A trail of feathers led a team of Purdue University scientists to confirm that eagles from central Asia are quite possibly the most faithful of birds.
By performing DNA analysis on the feathers left behind at nesting sites, the researchers were able to identify individual Eastern imperial eagles in a nature reserve in Kazakhstan. Their analysis showed that not one adult strayed from its mate – a degree of fidelity highly unusual among birds, the vast majority of which mate with an
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the leading reason given for death among infants one month to one year old. Studies have shown that sharing a bed with parents who smoke increases the risk of SIDS. A study in the July issue of The Journal of Pediatrics found a relationship between SIDS and bedsharing among infants less than 11 weeks old, even if parents are non-smokers.
David Tappin, MD, MPH and colleagues from University of Glasgow and Ecob Consulting evaluated 123 cases
A new gait-stabilizing device called the Yaktrax Walker has shown to reduce the risk of injurious falls during winter months in older adults who are fall-prone, reports a study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Yaktrax Walker is a plastic netting sized to conform to the bottom of a boot or shoe. Participants in the study were asked to wear the device outdoors over their normal winter footwear and kept a diary of any falls.
A total of 43 outdoor fall
An enzyme known to cause hypertension increases blood pressure by activating tiny pores, or channels, in kidney cells that allow increased levels of sodium to be reabsorbed into the blood, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. The findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms that cause hypertension, and may also help explain why patients with hypertension linked to salt intake often need to take potassium supplements in order to keep their high blood pressure in check.
A textile marking system developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that encodes information invisible to the naked eye could save the U.S. millions of dollars in revenue lost each year to counterfeiters and violators of trade laws.
While Mexican, Caribbean, African and Central American firms commonly use raw materials produced in the United States – and receive exemption from certain import tariffs – some manufacturers routinely falsify country-of-origin certification to avoid p
New study strengthens the case for development of vaccine to prevent mosquitoe-borne virus
A new study of the disease burden of dengue fever in Malaysia strengthens the case for development of a vaccine against the mosquito-borne illness.
Despite the nation’s efforts at treatment and control, 10,000 cases are reported each year at a l cost of almost $13 million, slightly less than half for vector control and the rest for treating hospitalized patients with dengu
The inequalities that mark American life maintain their hold through age and even death, a new study shows.
Wealthier elders are significantly less likely than poorer ones to suffer pain at the end of their lives, according to a University of Michigan study forthcoming in the August issue of the Journal of Palliative Care.
Specifically, men and women age 70 or older whose net worth was $70,000 or higher were 30 percent less likely than poorer people to have felt pain of
The microelectronics industry is continually striving to miniaturize conventional silicon-based electronic devices to provide higher performance technology that can be housed in smaller packaging.
Progress resulting from this miniaturization is evident from the rapid advances in consumer electronics, such as cell phones and laptop computers, that have been observed in recent years. Now, silicon-based molecular electronics — a complementary technology to conventional microelectr
A better grasp of immune cell lineages may improve outcomes for transplant, other immunosuppressed patients
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have recently clarified the role of the Notch protein in T-cell development. T cells are required for many aspects of immunity, including fighting viral infections, providing cancer surveillance, and regulating multiple aspects of the immune response.
T cells are made in the thymus, a small organ si
A burst of mesospheric cloud activity over Antarctica in January 2003 was caused by the exhaust plume of the space shuttle Columbia during its final flight, reports a team of scientists who studied satellite and ground-based data from three different experiments. The data also call into question the role these clouds may play in monitoring global climate change.
“Our analysis shows that the Columbia’s exhaust plume approached the South Pole three days after launch,” said M
As of 6 July 2005, 990 comets have been discovered using the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, which is expected to discover its 1000th comet this summer.
The SOHO spacecraft, a joint effort between NASA and the European Space Agency, has been so prolific that it has accounted for almost half of all comet discoveries for which orbits have been computed in the history of astronomy.
Before SOHO was launched, only 16 ‘sungrazing’ comets had be
Significantly more and smaller liver tumors can be detected by contrast-enhanced MRI when compared to whole-body FDG PET, say researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
For the study, the researchers analyzed 79 liver tumors in 30 patients. MRI detected all 79 of the lesions, of which 33 were less than 1 cm. PET detected 65 lesions, of which only 12 were less than 1 cm. In a per-lesion analysis, MRI had an accuracy rate of 75.5% compared to 64.1% for PET.
New, higher precision data that could only have been gathered at the Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) shows the Theta-plus pentaquark doesn’t appear in another place it was expected. This intriguing finding contradicts evidence previously presented by Jefferson Lab researchers that they had sighted a pentaquark, a particle built of five quarks. Volker Burkert, a Jefferson Lab Experimental Hall Leader, will present this preliminary result in a
Household dust is the main route of exposure to flame retardants for people — from toddlers to adults — followed by eating animal and dairy products, according to a report in the July 15 issue of the American Chemical Society’s journal Environmental Science & Technology. ACS is the world’s largest scientific society. Until this study, which is based on a computer model developed by Canadian researchers, scientists have been unsure exactly how people are being exposed.
PBDEs (polybromi
People in their 50s who have normal blood pressure could live up to five years longer than those with hypertension (high blood pressure), an international study has found.
The study, which has been published in the current issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association, tracked 3128 people who celebrated their 50th birthday while enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study, which looks at risk factors for heart disease.
It was the first study of a larg
Cattle move, dirt stirs, dust rises – it’s an inevitable part of the livestock industry.
But it’s something feedlot management and researchers are working to minimize and control.
The Texas Beef Cattle Air Quality Emphasis, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service as a part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, is a partnership with Texas A&M University and Texas Cattle Feeders Association. “W
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