A car that can automatically alert emergency services in the event of an accident, giving its precise location and the health status of occupants would save thousands of lives each year. Thanks to the work of AIDER such a vehicle is a step closer to becoming reality.
Developed over three years by 10 partners under the European Commission’s IST programme, the AIDER system has been completely tested in the field and, from the car maker’s perspective, contributes towards meeting the
Imagine a stand at a motor show featuring a new convertible. There’s a screen ‘hanging in the air’ with everything you expect on your PC desktop. You can click your way through all the new features of the car just by pointing your finger, and when you’re done you can walk through the screen and on to the next stand.
Imagine an operating theatre, where a surgeon can access an imaging databank on his PC using a similar airborne screen, without having to touch any keys or worry about
The plan to win full United Nations backing for an International Year of Planet Earth has come a step closer as the proposal wins the backing of the Executive Board of UNESCO, the United Nations Scientific, Cultural and Educational Organization in Paris [Note 1].
The Project, already supported by the geoscience communities in most IUGS countries was introduced to the Agenda by the Permanent Delegation of the United Republic of Tanzania, led by the ambassador to UNESCO, Prof. Mo
Of the billions of stars in the universe, the most massive play a crucial role but are the least understood. A major Leeds-led project is searching the skies to locate these elusive stars, and help us understand more about how the galaxies work.
“We know how big stars end – they explode as supernova and can form black holes – but we know little about how they’re formed,” explains Dr René Oudmaijer in physics and astronomy. “These stars play an important role in the evolution
Many people have dreamt at some point of being an astronaut and travelling through space but hardly any get the opportunity to fulfil these childhood dreams. If you are a scientist with an engineering, maths or physics background the University of Surrey (UniS) may be able to help you reach for the stars with its newly-launched MSc and BEng/MEng courses in Space Technology and Planetary Exploration. While UniS cannot promise to launch you into the cosmos, these new courses can at least launch your
A violent and chaotic-looking mass of gas and dust is seen in this Hubble Space Telescope image of a nearby supernova remnant. Denoted N 63A, the object is the remains of a massive star that exploded, spewing its gaseous layers out into an already turbulent region.
The supernova remnant N 63A is a member of N 63, a star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Visible from the southern hemisphere, the LMC is an irregular galaxy lying 160,000 light-years from our own Milky
A method using positively charged emulsions for improving drug delivery to treat eye diseases has won for Prof. Shimon Benita of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem School of Pharmacy a Kaye Innovation Award.
The award was presented on June 6 during the 68TH Hebrew University Board of Governors meeting.
Novagali Pharma, a drug delivery and biotechnology startup company based in a Paris suburb, and Prof. Benita’s research group have shown that their technology, based on p
Five years ago, the negative appendectomy rate at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston was 20%, but since the advent of CT screening, it has dropped to 3%, say MGH researchers. The negative appendectomy rate measures how often patients with symptoms of appendicitis have their appendix removed and then are diagnosed as not having acute appendicitis.
For the study, the researchers analyzed 663 patients who were examined on CT for suspected appendicitis. An appendectomy was perfor
A scientist at the University of Liverpool has helped to create the world’s smallest transistor – by proving that a single molecule can power electric circuits
A scientist at the University of Liverpool has helped to create the world’s smallest transistor – by proving that a single molecule can power electric circuits.
Dr Werner Hofer, from the University’s Surface Science Research Centre, is one of an international team of scientists who have created a pr
Omega-3, the fatty acid found in oily fish, could be combined with a commonly used anesthetic to develop drugs to treat breast cancer, according to research published today in the journal Breast Cancer Research. Compounds of Omega-3 fatty acids and propofol reduce the ability of breast cancer cells to develop into malignant tumours, inhibiting cancer cell migration by 50% and significantly reducing their metastatic activity. These new compounds could be developed into a new family of anti-canc
Giant red blobs, picket fences, upward branching carrots, and tentacled octopi — these are just a few of the phrases used to describe sprites — spectacular, eerie flashes of colored light high above the tops of powerful thunderstorms that can travel up to 50 miles high in the atmosphere.
Most researchers have long supported the theory that sprites are linked to major lightning charges. Still, some scientists believe that conditions high in the atmosphere, like meteoritic dust
University of Queensland researchers have teamed up with Tibetan Buddhist monks to uncover clues to how meditation can affect perception.
Olivia Carter and Professor Jack Pettigrew from UQ’s Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Centre, as well as colleagues from the University of California Berkeley, found evidence that skills developed by the monks during meditation can strongly influence attention and consciousness.
With the support of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, 76 mon
Women who drink to excess are more likely to experience depression and anxiety according to new research.
Work done by Dr Rosa Alati, a research fellow from The University of Queensland`s School of Population Health, and colleagues from UQ and the University of Bristol, showed women who have more than 15 drinks a week have an increased risk of experiencing mental illness.
However Dr Alati said heavy drinking was also linked to smoking and women from low income groups we
New data suggest that the accumulation of genetic changes is not solely determined by natural selection. A study by University of Chicago researchers contradicts conventional theory by showing that the percentage of mutations accepted in evolution is also strongly swayed by the speed at which new mutations arrive at a gene: the faster the speed of new mutations, the greater the percentage of those mutations accepted.
“We’ve discovered a striking phenomenon that challenges a para
Microbiologists seeking ways to eliminate pollution from waterways with microbes instead discovered that some pollution-eating bacteria commonly found in freshwater ponds can generate electricity. They present their findings today at the 105th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
“The bacteria are capable of continuously generating electricity at levels that could be used to operate small electronic devices. As long as the bacteria are fed fuel they are abl
Yale biologists have managed to extract and analyze DNA from giant, extinct lemurs, according to a Yale study published in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Radiocarbon dating of the bones and teeth from which the DNA was obtained reveal that each of the individuals analyzed died well over 1,000 years ago, according to the senior author, Anne Yoder, associate professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
Living lemu
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