Scientists have developed a new technique that makes pesticides more effective by removing insects’ ability to exhibit resistance. Their research will extend the effective life of current pesticides, significantly reduce the amount that needs to be sprayed and remove the need for farmers to move to stronger and more harmful chemicals.
Researchers at Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire, working with researchers in New South Wales, Australia have developed a way to counter the
Editorial: Sports utility vehicles and older pedestrians BMJ Volume 331, pp 787-8
Sports utility vehicles (SUVs) should carry health warnings to raise awareness of the increased risk to pedestrians compared with ordinary cars, argue researchers in this week’s BMJ.
They believe that this should form part of an integrated approach from public health, transportation and road safety agencies to address this growing threat.
Among road users, pedestrians are a
Findings, to be published in Oct. 7 Science, may prompt textbook changes
A team of scientists led by University of Connecticut plant biologist Roberto Gaxiola has discovered an overlooked genetic key to generating plants that are more productive, more drought resistant and can grow in soils low in nutrients. Their work is the first to successfully test in cells a 30-year-old hypothesis that explains the movement of a primary growth and development hormone through plants and is
Electronic tags broadcasting from the dorsal fins of salmon sharks reveal that these top predators migrate from the glacial waters of Alaska to the warm seas off Hawaii, according to a new study in the journal Science. The salmon shark’s ability to survive such a broad range of thermal conditions is attributed to high levels of specialized proteins that keep its heart muscle cells beating at very low temperatures, say the study’s authors.
“Sharks are declining global
The scoop on when worms poop, ovulate and swallow
University of Utah biologists found a gene that controls rhythmic events in a worm’s life: swallowing food, laying eggs and pooping.
If the gene is disabled, the worms can’t swallow, so they die. If the gene is partly restored so the worms can swallow, they have trouble reproducing and get constipated.
“We have found a gene that is important for the control of fundamental rhythms in nematode worms,” says
One in five Europeans today enjoy broadband Internet access via competing technologies. Low-cost and fast data access over electricity network power lines is one such technology that is being extensively tested in four European nations.
“Electric utility companies have long used the electric network for communication purposes,” says Luis Legorburu, OPERA project coordinator. “But offering broadband Internet over power lines was only recently made possible by a number of key paten
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is calling for concerted action following the recent release of an important report of the World Heart Organisation (WHO).
“Preventing Chronic Diseases: A Vital Investment” (1) clearly demonstrates the full extent of the global burden of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes and says global action to prevent chronic diseases could save the lives of 36 million people who would
“The symptoms of rhinitis and atopical dermatitis amongst children between the ages of 6 and 7 in the Pamplona area have increased significantly and the diagnosis of both ailments has doubled in the period between 1994 and 2001. Nevertheless, amongst children between 12 and 14-age group there has been a drop in the incidence of symptoms of rhinitis and that of atopical dermatitis has stabilised”. This was the conclusion of Ana María Irujo Andueza in her PhD thesis defended recently at the Pub
The flow of carbon through soil is ten times greater than the amount of carbon moved around by the burning of fossil fuel but until now how this happens was at best poorly understood. Soil was almost literally a black box to scientists interested in carbon. Now researchers at the University of Warwick have been able to shed light in that black box by getting a particular class of insects to expose the key underground carbon traffic system – by eating it.
The University of Warwick te
When evaluating facial attractiveness, participants may fail to notice a radical change to the outcome of their choice, according to a study by researchers at Lund University, Sweden, and New York University. Equally surprising, the study shows that participants may produce confabulatory reports when asked to describe the reasons behind their choices. The findings appear in the October 7 issue of Science.
The authors on this paper are Petter Johansson, a graduate student; Lars
University of Ulster scientists are developing innovative drugs that could represent important new therapeutic tools to help ease the burden of diabetes worldwide. The news comes as a UN World Health Organisation report identifies diabetes as one of the major health issues facing the world in the 21st century.
The research team at UU have discovered that modified-forms of GIP, a naturally occurring molecule produced by the body, can combat key symptoms of diabetes. This stimulated t
A report by the Karolinska Institutet, in conjunction with the Stockholm School of Economics, exposes stark inequalities in patient access to cancer treatment across Europe and urges action by decision makers to redress these inequalities.
The report, entitled ‘A pan-European comparison regarding patient access to cancer drugs’, found that despite the proven benefits of new innovative treatments options, patients across Europe do not have equality of access to these cancer drug
Anaesthetic agents are potentially dangerous drugs, and major patient complications can occur. If the patient is overdosed, death or major body organ damage can occur. Conversely, if the patient is under-dosed, patient awareness can occur. There is a narrow drug concentration “window” for both drug safety and anaesthetic efficacy, and the development of ways in which to monitor drug delivery concentration has been a major driver in anaesthetic agent safety research.
The Oxford inventi
Plant Research International, part of Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands, together with CatchMabs, have announced a cooperative study to apply iMab technology to detect mycotoxins in food and plant pathogens in plant material. The partners will advance the work for applications at the nano-level.
CatchMabs develops ‘industrial Molecular Affinity Bodies’ (iMabs) – proteins capable of making highly specific and exceptionally strong combinations of previo
Research at the University of Sunderland looks to have led to a major breakthrough in the multi-billion pound anti-ageing industry.
A new device called Restorelite is having a dramatic effect on those battling against the ageing process, with initial trials leading to a success rate of around 90 per cent.
Industry standard double blind trials should be completed in December, and if the results are as good as expected the £45 machines could be on high street shelves
An ambitious initiative to utilise ESA satellite data to improve availability and management of African water resources took a further step forward on a hill slope overlooking Rome this week.
ESRIN, the European Centre for Earth Observation in Frascati near Rome, was the setting for the two-day TIGER Workshop which is being followed by three days of Earth Observation technology training sessions.
ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes and Head of ESRIN
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