Tel Aviv ― Environmentalists around the world agree ― plastic bags are choking our landfills and polluting our seas. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher is developing new laboratory methods using corn starch and sugar to help sustainable plastics –– those that biodegrade and are even tougher than those made from petrochemicals –– compete in the industry. The answer to the problem, Prof. Moshe Kol of Tel Aviv University's School of Chemistry says, is a new variety of catalysts ― substances that initiate or sustain chemical reactions in other substances. ...

Cognitive tests and MRI scans have shown significant differences in the brains of fighter pilots when compared to a control group, according to a new study led by scientists from UCL. The study, published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, compares the cognitive performance of 11 front-line RAF (Royal Air Force) Tornado fighter pilots to a control group of a similar IQ with no previous experience of piloting aircraft. All the participants completed two 'cognitive control' tasks which were used to investigate rapid decision making. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a ...

An article in the current issue of TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION, Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors ™ http://www.cognizantcommunication.com/filecabinet/Technology/techinnovation.html reports on the removal of certain dyes and the antibiotic amoxicillin from water samples using Octolig ®, a commercially available material. "Because of their properties and the magnitude of their production and use, pharmaceuticals can represent a serious disposal problem," said corresponding author* Dean F. Martin, PhD, of the University of South Florida's Institute for Environmental ...

PITTSBURGH—A man in St. Louis and a woman in New Hampshire have received the first kidney transplants made possible through a new national program of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) that uses a Carnegie Mellon University computer algorithm to match transplant candidates with living donors. Both recipients — Ken Crowder of St. Louis and Kathy Niedzwiecki of Pelham, N.H. — had loved ones who were willing to donate a kidney but who were medically incompatible with them. So, through a paired donation, Mr. Crowder's fiancée, Rebecca Burkes, donated ...

Researchers at the Andalusian Institute for Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine (CABIMER) and the University of Granada found that cFLIP –an inhibitor of death ligand-induced apoptosis– is not only essential in breast tumor cells resistance to TRAIL treatments (a death ligand with a potent therapeutic potential against cancer), but this protein is also key to the survival of such cancer cells. Researchers proved that a variation in the expression of this protein may lead to the normal development of breast epithelium. This is an important finding to be considered ...

The delicate shell, photographed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, appears to float serenely in the depths of space, but this apparent calm hides an inner turmoil. The gaseous envelope formed as the expanding blast wave and ejected material from a supernova tore through the nearby interstellar medium. Called SNR B0509-67.5 (or SNR 0509 for short), the bubble is the visible remnant of a powerful stellar explosion in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a small galaxy about 160 000 light-years from Earth. Ripples seen in the shell's surface may be caused either by subtle ...

From southern Africa's pineapple lily to Western Australia's swamp bottlebrush, flowering plants are everywhere. Also called angiosperms, they make up 90 percent of all land-based, plant life. New research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides new insights into their genetic origin, an evolutionary innovation that quickly gave rise to many diverse flowering plants more than 130 million years ago. Moreover, a flower with genetic programming similar to a water lily may have started it all. "Water lilies and avocado flowers ...

A case study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet sheds light on the pathological course of Alzheimer's disease. The brain of the first Alzheimer's patient to display amyloids demonstrable with a PET scanner has been studied, both during progression of the disease and after death. One pathological characteristic of Alzheimer's disease is the accumulation in the brain of beta-amyloid proteins to form amyloid plaques. However, it is not known how early the plaques forms in the brain, whether they are the primary cause of the disease or what pathogenic ...

How depressed young people are strongly predicts how aggressive and violent they may be or may become. Contrary to popular belief, however, exposure to violence in video games or on television is not related to serious acts of youth aggression or violence among Hispanics in the US, according to new research by Dr. Christopher Ferguson from Texas A&M International University. His findings are published online in Springer's Journal of Youth and Adolescence. The potential negative effects of violent video games on adolescent antisocial behavior, and youth violence in particular, ...

Washington, DC, December 14, 2010—Perceived ethnic discrimination among Mexican and Mexican American students from Phoenix-area middle schools places them at risk for increased stress when trying to acculturate with mainstream U.S. culture, according to a new study. As the students experienced acculturation stress related to discrimination, they were at a higher risk for alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana use. The study is in the December issue of Prevention Science, a peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Prevention Research. "As levels of perceived discrimination ...

Hawaiians can now worry less about finding stray yellowjackets living in their Christmas trees shipped from the mainland United States, partly due to research by a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist and his university and state cooperators. Every year, fir trees from the Pacific Northwest are shipped to Hawaii for use as Christmas trees. Although yellowjackets usually nest in the ground, mated queens who haven't yet built their nests sometimes make fir trees their home during winter. So, when the trees are harvested in November for shipment to Hawaii, the ...

DURHAM, N.H. –- A team of scientists led by Marc Lessard of the University of New Hampshire Space Science Center launched an instrument-laden, four-stage sounding rocket from Norway's Andøya Rocket Range into aurora about 200 miles above Earth early Sunday morning (Dec. 12, 2010), just before the two-week launch window slammed shut. For the 10-minute flight, a 65-foot-long Black Brant XII rocket arced through a funnel-shaped region of Earth's magnetic field lines before landing some 900 miles downrange in the Norwegian Sea. The science data were transmitted to a ground ...

New York, NY, December 14, 2010 – Inhaled corticosteroids are widely used in the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, these drugs may be associated with diabetes development and progression. In a study published in the most recent issue of The American Journal of Medicine, researchers found that inhaled corticosteroids were associated with a 34% increase in the rate of diabetes onset and in the rate of diabetes progression. At the highest inhaled doses the risk increased by 64% in diabetes onset and 54% in diabetes progression. Although ...

If you're unsure about what foods to eat to maintain a healthy diet, you're not alone. Increasing evidence continues to point people back to basics – and reach for the milk. A study to be published in the January edition of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals that drinking three glasses of milk per day may lead to an 18% decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. The research conducted at Wageningen and Harvard Universities, examined 17 studies from Europe, USA and Japan, also found no link between the consumption of regular or low-fat dairy and any increased ...

Children in Sweden are exposed to a huge number of TV advertisements. Food adverts – primarily for fast food and sweets – dominate the advertisements shown during children's viewing times. Research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that Sweden is no different from other countries when it comes to the number of adverts that children are exposed to. Children between the age of three and 12 in Sweden encounter an average of 50 or so TV advertisements for food a week, dominated (in descending order) by fast food, alcohol, chocolate and sweets. The results were ...

Swedes are both happy and content with their lives, reveals a report from the SOM Institute at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The factors that contribute most to a sense of wellbeing are good health, family and friends, a good home and personal finances. Clothes and appearance play only a very minor role. More and more Swedes are describing themselves as happy and content. When the SOM Institute asked: "On balance, how content are you with the life you live?" and "On balance, how happy would you say you are?", nine out of ten replied that they are both content ...

KINGSTON, R.I. – December 13, 2010 -- While there continues to be considerable debate among geologists about the availability of oxygen in the Earth's mantle, recent discoveries by a University of Rhode Island scientist are bringing resolution to the question. Analysis of erupted rock from Agrigan volcano in the western Pacific near Guam found it to be highly oxidized as a result of its exposure to oxygen when it formed in the Earth's mantle. When, over millions of years, seafloor rocks are transported back into the Earth's mantle at subduction zones – sites on the seafloor ...

DURHAM, N.H. – Living in an area where amenities of daily life – groceries, playgrounds, post offices, libraries and restaurants – are within walking distance promotes healthy lifestyles and has positive implications for the environment, research has established. Now, new research from the University of New Hampshire has linked walkable neighborhoods with an increase in social benefits as well. "We found that neighborhoods that are more walkable had higher levels of social capital such as trust among neighbors and participation in community events," says Shannon Rogers, ...

A novel project using cameras mounted on unmanned aircraft flying over the Arctic is serving double duty by assessing the characteristics of declining sea ice and using the same aerial photos to pinpoint seals that have hauled up on ice floes. The project is the first to use aircraft to monitor ice and seals in remote areas without putting pilots and observers at risk, said Elizabeth Weatherhead of the University of Colorado at Boulder, who is leading the study team. Weatherhead is a senior scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, ...

Genetically modified cells can be made to communicate with each other as if they were electronic circuits. Using yeast cells, a group of researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has taken a groundbreaking step towards being able to build complex systems in the future where the body's own cells help to keep us healthy. The study was presented recently in an article in the scientific journal Nature. "Even though engineered cells can't do the same job as a real computer, our study paves the way for building complex constructions from these cells," says Kentaro ...

TEMPE, Ariz. – Enormous uncertainty. These two words describe the condition of Phoenix's climate and water supply in the 21st century. Reservoirs have dipped to their lowest levels, continuous drought has plagued the state and forecasts for even warmer summers are predicted. Despite this uncertainty, professors at Arizona State University say there's no need to be fearful because positive impacts can be made. ASU professors Patricia Gober and Craig Kirkwood working in conjunction with Decision Center for a Desert City (DCDC), which specializes in decision making under ...

Irvine, Calif., Dec. 14, 2010 — UC Irvine researchers have identified a novel mechanism in the brain that boosts memory. In collaboration with scientists at Germany's University of Munster, the UCI team found that a small protein called neuropeptide S can strengthen and prolong memories of everything from negative events to simple objects. According to study leader Rainer Reinscheid, UCI associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, the discovery could provide important clues about how the brain stores memories and also lead to new treatments for Alzheimer's disease, ...

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Karl Herrup thinks that the national research effort to understand Alzheimer’s disease has gone about as far as it can go with its current theories. And that’s not far enough. Alzheimer's disease is an incurable, degenerative, eventually fatal disease that attacks cognitive function. It affects more than 26 million people around the world and is the most common form of dementia among people over the age of 65. Over the last three decades, most Alzheimer’s research has been governed by the “amyloid cascade hypothesis.” The theory – which holds that ...

Seeing bad things happen to other people is scary. One way to respond to this is to blame the victim—to look for some reason why it happened to them. But there's another common response, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The researchers found that people who believe in justice in the world also believe that a tragedy gives the victim's life more meaning. "A lot of the time when people see someone else suffering, and helping them isn't an option, people will instead justify the fact that ...

Managers in the private and public sectors must consider work environment when rationalising production to obtain sustainable systems. A research study published in the journal Applied Ergonomics reveals that rationalisation measures often have a major negative impact on both the physical and psychosocial work environment. "However, the review also presents scientific evidence on how to reduce this problem," says one of the researchers, at the University of Gothenburg. "Considerable resources all over the world have been invested in dealing with work-related disorders. ...