tiniest bridge of gold -- that made of a single atom -- is actually the strongest, according to new research by engineers at the University at Buffalo's Laboratory for Quantum Devices. The counterintuitive finding is the result of experiments probing the characteristics of atomic-scale necks of gold that formed when the pointed, gold tip of a cantilever was pushed into a flat, gold surface. An examination of these tiny, gold bridges revealed that they were stiffest when they comprised just a single atom. The study was published ...

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motorcyclists should wear helmets and protective clothing whenever operating their bikes. Motorcycles require more skill and attention to drive than passenger vehicles, which is why the NHTSA also recommends bikers take special courses to learn defensive driving and proper operation of their vehicles. However, even the safest biker cannot always avoid a motorcycle accident, and despite protective clothing and helmets, bikers run a much higher risk of sustaining serious injury in an accident. When ...

For many reasons -- including the rising cost of health care and aging of the U.S. population -- health care is increasingly moving from formal medical facilities into patients' homes. A wide range of procedures and therapies are now carried out far from any hospital or clinic, often with no health care professional on site. HEALTH CARE COMES HOME: THE HUMAN FACTORS, a new report from the National Research Council, recommends steps the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other agencies and groups can take to ensure that the medical devices used in home care are easy ...

Health issues intensify when an elderly person fractures a hip. In fact, 29 percent of older people who break a hip will die within one year; that's according to the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Combine a hip fracture with another chronic disease and morbidity can rise to 75 percent of those cases. Unfortunately, hip fractures are on the rise. Approximately 300,000 Americans over the age of 64 break their hips annually. And, The large majority of those are women. Considering that millions of boomers will hit retirement age over the next few years, fractures ...

Farmers and other astute observers of nature have long known that crops like corn and sorghum grow taller at night. But the biochemical mechanisms that control this nightly stem elongation, common to most plants, have been something of a mystery to biologists—until now. In this week's early online publication of the journal Nature, biologists at the University of California, San Diego report their discovery of a protein complex they call the "evening complex" that regulates the rhythmic growth of plants during the night. More importantly, the biologists show how this ...

In the wake of the sexual assault allegations against International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, New York legislators are contemplating new proposals that would offer further protections to hotel maids. In May, Strauss-Kahn was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault stemming from an encounter with a hotel maid at the Sofitel Hotel near Times Square. On May 23rd, Assemblyman Rory Lancman introduced the Hotel Worker Protection Act, which would add a new provision to Section 202 of the Labor Code. Essentially, the bill would allow hotel employees (specifically ...

PITTSBURGH, July 13 – Transfused blood may need to be stored in a different way to prevent the breakdown of red blood cells that can lead to complications including infection, organ failure and death, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Wake Forest University. This week in the early online version of Circulation, the team reports the latest findings from its ongoing exploration of the interaction between red blood cell breakdown products and nitric oxide (NO), revealing new biological mechanisms that can reduce blood flow and possibly ...

Maybe you've had concerns for your child's well-being since the day of his or her birth because your labor was mismanaged, delivery was delayed, too much Pitocin was used or your baby was in fetal distress. Maybe you suspected there was a problem when you noticed your infant didn't reach for you with two hands or seemed excessively stiff or floppy. He or she just didn't move like other babies. Even if you thought there might be problems, an actual diagnosis of cerebral palsy is still devastating. It's a diagnosis that thousands of parents hear every year, as almost ...

People who see the "glass as half empty" may be more willing to contribute to a common goal if they already identify with it, according to researchers from The University of Texas at Austin, University of Chicago and Sungkyunkwan University. According to the studies, individuals who already care a lot (highly identify) with a cause are more likely to financially support the cause if a solicitation is framed by how much is still needed (for example, "we still need $50,000 to reach our goal"). However, if individuals care very little prior to a solicitation (low identify), ...