Learning becomes more and more important as one of the indispensable tools to ensure future prosperity and well-being. New learning paradigms and pedagogic principles, new learning environments and conditions, and new learning technologies are being tested in order to find the right combination of parameters that can optimize the outcome of the learning process in a given situation.
After a successful prelude with a number of publications on learning, including the book The Future of L
The sensor, which measures 10 mm x 10 mm, can replace advanced, expensive optical devices containing lenses and grids in what are commonly called spectroscopic tools. The sensor is also more reliable than traditional optical devices that require calibrating and maintenance. This chip does not corrode, is robust and provides quick results from analyses. The chips can be produced in the same type of machines that make compact discs.
The plastic chip was originally developed to detect di
Pre-eclampsia is a complication in pregnancy occurring in approximately eight percent of all pregnancies. It is characterised by elevated blood pressure and protein in the urine. It generally develops after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Medical doctor and researcher Bjoern Egil Vikse from the Department of Medicine at University of Bergeb is the first author of an upcoming article in the March issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Vikse explains that ther
Venus, as the goddess of beauty, has been celebrated in art and myth for millennia. Now, The Planetary Society and ESA celebrate the imagined rugged beauty of the planet’s natural landscape with the winning entries in the ’Postcards from Venus’ art contest in coordination with ESA’s Venus Express mission, en route toward a rendezvous with Venus on 11 April 2006.
Winners were selected in two age groups, youth and adult, with the Grand Prize winner being Tatianna Cwick, age
Salmon is rich in essential fatty acids, in particular the Omega-3 family of fatty acids. The description ’essential’ means that the body cannot synthesise or can only synthesise limited amounts of the substance in question.
The long-chain fatty acids in the Omega-3 family include the parent alpha-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. Oil-rich fish and supplements such as fish oil and cod liver oil are the richest and most readily available die
PhD Student Tom Lysemose is the world’s first to have developed software that is able to effectively detect attacks by an unknown computer virus.
Possible customers include the large anti-virus companies. A problem with today’s anti-virus software is that they can only protect from known viruses. Unknown viruses are not stopped.
A great number of viruses exist. Some of these viruses need active handling by the user in order to infect a computer, such as when someone is tri
A team of scientists from the Department of Physics at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, in collaboration with colleagues from the Argonne National Laboratory (USA) and the Spintec laboratory (Grenoble, France), has for the first time produced microscopic magnetic states, known as “displaced vortex states”, that will allow an increase in the size of MRAMs (which are not deleted when the computer is switched off). The research has been published in Physical Review Letters and Applied Physi
Scientists have completed an extensive study of more than 3,000 patients who received a promising anti-inflammatory drug, natalizumab, that was linked to three cases of a serious brain infection in large clinical trials halted in early 2005.
The new study found no new cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) and confirmed the three previously identified cases of PML associated with use of the drug. One fatal and one nonfatal case of PML occurred in a trial us
First studies reveal next steps in historic procedure
Even after news of the first partial facial transplantation performed in France spread around the world, plastic surgeons have continued to research how to make the first full facial transplantation a reality. In the first peer-reviewed, scientific studies of their kind, U.S. plastic surgeons demonstrated how to successfully complete a full facial tissue transplantation from one human body to another, reports the March iss
The nation’s newest and most advanced research aircraft will participate in its first major mission March 1 through April 30, when it will study a severe type of atmospheric turbulence that forms near mountains and endangers airplanes. The $81.5 million HIAPER aircraft, owned by the National Science Foundation and operated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), will fly over treacherous whirlwinds, known as rotors, as they form above California’s Sierra Nevada mountain rang
Study One Day May Lead to Ways to Reduce Heart Attacks in Diabetes Patients
For people with type 2 diabetes, the death rate from a first heart attack is two to three times the death rate of patients without the disease. Similarly, patients with diabetes and ischemic (reduced blood flow) heart disease have a much higher mortality rate than the general population.
Now, a team of researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center led by George L. King, M.D., Director of Research and
New study finds PROCAM and SCORE most accurate
Two methods of assessing a patient’s risk of cardiovascular events–SCORE and PROCAM–proved more valuable for liver transplant recipients than an alternative method, according to a new study. These findings are published in the March 2006 issue of Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS). Published o
Alterations in irrigation schedules may be needed when wheat streak mosaic infection is suspected in winter wheat crops, according to a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station researcher in Amarillo.
Drought this winter has prompted more irrigation of wheat than normal; however, wheat streak mosaic is also being detected, said Jacob Price, a graduate student and diagnostic technician for the Experiment Station’s plant pathology department.
Wheat streak mosaic, the mos
Archeology and genetics team up to put a much earlier date on South American agriculture
Research by UMaine researcher Dan Sandweiss places cornmeal on the menu for native Americans much earlier than previously believed.
Working with colleagues from Ithaca College and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, Sandweiss discovered evidence of cultivated corn in the Cotahuasi Valley of southern Peru that dates back to nearly 4,000 years before the present, su
Significant cluster found on Staten Island
According to a new study, exposure to toxins from hazardous waste sites may be a significant risk factor for developing primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Published in the March 2006 issue of Hepatology, researchers found significant clusters of the disease near Superfund toxic waste sites (SFS) and that the majority of patients in New York City who need liver transplants because of PBC, reside near SFS. Hepatology is published on behalf
Filling mines with the residues of coal combustion is a viable way to dispose of these materials, provided they are placed so as to avoid adverse health and environmental effects, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies’ National Research Council. The residues left after coal is burned to generate power – often referred to as coal ash – consist of noncombustible coal matter and material trapped by pollution control devices. Enforceable federal standards are need
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