A smartphone is all it takes to turn the heating on or off at home. This might sound like science fiction to the average user, but it is not unusual for the scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg. In an innovative test laboratory, the SmartEnergyLab, they are investigating how to network various electrical household appliances and operate them remotely. In the residential housing sector in particular there is still a great deal of potential for smart energy-management systems that are capable of tailoring local power generation and ...

Electronic music star James Blake is set to perform at Paris venue La Maroquinerie on Monday April 25th. The gig should give French fans a chance to see what all the fuss is about, as Blake has been widely hailed as one of British dance music's brightest young hopes since releasing a critically acclaimed series of EPs last year. After finishing as runner-up in the BBC's influential Sound of 2011 poll, Blake boosted his profile even further with his self-titled debut LP, which was released on February 7th. The 22-year-old from north London has also kept critics ...

Genetadi Biotech has presented to the scientific community – meeting at the XXVI National Congress on Human Genetics held in Murcia - a prenatal diagnostic device based on amniocentesis. More concretely, it is based on microarray technology (genomic hybridisation genetic chips) and with a diagnostic resolution 100 times greater than the common cytogenetic techniques. The new device, known as Amniochip, is able to detect 150 genetic genetic syndromes. "This involves currently validated genetic syndromes, including malformations and idiopathic mental deficiency not detected ...

Nitin Sawhney, the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and composer, is set to launch his new album at the Royal Albert Hall next month. The musician will debut tracks from the LP, entitled Last Days of Meaning, at the famous London venue on Friday May 6th. His performance is also due to feature a retrospective of his studio work to date and a special commission for the hall's great organ. Written by Sawhney, this 15-minute piece will be performed by his childhood friend James Taylor, one of the UK's most highly rated Hammond organists. Last Days of Meaning is Sawhney's ...

It can be a total surprise: car tires burst, sealing rings fail and even your dearly beloved panton chair or your freely oscillating plastic chair develops cracks and the material gets fatigued. The reason for this often sudden and unforeseen material failure is triggered by microcracks that may be found in any component. You may hardly see these cracks and they may grow fast or slow. This also applies to fractures in components made of plastic that can be elastically formed. Sealing rings or tires are made of these elastomers and they can withstand mechanical loads especially ...

US singer Trey Songz will bring his chart-topping brand of contemporary R'n'B to Liverpool later this month. The Virginia-born musician is due to perform at the Liverpool Guild of Students venue Mountford Hall on Saturday April 23rd. Songz - real name Tremaine Aldon Neverson - is already a huge star in his native country and is now looking to boost his profile in the UK with a series of live dates. He released his latest studio album Passion, Pain and Pleasure in September last year, reaching number one on the US Billboard R'n'B/hip-hop chart. The LP also featured ...

HOUSTON -- (April 5, 2011) -- Some people collect stamps and coins, but when it comes to sheer utility, few collections rival the usefulness of Rice University researcher Michael Deem's collection of 2.6 million zeolite structures. Zeolites are materials -- including some natural minerals -- that act as molecular sieves, thanks to a Swiss-cheese-like arrangement of pores that can sort, filter, trap and chemically process everything from drugs and petroleum to nuclear waste. Zeolites are particularly useful as catalysts -- materials that spur chemical reactions. There ...

The 2011 Australian Jazz Bell Awards will see some of the country's most talented musicians head to Melbourne for a night of food, wine and performances. Named after Dixieland and classical jazz pianist Graeme Bell, the annual event is an opportunity to honour and encourage excellence in musical creativity, recording and presentation. As well as receiving the recognition of their peers, the winner of each category will be rewarded with AU$5,000 in prize money. Stars who have triumphed at the Bell Awards in the past include Jonathan Zwartz, who picked up the best ...

The Queensland Pops Orchestra (QPO) have enlisted the help of leading tenor Gregory Moore, plus numerous local performers and musicians, for their upcoming Celtic Celebration in Brisbane. Moore will take the stage alongside the likes of the Brotherhood of St Laurence's Choir, Watkins Academy of Irish Dance and Villanova College's Irish Ensemble for the show, which opens the QPO's 2011 season. The orchestra was formed back in 1984 by Colin Harper, a lifelong conductor of concert bands in the British and Australian armies. Since those early days the Pops have become ...

PHILADELPHIA – Two reports by addiction researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the National Institute on Drug Abuse show a drastic shift in prescribing patterns impacting the magnitude of opioid substance abuse in America. The reports, published in JAMA, recommend a comprehensive effort to reduce public health risks while improving patient care, including better training for prescribers, pain management treatment assessment, personal responsibility and public education. The JAMA Research Report shows that there has been a drastic increase ...

In an unprecedented collaborative analysis published in the journal PLoS Biology, scientists from 49 nations demonstrated that the ability of reef fish systems to produce goods and services to humanity increases rapidly with the number of species. However, growing human populations hamper the ability of reefs to function normally, and counterintuitively, the most diverse reef fish systems suffer the greatest impairments from stressors triggered by human populations. The study documented that the extent of this distress is widespread and likely to worsen because 75% of the ...

Making DNA sequences being passed through nanochannels a thousand times thinner than a human hair to the point that they take on the form of diminutive spaghetti. This is an innovative technique, known as DNA stretching, and is one of the lines of research in which CIC microGUNE is working, and about which they have already published two scientific articles and are shortly to apply for a patent. The technique basically consists of the analysis of a single molecule of DNA, after stretching it, measuring its length and analysing its sequence. This novel technology could ...

Paris is a traditional focal point of the celebrations on Labour Day, known as La Fete du Travail in France. Everything in the city closes except the Eiffel Tower on May 1st, with parades and demonstrations taking place around the Place de la Bastille. Across Paris, the exchanging of lily of the valley is a well-known custom on La Fete du Travail. Florists throughout the French capital stock up on the flower in the days running up to the public holiday, as it is traditionally passed between friends and family members as a token of good luck. Individual traders ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 5, 2011 – Despite a growing number of cities instituting smoking bans across the country, hookah bars are cropping up everywhere – from chic downtown cafes to locations near college campuses, where they've found a loyal customer base in young adults. A new study done by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center sheds light on the increasingly popular pastime, and the results are discouraging. "The popularity of hookah smoking among young adults is quite alarming given the potential for negative health effects," said Erin L. Sutfin, ...

As our bodies form, cells within the embryo divide and separate. Certain cells come together to form the outer layer, or ectoderm, of the early embryo, and give rise to tissue such as the skin and nervous system (spine, peripheral nerves and brain). Other cells come together to form the mesoderm or middle layer of the embryo, and eventually give rise to tissue like muscle, heart or bone. Once cells have been assigned to the different regions – mesoderm or ectoderm – a mysterious mechanism draws boundaries between them that mark their permanent separation. Any defect in ...

Zucchero, one of the Italian music industry's biggest stars, is set to perform in Paris next month. The artist's show at the Zenith de Paris on Thursday May 12th will see him play songs from his latest LP Chocabeck, which was released last year. Born Adelmo Fornaciari, Zucchero has sold more than 40 million albums and won the hearts of fans around the world with his blend of rock, blues and gospel music. In a career spanning four decades, he has built up an international profile by collaborating with artists such as Joe Cocker, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton. Zucchero ...

A stellar cast has been assembled for the new West End production of George Bernard Shaw's classic play Pygmalion. Due to open at the Garrick Theatre on Thursday May 12th, the show will feature former EastEnders actress Kara Tointon as Eliza Doolitte and Rupert Everett as Professor Henry Higgins. Tointon, who spent four years playing Dawn Swann on the popular BBC1 soap and recently won Strictly Come Dancing, is set to make her West End debut in the production. Dame Diana Rigg was also recently added to the cast, with the 72-year-old former star of The Avengers ...

That the thyroid can be affected and that the kidneys in rare cases can be damaged are known side-effects of medication with lithium. Female patients who become pregnant are also advised against taking medicine containing lithium, as the substance can affect the foetus. "The amounts of lithium that the Latin American women are ingesting via their drinking water are perhaps a tenth of what a patient would take daily for bipolar disorder. But, on the other hand, they are absorbing this lithium all their lives, even from before birth", says occupational and environmental ...

It's been a puzzle why our two closest living primate relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, have widely different social traits, despite belonging to the same genus. Now, a comparative analysis of their brains shows neuroanatomical differences that may be responsible for these behaviors, from the aggression more typical of chimpanzees to the social tolerance of bonobos. "What's remarkable is that the data appears to match what we know about the human brain and behavior," says Emory anthropologist James Rilling, who led the analysis. "The neural circuitry that mediates ...

Katie Melua is set to play live at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo in London on Thursday May 5th. The 26-year-old singer's performance in the capital will come in the midst of a major European tour that began in Germany last month. Melua released her fourth studio album The House in May 2010 and is now playing songs from the LP to audiences across the continent. Produced by William Orbit, the record features tracks written with Guy Chambers and reached number four in the UK albums chart. The artist was born in the former soviet republic of Georgia and spent several ...

For the first time, researchers have found five regions in the human genome that increase susceptibility to immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy, a major cause of kidney failure worldwide — systematically identifying those that point to a tendency for IgA nephropathy, or a protection against it. "The study is unique in identifying the biological pathways that mediate IgA nephropathy, mapping the way for further study that may reveal practical targets for diagnosis and treatment," said Dr. Ali Gharavi, Division of Nephrology at Columbia University in New York City, the ...

New Orleans – Each year, more than 100,000 patients in the U.S. undergo implantation of a new implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for heart rhythm abnormalities. This number constitutes a 20-fold increase over the last 15 years. Current medical guidelines advocate discussion of end of life care of these medical devices, including deactivation, but many patients may not understand their options. Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine say that discussions should also address post-mortem donation of ICDs for product improvement or reuse ...

FrontDoorSoftware Corporation has recently unveiled its new company website, www.frontdoorsoftware.com. The new website provides visitors with detailed information about its products and a simple interface for downloading the software. "We wanted our website to provide a better user experience and make it easier for people to access this powerful, free software program," said Carrie Hafeman, president of FrontDoorSoftware Corporation. "With this new website layout, it is easier than ever before to sign up for this service." Once installed on a computer, the free ...

WASHINGTON ― By elevating its life and physical sciences research program, NASA could achieve the biological understanding and technical breakthroughs needed to allow humans to be sent deeper into space, including to Mars, says a new National Research Council report. In addition, access to the space environment -- for example, on the International Space Station -- will open up further opportunities for groundbreaking research in the physical and life sciences. The report, one of a series of decadal surveys that the Research Council has completed for NASA and the ...

This release is available in French. Montreal, April 5, 2011 – Introductory science courses – in biology, chemistry, math and physics – can be challenging for first-year college, CEGEP and university students. Science 101 courses can make or break a student's decision to venture into a scientific field or even pursue higher education. "The language, fundamentals and scope of science gateway courses can be akin to a foreign culture," says Calvin Kalman, principal of Concordia's Science College and a professor in the Department of Physics. "Students can have great ...