Buried mangrove layer dampens seismic shaking along Caribbean coasts Engineers have long used a soft flexible layer, often made of rubber bearings, between a rigid building and the soil to reduce the impact of ground shaking on the structure. Now French scientists have determined that a buried mangrove layer along the coasts of Guadeloupe Island, close to the Caribbean subduction zone, serves a similar purpose. The mangrove swamps limit the effects of seismic waves on the uppermost sandy layer, reducing the potential of liquefaction from shaking caused by earthquakes. ...

CHICAGO – As the world marks the 30-year anniversary of the first reporting of HIV/AIDS, now comes the realization of a new challenge for people with the incurable disease. For reasons not yet clear, people with HIV face a higher rate of cancers not usually associated with HIV. This increasing rate of "non-AIDS defining cancers" includes lung, head and neck, liver, kidney, and anal cancers, among others. The alarming uptick in cancer rates highlights the critical need to understand how to treat tumors in people taking highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) for ...

Scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have discovered a key molecule needed to kill the blood vessels that supply tumours. The research team from the institute's Molecular Genetics of Cancer and Cancer and Haematology divisions found that for anti-cancer therapies that target tumour blood vessels to work the death- inducing molecule Bim is required. The finding could lead to improved anti-cancer treatments that are based on a two- or three-pronged attack on both the tumour and its blood supply. The research will be published online in the Journal of Experimental ...

Researchers at the National University of Singapore have invented a graphene-based polarizer that can broaden the bandwidth of prevailing optical fibre-based telecommunication systems. The graphene research team, led by Professor Kian Ping Loh at the National University of Singapore, invented an ultra-slim broadband polarizer that uses graphene, a single-atomic-layer crystallized carbon, to convert light beam into polarized light. This is the first experimental demonstration of using graphene as an ultrathin waveguide to couple and modulate light. Light modulation by ...

Researchers from the University of Hull have discovered a way to load up nanoparticles with large numbers of light-sensitive molecules to create a more effective form of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for treating cancer. Photodynamic therapy uses molecules which, when irradiated with light, cause irreparable damage to cells by creating toxic forms of oxygen, called reactive oxygen species. Most PDT works with individual light-sensitive molecules – but the new nanoparticles could each carry hundreds of molecules to a cancer site. A number of different light-sensitive molecules ...

Work by researchers at Queen Mary, University of London could point to a new way to treat aggressive types of cancer. The scientists have found that a molecule called Met is responsible for stimulating the growth and spread of cancer because it is relocating to the wrong part of the cell. Experiments in the lab suggest that moving Met molecules from the inside of the cell to the cell surface could halt the growth of cancer cells and even cause tumours to shrink. Met molecules are involved in the growth of cells in the human body but they are usually only active in ...

Scientists could have a revolutionary new way of measuring how much of the potent greenhouse gas methane is produced by cows and other ruminants, thanks to a surprising discovery in their poo. Researchers from the University of Bristol and the Teagasc Animal and Grassland Research Centre in Ireland, have found a link between methane production and levels of a compound called archaeol in the faeces of several fore-gut fermenting animals including cows, sheep and deer. The compound could potentially be developed as a biomarker to estimate the methane production from ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – While violent video games may lead to more aggression and anger in players, a new study shows that the opposite is also true: relaxing video games can make people happier and more kind. "With all the evidence about the dangers of violent video games, it's good to know that game players can choose games that will provide a positive experience," said Brad Bushman, co-author of the study and professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University. Bushman has conducted many studies showing the bad effects of violent games, especially on teens ...

Exploding stars are the 'factories' that produce all the heavy elements found, among other places, in our bodies. In this sense, we are all stardust. These exploding stars – supernovae – are highly energetic events that can occasionally light up the night sky. Such an explosion generally involves disruption in the balance between gravity – which pulls the star's material inward – and the thermonuclear reaction at the star's core – which heats it and pushes it outward. Certain types of stars that go in this way have a much bigger mass (10-100 times) and are much younger ...

The world's first 'meat-flavored spirit', Bakon Vodka (www.bakonvodka.com), today announced a new partnership with the number one distributor in the United States, Southern Wine & Spirits. Bakon Vodka has also strategically expanded its partnerships with Republic National Distributing Company and California's BevMo! stores to increase product accessibility as a result of growing demand for the bacon vodka infusion. Currently available in 32 states, the acclaimed and award-winning spirit is expected to be available in all 50 states and break sales of one million dollars ...

The treatment of obesity still needs improvement. In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, Norbert Runkel and colleagues present a new, interdisciplinary S3 guideline entitled "Bariatric Surgery" (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108[20]: 341𔃄). One in two persons in Germany is overweight, and every fifth one is obese. Conservative treatment is considered to have been exhausted when it fails to bring about a 10% to 20% loss of weight in one year in a patient whose initial body-mass index was between 35 and 40 kg/m2. In this situation, bariatric surgery ...

This world-first has its origins in Hamburg. Jörg Weißmüller, a materials scientist at both the Technical University of Hamburg and the Helmholtz Center Geesthacht, has carried out research on this groundbreaking development, working in cooperation with colleagues from the Institute for Metal Research in Shenyang, China. The 51-year-old researcher from the Saarland referred to his fundamental research, which opens the door to a multitude of diverse applications, as "a breakthrough in the material sciences". The new metallic high-performance material is described by Prof. ...

Cancer cells do not grow equally well everywhere in the body. Often, they first create the conditions in which they can grow. Many years ago researchers discovered that solid tumors attract blood vessels to ensure their supply of nutrients by secreting specific factors. Now the immunologist Dr. Uta Höpken (Tumor and Immunogenetics Research Group at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, MDC, Berlin-Buch in the Helmholtz Association) and the hematologist Dr. Armin Rehm (Charité – Virchow-Klinikum, Department of Hematology, Oncology and Tumor Immunology, MDC) have ...

The human impact on the environment, especially through the release of greenhouse gases, is an area of controversy in public understanding of climate change, and is important for predicting future changes. Many studies into our collective impact use climate models to understand the causes of observed climate changes, both globally and in specific regions. Writing in WIREs Climate Change, Professors Gabriele Hegerl from the University of Edinburgh and Francis Zwiers from the University of Victoria assess the role of climate models in studies of observed changes and the robustness ...

When teens start experiencing changes in moods or emotions, they tend to fear sharing their blue days with their families and adults who can help them. As a consequence, they often suffer in silence. Case Western Reserve University KL2 Clinical Research Scholar and Instructor Melissa Pinto-Foltz from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing wants to find the magical elixir that helps teens speak up, seek help and then stick with treatments that get them feeling better. "About one in five Americans has a mental illness, with half of these individuals first experiencing ...

The tropics and much of the Northern Hemisphere are likely to experience an irreversible rise in summer temperatures within the next 20 to 60 years if atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations continue to increase, according to a new climate study by Stanford University scientists. The results will be published later this month in the journal Climatic Change. In the study, the Stanford team concluded that many tropical regions in Africa, Asia and South America could see "the permanent emergence of unprecedented summer heat" in the next two decades. Middle latitudes of ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Instead of feeling stressed by the money they owe, many young adults actually feel empowered by their credit card and education debts, according to a new nationwide study. Researchers found that the more credit card and college loan debt held by young adults aged 18 to 27, the higher their self-esteem and the more they felt like they were in control of their lives. The effect was strongest among those in the lowest economic class. Only the oldest of those studied – those aged 28 to 34 – began showing signs of stress about the money they owed. "Debt ...

A groundbreaking new test for male infertility, which will save time, money and heartache for couples around the world, has been developed at Queen's University Belfast. The medical breakthrough, known as the SpermComet, has resulted from more than a decade's research by Professor Sheena Lewis, who leads the Reproductive Medicine research group at Queen's. The SpermComet provides unique information that no other test offers. By measuring damaged DNA in individual sperm, it can predict the success of infertility treatments and fast-track couples to the treatment most ...

A study conducted by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland indicates that there is practically no difference between commercial petrol grades 95E10 and 98E5 sold in Finland as regards fuel consumption in normal driving. The finding is based on driving tests conducted by VTT using six used cars of different make under laboratory conditions. It has been frequently claimed in public that fuel consumption is significantly higher with 95E10 petrol than with its predecessor 95E or the 98E5 petrol currently on the market. The suspected higher consumption has deterred drivers ...

An article in the current issue of Global Change Biology Bioenergy finds that natural populations of Miscanthus are promising candidates as second-generation energy sources because they have genetic variation that may increase their stress tolerance. Sustainable, large-scale bioenergy production requires domestication that develops crops capable of producing sufficiently high biomass on marginal and degraded land. Yan and coauthors collected three species of Miscanthus from populations across China and grew these species at three separate sites with varying climates ...

Back in the mid 19th century, a French doctor, Armand Trousseau, discovered a connection between cancer and thrombosis – the formation of often dangerous blood clots that can lead to venous occlusion. Today it is known that cancer and its treatment change blood flow properties and thus promote the formation of clots. However, clots do not only occur as a side effect and consequence of cancer, but, vice versa, an increased blood clotting tendency may also be associated with an elevated cancer risk. About twelve different blood proteins called clotting factors interact ...

A group of scientists at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, in Portugal, have uncovered a surprising link between the cell's skeleton and organ size. The team, led by Florence Janody, show in the journal Development(*), that one of the proteins that regulates the skeleton of the cell also acts to blocks activation of genes that promote cell survival and proliferation. Their findings have implications for cancer research, as they add to the puzzle of understanding how proliferation genes are abnormally activated, often leading to tumours. During development of an embryo, ...

Nana's Fire and Safety School will have its grand opening of Nana's Interactive Exhibit inside the Permian Basin Regional Training Center on June 11, 2011 from 10:00am to 2:00pm. "The interactive exhibit is the next stage of growth toward our goal to teach children how to be safe," said Martha "Nana" Chapman. "We want everyone to come out and see how Nana's Fire and Safety School came to be, show families the reason to be vigilant with their children's safety, and share our vision for the future." Nana's Fire and Safety School and the ...

Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have discovered proteins in frog skins which could be used to treat cancer, diabetes, stroke and transplant patients by regulating the growth of blood vessels. The award-winning research, led by Professor Chris Shaw at Queen's School of Pharmacy, has identified two proteins, or 'peptides', which can be used in a controlled and targeted way to regulate 'angiogenesis' – the process by which blood vessels grow in the body. The discovery holds the potential to develop new treatments for more than seventy major diseases and conditions ...

Carlsbad, NM and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) received a visit this past Saturday from Representative James Clyburn (SC, 6th Dist.), a prominent member of the U.S. Congress. Congressman Clyburn, the Assistant Democratic Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives and a member of the Congress since 1993, is the leadership liaison to the Appropriations Committee and one of the Democratic Caucus' primary liaisons to the White House. Clyburn spent the day in Carlsbad, NM touring the WIPP site and speaking with community leaders. "I had a very productive and enlightening ...