Designers of robot pets are fighting a never-ending battle with consumers to provide entertaining and realistic gadgets that respond to human interaction in ever more nuanced ways, mimicking the behavior of real pet animals or even people. Researchers in Taiwan are now looking at a new design paradigm that could see the development of a robot vision module that might one-day recognize human facial expressions and respond appropriately. Part of the problem is that robot design takes a long time, while the consumer life cycle of any given product is very short. Moreover, ...

Finding ways to control matter at the level of single atoms and electrons fascinates many scientists and engineers because the ability to manipulate single charges and single magnetic moments (spins) may help researchers penetrate deep into the mysteries of quantum mechanics and modern solid-state physics. It may also allow development of new, highly sensitive magnetometers with nanometer resolution, single-spin transistors for coherent spintronics, and solid-state devices for quantum information processing. Recently, a collaboration of experimentalists from the Kavli ...

New Rochelle, NY, September 17, 2010—September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, drawing attention to the epidemic of obesity among children and adolescents in the United States. A multidisciplinary approach to assessment and intervention is crucial for effective weight management and should draw from the latest medical evidence, best practices, and innovative educational and policy initiatives, all of which are presented and debated in the new bimonthly, print and online journal Childhood Obesity, published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The inaugural issue is ...

The Earth's mantle and its core mix at a distance of 2900 km under our feet in a mysterious zone. A team of geophysicists has just verified that the partial fusion of the mantle is possible in this area when the temperature reaches 4200 Kelvin. This reinforces the hypothesis of the presence of a deep magma ocean. The originality of this work, carried out by the scientists of the Institut de minéralogie et de physique des milieux condensés (UPMC/Université Paris Diderot/Institut de Physique du Globe/CNRS/IRD), lies in the use of X-ray diffraction at the European Synchrotron ...

HOUSTON -- (Sept. 17, 2010) -- An examination of a portion of the tuberculosis genome that responds to stress has allowed Rice University bioengineers Oleg Igoshin and Abhinav Tiwari to zero in on a network of genes that may "switch" the disease into dormancy. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB), Mycobacterium tuberculosis, can transition into a dormant state to ward off attacks from antibiotics and the immune system. A new report from Igoshin and Tiwari in this month's issue of Physical Biology examines a network of genes that may make this possible. A computer ...

Processed and fast foods enriched with phosphorus additives may play a role in health disparities in chronic kidney disease, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). Previously, genetics was considered the leading reason blacks are four times more likely to progress to end stage renal disease than whites and have much higher rates of cardiovascular disease and mortality in early chronic kidney disease (CKD). Phosphorus, a mineral found naturally in foods such as milk, cheese, beans and peanut butter, ...

A gene variation that appears to predict the rate at which Alzheimer's disease will progress has been uncovered by an international team of Alzheimer's disease experts, led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Published in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, the findings help determine how rapidly Alzheimer's patients may develop full-blown dementia after their diagnosis. Alzheimer's disease, one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders, affects over 4.5 million people in the United States alone. Recent studies have found the presence of ...

Certain key ingredients of a diet designed to prevent high blood pressure can ward off kidney stones, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). The results suggest how low-fat dairy products and/or plants may have potent kidney stone–fighting properties. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet—which is high in fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, dairy products, and whole grains and is low in sweetened beverages and red and processed meats—effectively lowers blood pressure. ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Throughout their lives, Native Hawaiians have higher risks of death than white Americans, according to a University of Michigan study. The research is the first known study to assess mortality patterns among Native Hawaiians at the national level, including those living outside the state of Hawaii. The study is published in the November 2010 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, online Sept. 16. It was funded by the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, part of the National Institutes of Health. "Native Hawaiians ...

Brussels, 16 September - More than 100 marine scientists, policy makers and members of industry unanimously call for action towards an integrated network of observatories monitoring Europe's seas, at the Marine Board-ESF Forum 'Towards a European Network of Marine Observatories'. This will give reliable, long-term data to underpin science and policy regarding the use of seas for fisheries, aquaculture, energy, shipping, as well as tourism and recreation. "We should not take for granted the wealth and well-being provided by the seas and oceans" said Lars Horn from the ...

A new research report published today suggests the police service may have a resource in private security that could contribute to savings of up to £1 billion through collaboration and new ways of working as challenged by the Audit Commission and HMIC. Interviews with police chiefs suggest that while many feel there is untapped potential in using private security as a resource in this testing climate; others feel that the private security sector lacks credibility and closer collaboration could damage the reputation of the police. Key findings include: Some police ...

AUDIO: For years, researchers have known that two key proteins tend to characterize Alzheimer's disease in the brain. Amyloid makes up the senile plaques that form in the brains of Alzheimer's... Click here for more information. An international team of Alzheimer's disease experts, led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has uncovered a gene variation that appears to predict the rate at which Alzheimer's disease will progress. The investigators report ...

Health experts will today call for a greater prioritization and targeting of aid to save the lives of mothers, newborns, and children in poor countries. The amount of official development assistance (ODA) to maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) in developing countries doubled between 2003 and 2008, but its ratio to overall aid for health remained static. The US, UK, EU, GAVI and the Global Fund have made the largest absolute increases, while Spain and a number of small bilateral donors including New Zealand and Belgium have made significant percentage increases, ...

SEATTLE –Women are advancing further in school than at any time in recent history, a trend that is having a tremendous impact on child mortality, according to new research from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. Between 1970 and 2009, mortality in children under age 5 dropped from 16 million to 7.8 million annually, and IHME researchers estimate that 51% of the reduction can be linked to increased education among women of reproductive age. This means that 4.2 million fewer children died in 2009 because women received ...

Two popular supplements taken by millions of people around the world to combat joint pain, do not work, finds research published on bmj.com today. The supplements, glucosamine and chondroitin, are either taken on their own or in combination to reduce the pain caused by osteoarthritis in hips and knees. The researchers, led by Professor Peter Jüni at the University of Bern in Switzerland, argue that given these supplements are not dangerous "we see no harm in having patients continue these preparations as long as they perceive a benefit and cover the cost of treatment ...

Society's attitudes towards dying, death and bereavement need to change if we are to achieve a good death for all, say experts in a special series of articles published on bmj.com today in the first BMJ "Spotlight" supplement. By 2030 the annual number of deaths around the world is expected to rise from 58 million to 74 million, but too many people still die alone, in pain, without dignity, or feeling alienated. The articles aim to remedy this by exploring how lessons learnt from end of life care for cancer patients can be adapted for those dying from chronic conditions ...

The increasing commercialisation of science is restricting access to vital scientific knowledge and delaying the progress of science, claim researchers on bmj.com today. Varuni de Silva and Raveen Hanwella from the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka argue that copyrighting or patenting medical scales, tests, techniques and genetic material, limits the level of public benefit from scientific discovery. For example, they found that many commonly used rating scales are under copyright and researchers have to pay for their use. Some genetic tests also carry patents, ...

CLEVELAND – September 16, 2010 – Menachem Shoham, PhD, associate professor and researcher in the department of biochemistry at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has identified new anti-pathogenic drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease. Infections of MRSA are a growing public health problem causing 20,000 deaths per year in the U.S. alone. MRSA is the most prevalent bacterial pathogen in hospital settings and in the community ...

Irvine, Calif., Sept. 16, 2010 — UC Irvine researchers have deciphered how lowly fruit flies bred to rapidly develop and reproduce actually evolve over time. The findings, reported in the Sept. 15 online issue of Nature, contradict the long-held belief that sexual beings evolve the same way simpler organisms do and could fundamentally alter the direction of genetic research for new pharmaceuticals and other products. "This is actually decoding the key DNA in the evolution of aging, development and fertility," said ecology & evolutionary biology professor Michael Rose, ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Instead of heading to the coast for vacation, people are traveling to Tornado Alley. The number of people registering to get a closer look at tornadoes is growing as vacationers trade in their beach towels for a ride with storm chasers. Labeled "Tornado Tourists" by a University of Missouri research team, these travelers are searching for an experience beyond just thrills. Sonja Wilhelm Stanis and Carla Barbieri, associate professors in the School of Natural Resources Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism in the MU College of Agriculture, Food ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers at Oregon State University have reported the successful loading of biological molecules onto "nanosprings" – a type of nanostructure that has gained significant interest in recent years for its ability to maximize surface area in microreactors. The findings, announced in the journal Biotechnology Progress, may open the door to important new nanotech applications in production of pharmaceuticals, biological sensors, biomedicine or other areas. "Nanosprings are a fairly new concept in nanotechnology because they create a lot of surface area ...

The world will need to make substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions below current levels over the next few decades if the worst impacts of dangerous climate change are to be avoided. This was a key conclusion from UK and US climate scientists at an international workshop on the UK AVOID program in Washington, DC exploring the most policy-relevant aspects of understanding dangerous climate change. Latest results from AVOID have shown that strong mitigation action to limit temperature rise to below 2 °C avoids many of the climate impacts, but not all of them. ...

A team of environmental engineers, who might better be called "archeologists of the air," have, for the first time, isolated aerosol particles in near pristine pre-industrial conditions. Working in the remote Amazonian Basin north of Manaus, Brazil, the researchers measured particles emitted or formed within the rainforest ecosystem that are relatively free from the influence of anthropogenic, or human, activity. The finding, published in a paper in the Sept. 17 issue of the journal Science, could provide crucial clues to understanding cloud formation, determining the ...

Berkeley — Girls in homes without a biological father are more likely to hit puberty at an earlier age, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health. The findings, to be published Sept. 17 in the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that the absence of a biologically related father in the home predicted earlier breast and pubic hair development, but only for girls in higher income households. The findings held even after the girls' weight was taken into account. "The age at which girls are reaching ...

Kids Wish Network (http://kidswishnetwork.org) founder Shelley Breiner announces the Brad Paisley Corvette Dream Giveaway. Driven by his passion for kids and cars, Brad Paisley teams up with Kids Wish Network and their Corvette Dream Giveaway program to give away two Corvettes. Proceeds help benefit the Kids Wish Network's Hero program to bring joy to children in crisis nationwide. In addition to being passionate about helping children, Brad Paisley has always been passionate about cars, particularly Corvettes. So, when Kids Wish Network offered him the chance to combine ...