More and more pathogens are becoming immune to antibiotics. Some bacteria can no longer be combated. The World Health Organization WHO is warning about resistance to drugs which were once so potent. The WHO's director-general Margaret Chan has pointed out that if measures are not taken quickly, it may soon not be possible to treat many frequently occurring infections. Figures released by the WHO show that in 2010 nearly half-a-million people were infected with a strain of tuberculosis which is resistant to many antibiotics – one third of those infected died. The Organization ...

An article in the current issue of Technology & Innovation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors ™ reports on the bright future and enormous need for stem cell therapeutics that may offer hope for those suffering from debilitating and deadly diseases. www.cognizantcommunication.com Stem cell transplantation may offer therapy through "simple cell replacement" procedures to restructure damaged organs, tissues and cells, or provide methods for "reawakening" biological cues to regenerate cells. "The future for stem cell applications is indeed promising, ...

The plane takes off from Munich in bright weather, temperature 10 degrees Celsius, and lands in Anchorage, Alaska, in driving snow, temperature minus 15. Parked on the airfield overnight, the aircraft takes off the next morning at a freezing minus 25 degrees, heading for Dubai, where the weather is a sunny 32 degrees. The temperature on the outside of the fuselage is over 80 degrees. The rapid changes in temperature pose a challenge for the technical systems and materials. How can it be ensured that the onboard equipment will function in all circumstances? Scientists at ...

Researchers identify gender disparities in the appropriate use of nuclear stress tests More women than men are unnecessarily referred for nuclear stress tests Majority of inappropriate studies ordered by primary care physicians PROVIDENCE, R.I. – New research from cardiologists at Rhode Island and The Miriam hospitals suggests a possible gender disparity in how patients are referred for nuclear stress tests, an imaging technique that measures blood flow to the heart muscle both at rest and during periods of stress, such as exercise. According to the study, published ...

June 8, 2011 – Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have found a marker called ABCB5 that both tags a small proportion of cells within colorectal cancers and fuels resistance in those cells to standard treatments. The results indicate that eliminating ABCB5-expressing cells is crucial for successful colorectal cancer treatment, while adding to the growing body of evidence for a theory of cancer growth called the cancer stem cell hypothesis. An international team led by Brian J. Wilson, PhD, Tobias Schatton, PhD, and Markus Frank, MD, of the Transplantation Research ...

A new study from biology researchers at Baylor University and the University of Maryland-Baltimore has found that there are consistent and widespread declines in stream biodiversity at lower levels of urban development more damaging than what was previously believed. The study found that aquatic life actually shows significant loss of biodiversity with less than two percent of developed land in a watershed. This is much less that what a decade-old analysis widely cited by environmental policymakers suggests that it takes up to 15 percent of solid surfaces like roads ...

STANFORD, Calif. — New research has shown that children's risk for learning and behavior problems and obesity rises in correlation to their level of trauma exposure, says the psychiatrist at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital who oversaw the study. The findings could encourage physicians to consider diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder rather than attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which has similar symptoms to PTSD but very different treatment. The study examined children living in a violent, low-income neighborhood ...

Almost universally, red means stop. Red means danger. Red means hot. And analyzing the results in the 2004 Olympics, researchers have found that red also means dominance. Athletes wearing red prevailed more often than those wearing blue, especially in hand-to-hand sports like wrestling. Why? Is it random? Is it cultural? Or does it have evolutionary roots? A new study of male rhesus macaques strongly suggests it's evolution. "The similarity of our results with those in humans suggests that avoiding red or acting submissively in its presence may stem from an inherited ...

Researchers from NOAA have discovered a potent and highly-debilitating toxin in the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, a first-of-its-kind chemical finding that is now prompting investigations of other marine mammals in the state. The toxin, ciguatoxin, is produced by marine algae common on coral reefs, and accumulates in fish species that are consumed by humans. Ciguatera, the human disease caused by ciguatoxin, affects thousands of people every year worldwide and comes in the form of acute gastrointestinal and neurological illness with symptoms resembling chronic fatigue ...

Researchers from the University of Sheffield have discovered valuable insight into how people develop B-cell lymphoma, one of the most common cancers in the UK. The team, from the University's Institute for Cancer Studies and funded by Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Yorkshire Cancer Research, found that a mechanism different to that previously thought to be the cause of lymphoma may be responsible for the development of the disease. Lymphoma is a type of cancer that affects the blood, originating in ...

Taiwanese investigators have found that there can be a significantly higher risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) occurring in the year following a shingles, or herpes zoster, attack. The findings, which support a long-held view on how MS may develop, are published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases and now available online (http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/06/07/infdis.jir239.abstract). MS is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, leading to inflammation and nerve damage as the body's immune cells attack the nervous system. Possible ...

PORTLAND, Ore. — Women who receive a contraceptive known as an intrauterine device or IUD immediately following a first trimester abortion experience few complications and are less likely to have an unintended pregnancy than those who delay getting an IUD by several weeks, according to a new study at Oregon Health & Science University. The findings are published in the June 9 New England Journal of Medicine. Research has shown that IUDs are safe, highly effective, long-term reversible contraceptives that don't require active use once they've been inserted. IUDs are ...

Suffering from parental abuse as a child increases a person's chances of having poor sleep quality in old age, according to a research article in the current issue of the Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological and Social Sciences (Volume 66B, Number 3). An analysis of data from 877 adults age 60 years and above found that early parental emotional abuse was associated with a higher number of sleep complaints in old age. It was specifically emotional abuse — rather than physical abuse or emotional neglect — that was tied to trouble in getting a good night's sleep. "A ...

WASHINGTON, June 8—Scientists today reported that the tiny light-sensing cells known as rods have been clearly and directly imaged in the living eye for the first time. Using adaptive optics (AO), the same technology astronomers use to study distant stars and galaxies, scientists can see through the murky distortion of the outer eye, revealing the eye's cellular structure with unprecedented detail. This innovation, described in two papers in the Optical Society's (OSA) open access journal Biomedical Optics Express, will help doctors diagnose degenerative eye disorders sooner, ...

Southwest Binding & Laminating, a St. Louis, MO based manufacturer and distributor of document finishing products is pleased to announce the launch of it's PSA Overlaminate (ProGuard) and Mounting Adhesives (ProBond) to service new and existing customers. "The Wide Format Printing market has seen tremendous growth and popularity," said Mark Mercer, President and CEO of Southwest Binding & Laminating. "PSA Overlaminates and Mounting Adhesives is a great addition to Southwest's product mix, in our continued efforts to better serve our customers."For ...

Like an opera singer hitting a note that shatters a glass, a signal at a particular resonant frequency can concentrate energy in a material and change its properties. And as with 18th century "musical glasses," adding a little water can change the critical pitch. Echoing both phenomena, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a unique fluid-tuned "metasurface," a concept that may be useful in biomedical sensors and microwave-assisted chemistry. A metasurface or metafilm is a two-dimensional version of a metamaterial, ...

The Rabine Group is proud to announce that its CEO and founder, Gary Rabine, was invited to speak at Crain's Fast Fifty Breakfast along with other successful entrepreneurs from Crain's Fast Fifty Growing Companies list. The event will be held on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at the Westin River North hotel in Chicago. The prestigious Fast Fifty Growing Companies list is an annual report published by Crain's Chicago featuring the fastest-growing public and private companies in the Chicagoland area based on five-year revenue growth. Last year, the Rabine Group ranked No. 12 with ...

Cell phone distractions account for more than 300,000 car crashes each year. As a result, most states have put laws in place to limit or prohibit the use of mobile devices while driving. But a new study led by Temple University finds a widening gap between the evidence on distracted driving and the laws being passed to address the problem. The new study, published this month in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, is the first comprehensive collection and coding of state laws attempting to address the public health risk posed by distracted driving. Lead author ...

Depending on whom you ask, nanoparticles are, potentially, either one of the most promising or the most perilous creations of science. These tiny objects can deliver drugs efficiently and enhance the properties of many materials, but what if they also are hazardous to your health in some way? Now, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have found* a way to manipulate nanoparticles so that questions like this can be answered. The team has developed a method of attracting and capturing metal-based nanoparticles on a surface and releasing ...

As the nation prepares to celebrate National Ice Cream Month this July, there's no place better to experience the creamy confection than Harrison County. Here, a trio of old-fashioned ice cream parlors and soda fountains draw sweet-toothed visitors of all ages to the southern Indiana town of Corydon. Palate-Pleasing Prescription Recently made famous with the wildly popular viral nature of their online commercial (http://bit.ly/cGNJuu), the classic soda fountain tucked inside Butt Drugs returns visitors to the laid-back days before cell phones and MP3s. Locals and out-of-towners ...

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers are working to reduce the uncertainty associated with climate-change measurements using a mobile temperature-sensing technology made for tracking delicate or perishable, high-value packages in transit. Developed by international shipper FedEx and tested with help from NIST, the device connects to cell phone networks to provide users with near real-time information on the package's precise location, temperature, humidity, pressure, acceleration, elevation and exposure to light. Senseaware tag Developed by ...

June 6, 2011 – (Rensselaer, N.Y., USA) – A new study may explain why only 50% of patients experiencing chronic nerve pain achieve even partial relief from existing therapeutics. The study, published in the June 6 online version of the international research journal PAIN, reveals that certain types of chronic pain may be caused by signals from the skin itself, rather than damage to nerves within the skin, as previously thought. A Medical Mystery For years, researchers have known that increased amounts of a molecule called Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP) is ...

A VELUX America solar water heating system and Sun Tunnel skylight are included in the KB Home GreenHouse: An Idea Home Created with Martha Stewart, at the 2011 International Builders' Show in Orlando. The home is slated to be the first net-zero energy, single-family home in the Builder Magazine Concept Home series. The KB Home GreenHouse will also demonstrate to consumers that this environmentally friendly home not only saves energy and water through the use of solar and thermal systems and meeting EPA's WaterSense for new homes specifications, but can also save them ...

VELUX America has expanded its solar water heating product line in the U.S. to include packaged solar water heating systems for homeowners in all markets across the country. Jim Cika, manager, solar products for VELUX America, says VELUX has three major additions to the solar product line that will open the solar water heating market to U.S. homeowners. He says that the addition of gas backup solar systems, rack mounted collector systems, and smaller size, one-collector/60 gallon tank solar systems, will provide most homeowners with a solar thermal option to meet their ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Vaccines that save lives by preventing disease have been around for centuries. Now, new vaccines that treat cancer are being developed, but how they will be combined with existing treatments is not clear. Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System recommend that a national strategy be developed for bringing therapeutic cancer vaccines to patient care, so that cancers with less effective treatment options are priority targets. "Vaccines that prevent disease have profoundly changed the lives of billions of people around the world," says ...