Current UK and European policies on biofuels encourage unethical practices, says a report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics today following an 18-month inquiry. Policies such as the European Renewable Energy Directive are particularly weak when it comes to protecting the environment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and avoiding human rights violations in developing countries. They also include few incentives for the development of new biofuel technologies that could help avoid these problems. "Biofuels are one of the only renewable alternatives we have for transport ...

Natural gas extracted from shale formations has a greater greenhouse gas footprint - in the form of methane emissions - than conventional gas, oil and coal over a 20 year period. This calls into question the logic of its use as a climate-friendly alternative to fossil fuels, according to Robert Howarth and colleagues, from Cornell University in New York. Their work (1) is published online in Springer's journal, Climatic Change Letters (2). Shale gas* has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States over the past decade. Howarth and team ...

Grand Imperial London has put a spin on authentic Hong Kong cuisine by creating a collection of exquisite chocolate dim sum dumplings - ideal for chocolate lovers looking to indulge in an Easter celebration with Asian flair. Each crispy dumpling is freshly prepared and filled with a warm silky chocolate sauce made with 70% cacao. The platter comes with four individual parcels; the crispy 'Canton Cracker' pastry, the 'Pumpkin Bundle', a miniature pumpkin made with pumpkin essence and lemon zest, the 'Cashew Crescent', a half moon pastry topped with cashew nuts and icing ...

A new study finds that the general public thinks getting a suntan poses a greater public health risk than nanotechnology or other nanoparticle applications. The study, from North Carolina State University, compared survey respondents' perceived risk of nanoparticles with 23 other public-health risks. The study is the first to compare the public's perception of the risks associated with nanoparticles to other environmental and health safety risks. Researchers found that nanoparticles are perceived as being a relatively low risk. "For example, 19 of the other public-health ...

This release is available in German. Reactive nitrogen compounds from agriculture, transport, and industry lead to increased emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) from forests in Europe. Nitrous oxide emission from forest soils is at least twice as high as estimated so far by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This is one of the key messages of the first study on nitrogen in Europe (European Nitrogen Assessment, ENA) that is presented this week at the International Conference "Nitrogen and Global Change 2011" in Edinburgh, Scotland. Reactive ...

Northern Rock has announced the launch of its Easy ISA Issue 2. Following the success of its recently launched Easy ISA, Northern Rock has improved the variable rate cash ISA account, which offers a competitive tax-free* interest rate for a minimum deposit of just GBP1. Easy ISA can now be opened and administered by post, as well as in branch. The Easy ISA Issue 2 account provides a variable rate of interest, and easy access to savings funds. With a minimum deposit of GBP1, a competitive flat rate of 2.65% tax free*/AER** pa, and the option to transfer across any ...

By cleverly linking five Wii Balance Boards, a team of Rice University undergraduates has combined the appeal of a video game with the utility of a computerized motion-tracking system that can enhance the progress of patients at Shriners Hospital for Children-Houston. The Rice engineering students created the new device using components of the popular Nintendo game system to create a balance training system. What the kids may see as a fun video game is really a sophisticated way to help them advance their skills. The Wii Balance Boards lined up between handrails will ...

NewBlue, Inc., the fastest growing provider of integrated video effects technologies, and CommNexus, a nonprofit technology industry association that works to accelerate the success of the technology industry in the region, today announces that NewBlue has been accepted into EvoNexus, San Diego's only community-supported, fully pro-bono technology incubator. Founded by proven, experienced entrepreneurs in digital media, NewBlue was created on the premise that video would become an integral part of popular culture and a critical player in the consumer marketplace. EvoNexus ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Many patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) worry how quickly the disease will progress. Now, by noting the presence of certain markers in a commonly performed diagnostic test, Mayo Clinic researchers can predict whether patients will suffer a faster onset of disability and counsel them to help ease anxiety. The research is being presented at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. Progressive MS is a disease of the central nervous system that can damage the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. Over time, this damage ...

All of those Twitter tweets and Facebook friends may have value after all, according to Penn State researchers. Updates on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other real-time content sites could be worth more than $30 million a day, or nearly $10.9 billion a year, to advertisers, said Jim Jansen, associate professor, information sciences and technology. "Real-time content is particularly interesting because it's a window into a person's world at a particular moment in time," said Jansen. "What we wanted to determine is if real-time search could be monetized." Jansen defines ...

A Johns Hopkins study of 769 men from across the United States recently diagnosed with low-grade prostate cancer shows that forgoing immediate surgery to remove the tumor or radiation poses no added risk of death. Delaying treatment is fine, the results show, so long as the cancer's progression and tumor growth are closely monitored through "active surveillance" and there is no dramatic worsening of the disease over time. None of the men, mostly 65 and older, have so far died from prostate cancer since the study began in 1995. However, one-third of study participants, ...

Mortgage shoppers in the UK may be interested in new research from Lloyds TSB which shows property sales have fallen significantly across England and Wales since 2007 amid a widening North-South housing divide. The number of property sales in England and Wales has almost halved over the past three years, but there has been a clear North-South divide with property sales in the South down by 42% compared with a 51% drop in the North1. Overall, there were 649,957 home sales in England and Wales in 2010; 47% less than in 2007 (1,222,402). The South West sees the smallest ...

AUSTIN, Texas-Drinking alcohol primes certain areas of our brain to learn and remember better, says a new study from the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research at The University of Texas at Austin. The common view that drinking is bad for learning and memory isn't wrong, says neurobiologist Hitoshi Morikawa, but it highlights only one side of what ethanol consumption does to the brain. "Usually, when we talk about learning and memory, we're talking about conscious memory," says Morikawa, whose results were published last month in The Journal of Neuroscience. ...

This release is available in German. The expectations people have about how others will behave play a large role in determining whether people cooperate with each other or not. And moreover that very first expectation, or impression, is hard to change. "This is particularly true when the impression is a negative one," says Michael Kurschilgen from the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods in Bonn, summarising the key findings of a study in which he and his colleagues Christoph Engel and Sebastian Kube examined the results of so-called public good games. ...

DURHAM, N.H. – One year after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion on the Gulf Coast, new research from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire shows that despite the roughly equivalent economic compensation, Louisiana and Florida residents differ in perceptions about the current and long-term effects of the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history. "Louisiana residents were more likely than Floridians to say their family suffered major economic setbacks because of the spill, to expect compensation by BP, and plan to leave the region as a result ...

A molecule that lies dormant until it encounters a cancer cell, then suddenly activates and rouses the body's immune system to fight cancer cells directly, marks the latest step in scientists' efforts to tap the body's own resources to fight the disease. The developers of the technology at the University of Rochester Medical Center dub it the "Pacman strategy" because it hinges upon molecular machines produced in abundance by tumors to chew through and gobble up particular chains of molecules. The key feature of the work is a new type of fusion molecule with three parts: ...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The discovery of two genes that encode copper- and sulfur-binding repressors in the hospital terror Staphylococcus aureus means two new potential avenues for controlling the increasingly drug-resistant bacterium, scientists say in the April 15, 2011 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. "We need to come up with new targets for antibacterial agents," said Indiana University Bloomington biochemist David Giedroc, who led the project. "Staph is becoming more and more multi-drug resistant, and both of the systems we discovered are promising." The ...

This release is available in Spanish. Almost everyone knows about Escherichia coli O157:H7, the culprit behind many headline-making outbreaks of foodborne illness in the United States. But the lesser-known relatives of this pathogenic microbe are increasingly of concern to food safety scientists. That's according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) microbiologist and research leader Pina M. Fratamico. Researchers such as Fratamico, along with food safety regulators, public health officials and food producers in the United States and abroad, want to know more about ...

WASHINGTON D.C., April 12, 2011 – Tart cherries have a unique combination of powerful antioxidants that may help reduce risk factors for heart disease, according to new research presented at the Experimental Biology annual meeting in Washington, DC. In a series of three studies, researchers from University of Michigan, University of Arizona and Brunswick labs studied the antioxidant levels and anti-inflammatory benefits of tart cherries. They found: Reduced Inflammation and Cardiovascular Risk: Drinking eight ounces of tart cherry juice daily for four weeks significantly ...

SEATTLE, Wash.—April 12, 2011—The Allen Institute for Brain Science has released the world's first anatomically and genomically comprehensive human brain map, a previously unthinkable feat made possible through leading-edge technology and more than four years of rigorous studies and documentation. The unprecedented mappings are the foundation for the Allen Human Brain Atlas, an online public resource developed to advance the Institute's goal to accelerate understanding of how the human brain works and fuel new discovery among the global research community. In developing ...

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, April 12, 2011 – The sentinel node (SN) procedure in breast cancer is based on the premise that if the first node into which breast tissue drains is clean, the remaining lymph nodes in the armpit are likely not involved, with no need for removal. This was developed to limit surgical overtreatment and reduce morbidities such as blockage of lymph vessels and shoulder dysfunction. However, in the initial years of the SN procedure, surgeries actually increased when isolated tumor cells were found. A special issue of Breast Disease presents an insightful ...

ROCKVILLE, Maryland, April 12, 2011 – Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: CUR) announced that Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., Principal Investigator of the Phase I safety trial of Neuralstem's human spinal cord stem cells (HSSC's) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), and unpaid Neuralstem consultant, presented interim safety data on the first nine patients. Dr. Feldman reported yesterday at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting (http://www.aan.com/go/am11) that all nine ALS patients remain alive and that ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Just as monarch butterflies depend on circadian cues to begin their annual migration, so do plants to survive freezing temperatures. All living things – humans, animals, plants, microbes – are influenced by circadian rhythms, which are physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. In the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Michael Thomashow, University Distinguished Professor of molecular genetics, along with MSU colleagues Malia Dong and Eva Farré, has identified that the circadian clock provides ...

iFreedom Direct, a national VA specialty lender, has added a veterans news page to its website, www.directvaloans.com. Military members can read top stories related to VA benefits, housing and finance in one reliable, convenient location. The veterans news section offers readers original stories relevant to those military members who are interested in staying up to date on their benefits and the VA home loan program. The articles are published daily and can help veterans stay informed with the latest trends and policies pertaining to their benefits. Many military ...

CHICAGO- Northwestern Medicine physicians are currently utilizing a new treatment option for breast cancer that allows women to receive a full dose of radiation therapy during breast conserving surgery. Traditionally, women who opt to have a lumpectomy must first have surgery then undergo approximately six weeks of radiation. This schedule can be challenging for women who have busy schedules or do not have access to a center offering radiation therapy. In some cases, the demanding schedule causes women to not comply with the recommended course of treatment, increasing their ...