Early summer sees the start of the annual increase in sightings in the Bay of Biscay of the second largest whale in the World, the Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus). This is a spectacular event for waters so close to British Shores.
Fin Whales are the second largest species of whale on the planet! They can measure up to 24 meters in length and suffered significant hunting during the whaling days. They have a varied diet including fish and krill and tend to ignore or are insensitive
The fragile-X-syndrome is one of the major causes of mental retardation.
Scientists from VIB (Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology), have been studying fruit flies with symptoms similar to those in humans. From this research, it turns out that something goes wrong with the actin skeleton of the neurons in the brain. This process might also take place in human patients with the fragile-X-syndrome – an important step in uncovering the physical background of this dis
Two studies presented today (Tuesday 21 June 2005) at the 21st annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology provide further proof that single embryo transfer (SET) produces babies that are healthier than those born after multiple implantations.
Dr. Diane De Neubourg, from the Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium, told the conference that babies born after SET are as healthy as singleton babies born after a spontaneous conception. She s
ASK-chip shall enable targeted functional analysis of the human kinome
ProQinase, a division of KTB Tumorforschungs GmbH at the Tumor Biology Center, Freiburg, the NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tübingen, and Antibodies by Design, a division of MorphoSys AG, Munich, today announced the start of a joint project which could revolutionize the analysis of all human protein kinases – the human “kinome”. The project combines the established protein kinase p
ESA’s comet chaser Rosetta will take part in the one of world’s largest astronomical observation campaigns – the Deep Impact event – while on its cruise to Comet 69P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta will be watching from 29 June to 14 July 2005.
Deep Impact is a NASA mission to send a 370 kg copper ‘impactor’ probe to Comet 9P/Tempel 1 on 4 July 2005. Tempel 1 is a short-period comet, whose orbit runs between those of Mars and Jupiter. There is scientific interest in comets because th
A study by the Swedish Road and Transport Research Institute VTI shows that milled rumble strips at the centre of a two lane road are probably an excellent measure to reduce the number of head-on collisions which occur because tired and inattentive drivers inadvertently leave the lane they are driving in.
The study shows that one of the effects of milled rumble strips at the centre of the road is to make car drivers reduce their speed and keep further away from the centre o
Karolinska Institutet’s solution for the financing of early discoveries will be presented at the biotech fair in Philadelphia on 21 June.
A portfolio of start-ups is created and an investment base is sought for the entire package. The system used at Karolinska Institutet is unique in the world, and creates better chances of success as well as healthy earnings for the investors.
The university is forever generating new science of considerable market potential. Howev
New computer software to teach people with learning disabilities the basic skills needed for everyday activities like shopping and crossing roads has been developed by researchers at The University of Nottingham.
Using a specially adapted joystick and the click of a mouse, people with learning disabilities can put money into a trolley, navigate themselves around a three-dimensional computer-generated supermarket and find items they need on their shopping list.
In another
Cutting edge research will be on display at The Royal Academy of Engineering’s annual Summer Soirée at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS), on Monday 27 June, hosted by the University of Southampton.
Highlights include:
Ocean floor energy: the University of Southampton and NOCS are at the forefront of research on methane hydrates, ice-like deposits occurring in deep ocean sediments. These show promise as a major source of energy but could also trigger a
Air traffic control is one of the most demanding safety critical distributed systems with an enviable safety record. Using computer modelling researchers developed innovative approaches to handling uncertainty when designing such complex safety critical operations.
It’s a scary thought, but air traffic brings with it the chance of a mid-air collision. But the safety record of the air industry is excellent, so obviously it works well. “The system has grown in an evolutionary wa
Not everyone can enjoy the fresh strawberries in summer. Some experience an allergic reaction with itching and swelling in mouth and throat. Biochemists at Lund University have identified a strawberry allergen among the thousands of proteins in a strawberry. Screening is now performed to find strawberries with no or little of the allergen protein. Sofar, a colourless, ’white’ strawberry variety has been found to be virtually free from the allergen.
The allergen was identified usin
An innovative concept for an Antarctic vehicle is unveiled this week at the Royal College of Art’s final year show. Working closely with experts from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), award-winning designer James Moon has come up with a lightweight, compact eco-friendly vehicle for use in one of the Earth’s most extreme environments.
The vehicle, called “Ninety Degrees South”, uses novel technology to keep drivers safe, warm and protected from the high levels UV exposure that occur und
Shaping the Potential for Global Environmental Governance
International Global Change Research Conference in Bonn, 9-13-October 2005
Global environmental change has led to increased risks for many and worsened existing inequities, in some cases leading to conflicts. The numbers of environmental refugees are on the rise. Who is responsible for climate change, and who, in turn, suffers most from it? How do individuals and communities cope with environmental stresses, and what i
Tissue derived from human embryonic stem cells
For years, a major obstacle has dashed the hopes of creating “replacement parts” for the human body: the lack of an internal, nourishing blood system in engineered tissues. Without it, thicker tissues can’t thrive, which has confined tissue engineering’s practical application to thin skin, which can recruit blood vessels from underlying tissue.
Now, researchers in Institute Professor Robert Langer’s lab at MIT ha
The basic economic theory that people work harder to avoid losing money than they do to make money is shared by monkeys, suggesting this trait has a long evolutionary history, according to a Yale University study under review by the Journal of Political Economy.
This phenomenon, known as “loss aversion,” refers to the tendency for people to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains. “A large body of studies suggest that losses are more than twice as psychologically power
In research performed at the Department of Energy’s Jefferson Lab, nuclear physicists have found that strange quarks do contribute to the structure of the proton. This result indicates that, just as previous experiments have hinted, strange quarks in the proton’s quark-gluon sea contribute to a proton’s properties. The result comes from work performed by the G-Zero collaboration, an international group of 108 physicists from 19 institutions and was presented at a Jefferson Lab phy
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