Development of a new technique for detecting brain damage caused by stroke has been boosted up by a £1m grant to scientists at The University of Manchester. Professor Gareth Morris of the School of Chemistry and Professor Risto Kauppinen of the University of Birmingham are to lead the development of a new non-invasive technique which measures acidity (pH) in the brain.
A stroke is caused when part of the blood supply to the brain is cut off. This causes acidity in the brain to build up, l
The Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) has carried out studies on the emissions from municipal solid waste (MSW) that pose a threat to sustainable development. The results show that current landfills, as well as those scheduled to be constructed in the near future, may discharge environmentally hazardous emissions even 100-200 years into the future. Globally, the target is to ensure each landfill site is closed and its harmful emissions stopped within 50 years of the site’s establ
Modern-day doctors may soon start using smell to detect the early warning signs of different illnesses thanks to technology that replicates – and improves upon – the human olfactory system thanks to tiny bioelectronic sensors.
The new interdisciplinary technology approach, developed and tested by researchers in Spain, France and Italy with funding from the European Commission’s FET (Future and Emerging Technologies) initiative of the IST programme, will ultimately lead to el
Global warming has had a more devastating effect on some of the world’s finest coral reefs than previously assumed, suggests the first report to show the long-term impact of sea temperature rise on reef coral and fish communities.
Large sections of coral reefs and much of the marine life they support may be wiped out for good, say the international team of researchers, who surveyed 21 sites and over 50,000 square metres of coral reefs in the inner islands of the Seychelles in 19
The world is filled with cues that could influence the daily feeding patterns of an organism. Many plants, for example, respond to foraging damage by releasing specialized chemical signals—volatile organic compounds that evaporate in the air—that attract the forager’s natural enemies. This strategy is obviously no use against a cow, but proves effective when the offender is a caterpillar and the summoned predator is a wasp. Just how much control such biotic factors exert over a forager’s daily
New findings may one day advance treatments to prevent type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
Insulin uses two distinct mechanisms to control glucose and the metabolism of blood fats (lipids) in the liver, a new Joslin Diabetes Center-led study has discovered. Failures in each of these networks can lead to serious health problems: the breakdown of glucose metabolism that can lead to type 2 diabetes, and the malfunction of lipid metabolism contributing to metabolic syndrome, which
BU biologist discovers diversity in mantis shrimp underestimated
There is a push to document the biodiversity of the world within 25 years. However, the magnitude of this challenge is not well known, especially when it comes to vast and often inaccessible marine environments. To date, surveys of species diversity in the world’s oceans have focused on adult organisms, but new research from Boston University has found that studying marine life in its larval phase with DNA b
Bridging the gap between nanoscience and nanotechnology
A team of chemists from France, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the US are working together to bridge the gap between nanoscience and nanotechnology. They have now devised a method that could allow them to organize tiny molecular machines on a surface and so build devices that pack in thousands of times as many switching units, for instance, than is possible with a conventional silicon chip.
Chemist Fraser Stoddart, no
Sexual harassment is a burden that females of many species face, and some may go to extreme lengths to avoid it. In a new paper from the June issue of the American Naturalist, Darren Croft (University of Wales) and a research team from the University of Leeds suggest that female guppies, a popular aquarium fish, may risk their lives to avoid too much attention from males. Observing wild population of guppies in the rainforest of Trinidad, the researchers found that female guppies swim in habitat
Breast or bottle? It is one of the most important decisions a new mother can make and the inspiration behind a unique study by a University of Queensland researcher.
Virginia Thorley has just completed a study into the history of infant feeding in 20th Century Australia through UQ’s School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics, the first such study of the entire century.
“A lot of people think the current trend back to breastfeeding is only a recent deve
Effect of base type on properties of NiO synthesised by Sol-Gel method
Nickel oxide is a very important chemical in modern industrial processes. It is commonly used as a catalyst within the petrochemical industry in areas like the synthesis of olefin gas and the reforming reaction of methane. The performance of the catalyst is closely related to particle properties of synthesised nickel oxide. Particle sizes, shapes and porosities are largely determined by various synthesis te
Finding and treating vulnerable plaque early could prevent heart attack and death
Virtual histology. Thermography. Palpography. Computed tomography. Today, during the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 29th Annual Scientific Sessions in Chicago, Dr. Gregg W. Stone will explore these and other promising imaging techniques in a featured Hildner Lecture entitled, “Prospects for the Invasive and Non-Invasive Identification of Vulnerable Plaque.”
The Earth Institute at Columbia University — With oil prices reaching near near-record highs in recent weeks, calls have grown louder for the U.S. to develop new sources of affordable, domestic energy. Work by experts from The Earth Institute at Columbia University suggests that relatively low-cost alternatives already exist to meet the country’s’ growing energy demand that would at the same time reduce the need to rely on oil supplies from the Middle East and Latin America.
A report
In the past few years, scientists have found ways to make light go both faster and slower than its usual speed limit, but now researchers at the University of Rochester have published a paper today in Science on how they’ve gone one step further: pushing light into reverse. As if to defy common sense, the backward-moving pulse of light travels faster than light.
Confused? You’re not alone.
“I’ve had some of the world’s experts scratching their heads over thi
Organic light emitting diodes (OLED) are the technology used in making light emitting fabrics used in cell phones and televisions. The fabrication of flexible OLEDs has up to now been held back by the fragility of the brittle indium tin oxide layer that serves as the transparent electrode. But researchers at the Regroupement Québecois sur les Matériaux de Pointe (RQMP) have found a solution which they published in the May online issue of Applied Physics Letters.
“Organic light emitting
Study holds promise for susceptibility test
Cell and animal studies conducted jointly by scientists at Johns Hopkins, Yale and other institutions have uncovered at least one important contributor to the severe anemia that kills almost half of the 2 million people worldwide who die each year of malaria. The culprit is a protein cells make in response to inflammation called MIF, which appears to suppress red blood cell production in people whose red blood cells already are infec
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