Since September 2000, when the UN-initiated Millennium Declaration was signed, States have to work towards reducing poverty and encouraging world economic growth in the coming decades (1). In discussions embarked on to respond to these objectives, the questions of population and urban growth take a predominant place. Urbanization, which is a key indicator of current globalization in the world, serves increasingly to predict other trends studied at global scale, like poverty, energy consumption,
The European Commission released the following Press Release on 15/07/05.
“COST (European Co-operation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) is a suitable mechanism for contributing to the Lisbon and Barcelona goals, due to its role in assisting the co-ordination of national research” an expert panel has told the Commission. The experts found that its structure and operating procedures are designed to be simple and responsive, making it particularly appropriate for in
Germany joined the Preparatory Phase of the European Space Exploration Programme Aurora. It thus becomes the twelfth country participating in the programme (*), which allows scientists and industrial companies from Germany to participate in the Aurora Programme.
This decision has been warmly welcomed by ESA and unanimously endorsed by the eleven other Aurora Participating States at the 18th Aurora Board of Participants meeting held in Paris on 12 July 2005.
“After the recen
A 3-day international conference on Renewable Resources and Biorefineries, to be held in Ghent, Belgium on 19-21 September 2005. This conference is the prime forum for industrial biotechnology, renewable resources and biorefineries in Europe.
The conference program is organized in 10 parallel sessions, with over 50 high quality presentations by international experts, covering both technical and policy aspects of the bio-based economy. The call for posters is still open and poster abstract
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University marine scientists who began monitoring surface water quality in the Neuse River in 2000 say their expanded effort has become a model for continuous ferry-based water assays throughout the nation.
Help and support from the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Division of Ferries and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) deserves much of the credit, the researchers say.
Drs. Hans Paerl and Josep
By studying five generations of a Dallas family, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have discovered that a mutation in a key gene causes aortic valve disease, a common heart birth defect as well as a major contributor to adult heart disease. In the study, available in the online edition of the journal Nature, researchers scanned the DNA of 11 members of a family that was affected with aortic heart disease. The patients ranged from children with severe narrowing of the aortic valve to 5
Could be first step for treatment of heart damage caused by MD
A common chemical used in the manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries can repair damage to cardiac muscle cell membranes and prevent heart failure in mice with the genetic mutation that causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy, according to scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School.
The mutation in the dystrophin gene causes the progressive deterioration of skeletal muscles seen in people with MD
It takes more than the genetically coded sequence for a membrane protein to fold and function. Its lipid environment also plays a role.
A protein that provides a vital passage through a bacterium’s outer cell wall will misfold and malfunction if that wall is built of the ’wrong’ material, scientists at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston report in a finding that has long-term implications for understanding diseases caused by misfolded proteins such a
Immersive cave will allow audience to watch robots search for victims
As the July 7 bombings in London have so devastatingly illustrated, disaster relief is an arduous task, one that is carried out mainly by humans (and trained dogs), communicating face-to-face or by phones and walkie-talkies. Robots may provide limited support for search and rescue activities and are typically remotely operated by a separate team of humans, but such robots can be difficult to control.
UCLA chemists have created the first nano valve that can be opened and closed at will to trap and release molecules. The discovery, federally funded by the National Science Foundation, will be published July 19 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“This paper demonstrates unequivocally that the machine works,” said Jeffrey I. Zink, a UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry, a member of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA, and a member of the resea
Men receiving radiation therapy to combat early-stage prostate cancer are still able to achieve an erection and face a low rate of incontinence one year following treatment, according to a new study published in the July 15, 2005 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of ASTRO, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.
Researchers enrolled 98 men from 24 institutions and set out to gauge the health-related
Findings published in this month’s issue of Virology
An outbreak of 72 cases of monkeypox in the United States during the summer of 2003 didn’t produce a single fatality, even though the disease usually kills 10 percent of those infected.
Why did none of the patients die? New research from Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center and several partner institutions may provide an answer.
In this month’s issue of Virology, researcher and senior
SMOKERS who give up are much less likely to lose their teeth prematurely than those who don’t kick the habit, pioneering research has shown.
Dental researchers at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, observed a group of cigarette smokers with chronic gum disease over one year and found some symptoms were more likely to improve in the people who quit during the study period.
Chronic gum disease, which is characterised by inflamed gums that increasingly recede from t
A portable, versatile and low-cost molecular detection tool being developed by a team of European researchers promises to revolutionise the diagnosis of diseases such as cancer and open up new applications in sectors as diverse as environmental protection, chemical analysis and food safety.
Working in the field of micro- and nano-technologies, the IST programme-funded BioFinger project is due to begin testing its state-of-the-art system over the summer amid expectations for a c
Why does a male copulate without delivering semen? In a study that sheds new light on the evolution of sexual behaviour, researchers have utilised a novel technique to reveal that in feral chickens, the simple stimulus generated by male mounting reduces the sexual promiscuity of a hen, indicating that even copulations that do not result in semen transfer, a puzzling male behaviour frequently observed in the chicken and many other species, may be crucial to defend the paternity of a male.
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Detailed scientific analysis by the European Commission, through its advanced crop yield forecasting system, shows that this year’s production will be at least 28 million tonnes below last years’ record numbers (about 10% less), but total EU cereal harvest remains in line with the average of the last five years.
The main reason for this drop is the impact of drought on crop yields. Production areas most affected are in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Central Greece. The forecas
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