Weeding is a major problem for ecological growers since it is both expensive and time-consuming. New robot technology may have the solution. In a new dissertation, Björn Åstrand, from Halmstad University in Sweden, presents how weeds can be removed mechanically -with the fully automated robot Lukas.
In ecological cultivation, weeding is performed manually, entailing not only economic burdens for many growers but also logistic ones -it’s hard to find people willing to do this wor
According to the most accepted theory on the origin of life, life began with very simple molecules, RNA chains, which were able to self-replicate. The problem with the theory, however, is that the fragility of these chains when there are replication errors (mutations) made it almost impossible for them to have evolved into more complex life forms. An international team of scientists, including Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona researchers, has discovered that these early molecules were much m
A new family of genes could hold the key to winning the battle against breast cancer, according to new research at the University of East Anglia.
Cancer specialists at UEA have discovered that several ‘ADAMTS’ genes are turned off in breast cancer compared to normal breast tissue, while others are switched on. These genes could be targets for the development of ‘smart’ drugs tailored to treat individual patients’ tumours.
The ADAMTS genes are recent additions to a larg
An innovative vaccination can significantly reduce deposits of the substances in the brain responsible for causing Alzheimer’s disease. This result was disclosed today by Affiris GmbH, a company located at the Campus Vienna Biocenter, Austria. The rapid progress during the pre-clinical development phase has already enabled the Vienna-based company, although having operated only since April 2004, to plan clinical trials for 2006, and thus proves the international competitiveness of the Campus Vienna
Scientists at the University of Liverpool believe gaps in the intestinal barrier could be a cause of inflammatory diseases of the gut such as Crohn’s Disease.
Their research, led by Professor Alastair Watson in the University’s Faculty of Medicine, could have important implications for the treatment of patients with diseases like Crohn’s – an inflammatory bowel disorder that causes severe ulceration in the intestine, leading to pain, bleeding and diarrhoea.
Profess
Over the past thirty years, the European food industry has failed to make significant improvements in energy efficiency, says Dutch-sponsored researcher Andrea Ramírez. Her conclusion is based on an analysis of energy consumption, energy efficiency and developments in the food supply chain in 13 European countries.
Andrea Ramírez investigated the energy management of the European food sector. She found out that while production growth has increased the energy requirements of the sector b
A new study to detect an elevated rate of mutations in a gene on the X chromosome holds promise for developing a test that could identify individuals at risk for developing cancer. In the study, led by David J. Araten, M.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Hematology at NYU School of Medicine, the rate of mutations in the gene, called PIG-A, was significantly higher in individuals born with defects in the cellular machinery to repair DNA compared to people without these genetic cond
Scientists have discovered a new and potent anti-cancer compound in everyday food. The collaborative study led by UCL (University College London) shows that the compound – inositol pentakisphosphate – found in beans, nuts and cereals inhibits a key enzyme (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) involved in tumour growth. The findings, published in the latest issue of Cancer Research, suggest that a diet enriched in such foods could help prevent cancer, while the inhibitor offers a new tool for anti-cancer
Drugs already in development to target the genetic pathway
In a new study, scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children and Princess Margaret Hospital have shown that two genes called Notch1 and Jagged1 are linked to more aggressive breast cancers and that patients are less likely to survive the disease when these two genes are highly expressed.
The study is published in the September 15th issue of the journal Cancer Research, a publication of the American Association f
A family of compounds found in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and watercress, blocked lung cancer progression in both animal studies and in tests with human lung cancer cells, report researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center and the Institute for Cancer Prevention.
They say the results, published in a set of papers in the September 15 issue of Cancer Research, suggest that these chemicals — put into a veggie pill of sorts — might some day be u
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), by its very name, indicates a disease of the respiratory tract. But SARS can also infiltrate brain tissue, causing significant central nervous system problems, according to an article in the Oct. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.
SARS, a potentially fatal illness caused by a coronavirus, was first reported in Asia in February of 2003. The disease is usually transmitted by contact with coronavirus-laden dropl
Hurricane search and rescue is one of first domestic uses of such vehicles
Providing the benefits of speed, portability and access, a pair of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) surveyed storm-damaged communities in Miss. as part of the search for trapped survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
In what is one of the first deployments of such craft for disaster search and rescue, the vehicles captured video imagery to help responders focus efforts and avoid hazards.
“Th
In an effort to understand the biological function of the microRNA mir1, Drs. Nicholas Sokol and Victor Ambros (Darmouth Medical School) have studied the expression profile, transcriptional regulation and loss-of-function phenotype of Drosophila mir-1 (Dmir-1). Mir-1 is an evolutionarily conserved miRNA, whose expression in mouse and humans is limited to heart and skeletal muscle. Strikingly, their study shows that, in Drosophila embryos, mir-1 expression is not required for mesodermal cell fate d
The radioactive carbon-14 produced by above-ground nuclear testing in the 1950s and 1960s is providing forensic scientists with a more precise way to determine a person’s age at the time of death. The method could help in the identification of victims of Hurricane Katrina and other large-scale disasters.
The new technique, developed by researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, determines the amount of carbon-14 in tooth ena
With rising concern over the cost of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit program – going into effect January, 2006 and estimated to cost $593 billion over the next decade – a new UCSF study reveals that a key cost-cutting strategy employed by HMOs for 15 years is simply not working.
Health insurance companies have increasingly sought to limit the amount of expensive drugs doctors prescribe to patients in order to keep drug costs form spiraling, according to the study autho
A respiratory disorder that causes thoroughbred racehorses to hemorrhage during competition may seriously hamper some horses’ chances of winning a race.
A new study in Australia found that horses with more severe forms of this disorder, called exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) trailed the winner by an average of 14 feet (4.36 meters). EIPH causes blood to leak from the pulmonary artery into the bronchial tubes and windpipe during intense exercise, making it harder
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