Brain scans may detect neurological changes in people who exhibit no outward signs of cognitive decline but who later develop dementia or mental impairment, according to the results of a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
The study, to be published Feb. 8 in the journal Annals of Neurology, provides encouraging evidence that positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could eventually be used to detect preclinica
The need for security in electronic communications is crucial in today’s world. The foundation for providing this security rests on mathematics. In particular, a certain kind of mathematical function called a “hash function” is central in the design of cryptographic systems that protect electronic communications. But recently the most secure hash function in use today was shown to be vulnerable to attack. An article in the upcoming issue of the Notices of the AMS describes these attacks and
A new study by Medical College of Wisconsin researchers has found that women who most need bone density testing to determine if they have osteoporosis are the least likely to get it. They are older women who are among the highest risk groups and who suffer most if they break a bone. The study is published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.
“Over half of hip fracture patients never regain their prior level of functioning and 20 percent of them r
New Technique Developed for Attaching Biological Cells to Non-Biological Surfaces
A new technique in which single strands of synthetic DNA are used to firmly fasten biological cells to non-biological surfaces has been developed by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California at Berkeley. This technique holds promise for a wide variety of applications, including biosensors, drug-screening technologies, the growing of
Propose new approach for better treatment of deadly condition
A Mayo Clinic research team has challenged the accepted theory on the cause of sepsis — a condition in which the body’s cells generate fever, shock and often death. Sepsis is thought to occur when poisons from bacterial infection interfere with the cells. The Mayo researchers challenge that long-held concept with a new theory in an opinion piece in the current issue of Trends in Molecular Medicine. Their findings su
Biochemists have detected a surprising, subtle new gyration that protein molecules undergo in the intricate, squirming dance that influences their activity in the cell. The researchers have also created a realistic geometrical model of the twisting “backrub” motion that could help scientists understand the basics of protein function and design proteins for medical use.
Also, they said, the backrub motion could have implications for understanding how proteins can accommodate loca
Viruses and humans have evolved together over millions of years in a game of one-upmanship that, often as not, left humans sick or worse.
Now, a University of California, Berkeley, researcher has shown that viruses – in this case, a benign one – can be forced to evolve in ways to benefit humans.
The adeno-associated virus, or AAV, is a common, though innocuous, resident of the body that has received a lot of attention in recent years as a possible carrier for genes in
Teaching a machine to sense its environment is one of the most intractable problems of computer science, but one European project is looking to nature for help in cracking the conundrum. It combined streams of sensory data to produce an adaptive, composite impression of surroundings in near real-time.
The team brought together electronic engineers, computer scientists, neuroscientists, physicists, and biologists. It looked at basic neural models for perception and then sought to r
Customs-related administrative burdens cost hundred of billions of euros worldwide every year. The European Commission is making a 5.8 million euro grant available for a large-scale international research project, the aim of which is to make international trade safer while reducing the administrative burden. VU Amsterdam is acting as the coordinating partner and will receive 2.1 million euros – the remainder will be divided between European universities, businesses and customs organizations co
The last 20 years research on Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), focused almost exclusively on embryos. Despite the impressive technological advances the live birth rate has stalled at between 25% – 27%. The uterus, where the embryo must implant and develops, had been poorly studied. A successful pregnancy is the result of a complex molecular and cellular exchange established between the mother and the embryo since the early stages of pregnancy until baby deliver.
Today, we are ab
Miracles happen over and over again. Even in the sport which the Germans love the most – soccer. But when the ball flies in a curve and hits the goal it has nothing to do with magic powers. Here it is rather a question of physical powers taking effect. And these powers can be calculated. That is what Metin Tolan, professor for experimental physics at the Universität Dortmund, is convinced about. With that he clearly disagrees with Rudi Assauer who once said: “Soccer is unpredictable”.
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CTS, a leading provider of network planning, optimisation and spectrum management solutions including associated services, has successfully completed its contract with Celtel for its Ellipse Microwave Planning Tool Suite and for Planet EV, which CTS sells under a reseller agreement with Marconi Wireless.
Celtel International, headquartered in Hoofddorp, in the Netherlands, is a pan-African mobile communications group operating in 14 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and serving more than
The Integrated Circuit Design group (DCI), part of the Computer Architecture and Technology Department at the Informatics Faculty of the University of the Basque Country (Donostia- San Sebastian campus) have recently been awarded first prize at the II (2004-2005) Innovation and Knowledge Event organised by Festo-PNeumatic S.A., the multinational company working in the fields of pneumatics, hydraulics and industrial control.
The presented work, ‘Monitoring system for self-propelled sweepin
Locating mould and damp in buildings is difficult, sometimes even impossible. The Tekes’ Fine technology programme explores ways to use the concentration and size distribution of particles to pinpoint mould damage and determine its effect on health. Researchers are also developimg a DNA-based microchip, which can be used for determining the microbes in indoor air rapidly. This is the first experiment where existing medical technologies are being applied to indoor air specimens.
Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in the group of Markus Schmitt have developed a detection method for human papillomaviruses (HPV) which allows them to identify, in a quick and highly reliable manner, high-risk viruses that cause cervical cancer.
The prime risk factor for cervical cancer is an infection with human papillomaviruses. However, not all HPV types are a health hazard. Scientists distinguish between high-risk t
A team of scientists at the John Innes Centre(1) in Norwich, UK led by Dr Graham Moore have a completely new understanding of the structure of a gene complex in wheat that controls the pairing of its chromosomes, knowledge of which has the potential to revolutionise wheat breeding.
Dr Moore said “The transfer of useful traits such as disease, drought and salt tolerance from wild species into wheat is a difficult and complex process. This new insight into the molecular nature of Ph1 and how
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