In recent years, researchers have developed astonishing new insights into a hidden unity between the motion of objects in space and that of the smallest particles. It turns out there is an almost perfect parallel between the mathematics describing celestial mechanics and the mathematics governing some aspects of atomic physics. These insights have led to new ways to design space missions, as described in the article, “Ground Control to Niels Bohr: Exploring Outer Space with Atomic Physics”
Fracture toughness of Si3N4/S45C joint with an interface crack
Ceramic/metal joints have been increasingly applied in a wide range of engineering fields because the ceramic has stable mechanical properties at high temperature and good resistance to wear, erosion and oxidation. However, the difference of material properties between metal and ceramic induces stress singularities at the interface edge. The stress singularity together with the thermal residual stress degrades the st
Study shows quality-improvement effort saves lives
The same philosophy used to make better cars and computer chips can also save the lives of heart attack patients, a new study finds. In fact, 26 percent fewer patients died in the first year after their heart attack when hospitals used quality-improvement tactics to prevent crucial heart-care steps from “slipping through the cracks” — in much the same way a car company ensures that a car is made well before it leaves the factory.
Purdue University nuclear engineers have developed an advanced nuclear fuel that could save millions of dollars annually by lasting longer and burning more efficiently than conventional fuels, and researchers also have created a mathematical model to further develop the technology.
New findings regarding the research will be detailed in a peer-reviewed paper to be presented on Oct. 6 during the 11th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics in Avignon,
Seasonal wedges of undersea water block upwelling of plant sustaining nitrates
Duke University oceanographers have developed an explanation for why a vast North Atlantic circulation zone can have a large variability in nutrient supplies needed to sustain ocean plants and, by extension, support the food web of marine life.
The circulating zone in the North Atlantic Ocean, known as a “subtropical gyre,” swirls in a clockwise direction between the Gulf Stream — the warm
Iron key to nitric oxide reduction
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom have uncovered a mechanism with which disease-causing bacteria may thwart the body’s natural defense responses. The findings, which could ultimately lead to the development of more effective antibiotics, appear in the September 29, 2005 issue of the journal Nature.
“Nitric oxide is produced by the body to fight infections. We discove
Scientists studying the humble fruit fly have found a family of proteins that enhances the sensitivity of a cell to a hormone that can trigger abnormal growth and cancer. Their discovery could lead to a completely new approach to tackling some cancers and the development of new drugs to stop uncontrolled growth in a wide variety of tumour cells.
The researchers at the University of Oxford, funded in part by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), discove
UK scientists are working on new methods to regenerate cartilage and bone by delivering genes to stem cells within the body to instruct them to turn into bone cells. The research, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), could lead to a new approach to tissue engineering. With the ageing populations of Western countries it holds the potential of significant benefits for patients needing joint replacement or similar treatments.
The new research will us
Unwed mothers are significantly less likely to marry and more likely to cohabit than women without children. If they do marry, their husbands are more likely to have poor job prospects.
According to a new study by a Cornell University researcher, the findings suggest that unwed mothers are less likely than other women to improve their socio-economic status through marriage. Thus, he believes, the Bush administration’s “marriage promotion” policies may not be an effective
A Cornell University virologist has isolated a highly contagious equine flu virus that is spreading a sometimes-fatal respiratory flu among dogs, and is responsible for a major dog-flu outbreak in New York state. There is no evidence that the virus could infect people.
According to a paper published in the Sept. 26 issue of Science Express, the online version of Science magazine, this is the first time an equine flu virus has been found to jump species.
The equine influ
Doctors may drive unnecessary procedures
Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) use over 50 percent more health resources than people without the disorder. Even though there are definitive guidelines to diagnose IBS through simple blood tests, many IBS patients have additional procedures and surgeries that rarely result in relief or any additional diagnostic findings.
“It is difficult to know why patients with IBS have such a high use of healthcare resources, and
Ancient lakes and wetlands are being replaced by forest
Lakes and wetlands in the Kenai Peninsula of south-central Alaska are drying at a significant rate. The shift seems to be driven by climate change, and could endanger waterfowl habitats and hasten the spread of wildfires.
In a paper published in the August 2005 issue of the NRC Research Press’ Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Eric Klein and his colleagues document a significant landscape shift from wetland
The work involved a multidisciplinary task, undertaking the study of phases of mineralogical and physico-chemical interest. Selenites were synthesised, given that they are a new field and likely to present original physical properties. Their study was carried out using crystallographic methods and the behaviour of their physical properties was investigated.
As a result of this research, twenty-four selenites of different transition metals were synthesised. These were grouped as a fu
Pain in the back and neck leads to impaired memory and powers of concentration. Moreover, such pain hastens mental aging. This has been shown by Stefan Söderfjell in a new dissertation at Umeå University in Sweden.
People in pain often experience difficulty in concentrating, solving problems, and remembering things. Umeå researcher Stefan Söderfjell has now shown in his doctoral dissertation that people in pain actually do have these problems with their so-called cognitive functions.
Pedagogues and psychologists involved in education are striving to make training more efficient. To achieve this, it would be useful to understand what happens in a trainee’s brain during learning. Only neurophysiologists can sort that out, however, not everything is clear to them yet.
Thus, it can be expected that memorizsation and reminiscence processes (which make the essence of training) should be reflected in changes of the brain’s electrical activity nature. It means that th
A new analysis that refutes challenges to the existence of dark matter in certain galaxies appears in an article published this week in the journal Nature. Leading author of the article is Avishai Dekel, professor of physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Accepted cosmological theory postulates that every observable galaxy in the universe (each made up of billions of stars similar to our sun) is embedded in a massive “halo” of dark matter. Though unseen, dark matter
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