The high concentration of ceramides extracted by means of supercritical fluid technology has provoked great interest in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Due to their composition, these ceramides increase the hydration of the skin and accelerate the repair of damaged skin tissue.
A fluid in a supercritical state is one that has been subject to conditions above their critical pressure and temperature parameters and which have corresponding intermediate properties – b
Traditional silicon chips in computers and other electronic devices control the flow of electrical current by modifying the positive or negative charge of different parts of each tiny circuit. However it is also possible to use of the mysterious magnetic properties of electrons – know as “spin” – to control the movement of currents. Many large companies have spent millions of dollars trying to solve some of the problems faced by this technology, but progress has remained slow. Discoveries ma
The Prince of Wales and record-breaking sailor, Ellen MacArthur, are together to trumpet global efforts to save one of the world’s most endangered yet iconic birds.
Nineteen of the 21 species of albatross are facing extinction because of a fishing method that kills 300,000 seabirds and hundreds of thousands of sharks and turtles each year.
Longline fishing, much of it by illegal pirates, has also caused massive declines in the much-prized Patagonian toothfish and several
Moderate alcohol consumption over a relatively long period of time can enhance the formation of new nerve cells in the adult brain. The new cells could prove important in the development of alcohol dependency and other long-term effects of alcohol on the brain. The findings are published by Karolinska Institutet.
The study, which was carried out on mice, examined alcohol consumption corresponding to that found in normal social situations. The results show that moderate drinking en
Organic gardeners can control pesky weeds with the help of some common soil microbes, according to an article in the May 2005 issue of Microbiology Today, the quarterly magazine of the Society for General Microbiology.
As Robert J. Kremer of the University of Missouri explains, soil that suppresses the growth of weeds isn’t science fiction and doesn’t involve chemical fertilisers and herbicides. “Weeds have been a nuisance for gardeners since ancient times,” says Professor Kremer
Carrying out measurements on carcasses – such as the thickness of the dorsal fat mass or the veining in the meat by means of ultrasonic technology – enables a determination to be made of the amount of fat or the flavour of the veal, essential parameters for establishing its quality. This is the conclusion of Gregorio Indurain Báñez in presenting his PhD at the Public University of Navarra. He proposes that it would be advisable to include these two variables in the current classification of car
People with schizophrenia often die prematurely. However researchers from the University of Glasgow and NHS Greater Glasgow assert that much of the excess mortality of schizophrenia is preventable through lifestyle changes and the treatment of common diseases.
Schizophrenia, its treatment and the lifestyle of sufferers contribute to high rates of illness and mortality. Sufferers often have poorer diets, lower rates of physical activity and smoke more than the general population
A natural, non-toxic byproduct of glucose may prevent brain cell death and cognitive impairment in diabetics following an episode of severely low blood sugar, according to researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).
In research studies with rats, senior investigator Raymond A. Swanson, MD, and lead author Sang Won Suh, PhD, demonstrated the effectiveness of pyruvate, a naturally-occurring byproduct of glucose, when administered along with glucose after 30 minutes
Community-based mammography facilities do not have enough radiologists and certified technologists to adequately deliver screening and diagnostic services to the public, and the situation may get worse, according to a study published in the May issue of the journal Radiology.
“If we do not address the issues causing the staffing shortage, more facilities will close and screening will become more centralized, perhaps making screening and diagnostic mammography impossible for so
High-intensity focused ultrasound emitted in short pulses is a promising, non-invasive procedure for enhancing gene delivery to cancerous cells without destroying healthy tissue, according to a study in the May issue of the journal Radiology.
High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is more powerful than standard ultrasound. HIFU can destroy tumors through long and continuous exposures that raise the temperature inside cancerous cells, effectively “cooking” them. Under a te
Measuring blood flow to a newborn’s intestines using a special form of ultrasound can help radiologists identify a life-threatening complication in a serious bowel disease, according to a study in the May issue of the journal Radiology.
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is an acquired inflammatory gastrointestinal disease of unknown cause. It is the most common and serious gastrointestinal disorder among hospitalized premature babies, according to the Nemours Foundation. Symp
Research from Dartmouth Medical School, demonstrating how malaria parasites form mutations that make them stubbornly resistant to drug therapy, may hold the key to a new treatments for a disease that afflicts more than half a billion people worldwide.
The scientists developed disease models using yeast and successfully introduced five mutations that make malaria resistant to the anti-malarial drug, atovaquone. The study, featured as the cover story of the April 29 Journal of Biological C
A Johns Hopkins University graduate student may have figured out why rates of extinction were so low for many of the major groups of marine life during one of the greatest ice ages of them all, which occurred from about 330 million to 290 million years ago, late in the Paleozoic Era.
The likely answer: because those aquatic life forms that did survive during this era were singularly equipped to endure severe fluctuations in temperature and sea levels. Those that were not died i
Scientists at Ohio State University have taken a step toward the development of powerful new computers — by making tiny holes that contain nothing at all.
The holes — dark spots in an egg carton-shaped surface of laser light — could one day cradle atoms for quantum computing. Worldwide, scientists are racing to develop computers that exploit the quantum mechanical properties of atoms, explained Greg Lafyatis, associate professor of physics at Ohio State . These so-called quan
On crystal surfaces, nanotubes self-guide themselves into dense structures with exciting potential applications as sensors or integrated circuits
USC researchers have found that sapphire surfaces spontaneously arrange carbon nanotubes into useful patterns — but only the right surfaces. Nanotubes are one-atom thick sheets of carbon rolled into seamless cylinders. They can be used to work as chemical sensors and transistors, like devices made from carbon’s close chemical cousin,
It’s ‘plastic please’ when it comes to scientists’ choice of pesticide-water sampling devices in field crops.
Wide acceptance has been building for the compact plastic disks over glass containers which are used to collect water samples and determine threatening levels of pesticide runoff. Experts say the glass containers were prone to break during transit from field to the laboratory, and have allowed chemicals to degrade prior to being analyzed.
The disks
Feedback
