JLab, College of W&M researchers study radiation blockers while conducting nuclear imaging of Iodine uptake in mouse tissues
Scientists have found that a dose five times higher than the FDA-recommended dosage of potassium iodide in the event of a nuclear accident is needed to protect small animals effectively from radioactive iodide in medical imaging procedures. The long-term animal nuclear imaging project is being conducted by a collaboration of biology and physics researchers
The first comprehensive study of glaciers around the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula reveals the real impact of recent climate change.
Results from the study by researchers at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published this week in the journal Science, show that over the last 50 years 87% of 244 glaciers studied have retreated, and that average retreat rates have accelerated.
BAS and USGS analysed more than 2000 aerial photographs dating fr
Instead of sequencing the genome of one organism, why not sequence a drop of sea water, a gram of farm soil or even a sunken whale skeleton? Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and their US collaborators have done just that, and the result is a new appreciation for the rich diversity of life that exists in the most unlikely places (Science, April 22, 2005).
Bacteria make up the greatest mass of life on earth by far and play a crucial role
Sedentary behaviour – not candy – linked with being overweight, says Queen’s researcher
Canadian youth rank fourth-highest on the obesity scale in a new international study of adolescents from 34 countries, says co-author Dr. Ian Janssen, a professor in Queen’s University’s School of Physical & Health Education and Department of Community Health & Epidemiology.
And sedentary behaviour – like watching television – was strongly correlated with being overweight, he adds.
A new study by researchers at Oregon State University suggests that the magnitude 6.7 earthquakes that struck California’s San Fernando Valley in 1971 and Northridge area in 1994 may have been about the most powerful quakes that this specific area can sustain. Results of the research were published this week in the journal Geology.
“The study points out the potential of using paleomagnetism to estimate maximum earthquake magnitudes in some regions,” said Shaul Levi, a paleom
A type of noninvasive “virtual colonoscopy” can diagnose medium to large polyps as well as traditional colorectal probes can, but it may miss some smaller yet potentially cancerous growths, according to a new review of studies.
The review — limited to comparing the traditional procedure to use of computer tomography as a method — also finds that despite seeming advantage for the person being screened, there is no evidence that availability of the CT scan results in more screenin
Lifetime of solar nebual
The oxygen and magnesium content of some of the oldest objects in the universe are giving clues to the lifetime of the solar nebula, the mass of dust and gas that eventually led to the formation of our solar system.
By looking at the content of chondrules and Calcium Aluminum- rich inclusions (CAIs), both components of the primitive meteorite Allende, Lab physicist Ian Hutcheon, with colleagues from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the Tokyo I
New results from research performed at the Department of Energy’s Jefferson Lab hint that strange quarks may contribute to the proton’s magnetic moment. If confirmed by data to be taken later this year, these surprising results would indicate that strange quarks in the proton’s quark-gluon sea contribute to at least one of the proton’s intrinsic properties. The HAPPEx results strengthen the trend found by the SAMPLE experiment at MIT-Bates and the A4 experiment at the Mainz
New data from the Department of Energy’s Jefferson Lab shows the pentaquark doesn’t appear in one place it was expected. The result contradicts earlier findings in this same region and adds to the controversy over whether research groups from around the world have caught a glimpse of the so-called pentaquark, a particle built of five quarks.
Researchers in Jefferson Lab’s CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) collaboration took data with a high energy photon beam on a liquid hydrogen
Shock therapy, a controversial practice conjuring frightening images of behavior control, still has a place in schizophrenia treatment, a newly updated research review shows.
Although the data confirmed that antipsychotic drugs are still the first choice for schizophrenia treatment, they also showed that electroconvulsive, or shock, therapy clearly works, and combining both treatments can accelerate benefits to some patients, the review finds.
Dr. Prathap Tharyan, head of
First modifiable risk factor for disease advancement identified
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) recently discovered that cigarette smoking may contribute to the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), suggesting that quitting smoking could limit or delay central nervous system deterioration. This is the first time that a modifiable risk factor for MS progression has been identified, providing a new strategy for patients hoping to control neurological dama
Why people get drowsy and fall asleep, and how caffeine blocks that process, are the subjects of a new study by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. When cells in a certain part of the brain become overworked, a compound in the brain kicks in, telling them to shut down. This causes people to become drowsy and fall asleep. Alter that natural process by adding coffee or tea, and the brain compound – called adenosine – is blocked, and people stay awake.
These findings, avai
pH value in rock pores where organisms live acidic enough to dissolve nails, say researchers
University of Colorado at Boulder researchers say a bizarre group of microbes found living inside rocks in an inhospitable geothermal environment at Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park could provide tantalizing new clues about ancient life on Earth and help steer the hunt for evidence of life on Mars.
The CU-Boulder research team reported the microbes were discovered in the p
Taking antibiotics weekly for a year does not reduce the risk of a heart attack or other cardiac event for patients with stable coronary artery disease, according to a University of Washington study. The study was published in the April 22 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Previous studies have found the bacteria Chlamydia pneumoniae in the arterial plaque of patients with coronary artery disease. Some doctors have reasoned that removal of C. pneumoniae from the sy
An international team of researchers, led by Dr. Earl Silverman of The Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids), has found that two arthritis medications (methotrexate and leflunomide) commonly used in adults are safe and effective in children. This research is reported in the April 21, 2005 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
“Our study showed that both methotrexate and leflunomide can be used safely and effectively in children. In fact, in our study both drugs had a
As the brain develops, neurons reach out helter-skelter to form new connections, only a small number of which take hold. How the brain chooses which connections to keep and which to prune back appears to be governed by which branches have the most electrical activity-a finding that could help to explain how early experiences guide brain development.
The work, published in the April 21 issue of Nature, takes advantage of tiny, see-through zebrafish. Stephen Smith, PhD, professor
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