Findings challenge age-based treatment guidelines
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and 48 eye centers across North America report that many children between the ages of 7 and 17 with amblyopia, or “lazy eye,” may benefit from treatments usually prescribed for younger children.
“Previously, many eye specialists thought treating amblyopia in older children would be ineffective, but we found that many teenagers responded to treatment,” says Michael Repka, M
Omega-3 fatty acids improve cardiac function faster than expected
Taking daily supplements of fish or soy oil may improve cardiac function and protect against heart attacks in the short-term. Study results published in the April issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, are the first to show that soy oil increases heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of cardiac autonomic function.
“Our findings contradict the current beli
Dangers of tobacco products transcend generations
A child whose grandmother smoked while pregnant may have double the risk of developing childhood asthma, according to new research. A study published in the April issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, suggests that the harmful effects of tobacco products can be passed through the generations, even if the damage is not visibly apparent in the second generation.
“This is th
Scientists reveal new technology that will help us compute more safely on the move and that ’body talk’ could control mobiles
New research by University of Glasgow scientists that enables people to interact safely with mobile computers while walking, running or driving, could help to prevent users from putting themselves in danger.
Changing tracks on digital music players of the future while on the move could be done with the nod of the head.
Walking and te
Though mobile communications have improved emergency services’ efficiency, noisy environments still pose communication problems for users. ANITA has addressed the issue with a noise-reduction system that could save lives.
Developed under the European Commission’s IST programme, the ANITA system uses innovative software to reduce background noise in real time to allow emergency service workers to communicate more clearly with each other and with their headquarters even in the most
A V90-3.0 MW offshore wind turbine has to produce electricity for just 6.8 months, before it has produced as much energy as used throughout its design lifetime. In other words this turbine model earns its own worth more than 35 times during its design lifetime.
Furthermore, compared to the V80-2.0 MW offshore wind turbine, the 6.8 months constitutes an improvement of approximately 2.2 months.
If installed on a good site, the V90-3.0 MW wind turbine will generate appro
Full-scale disaster breaking out in France – in the form of a simulated accident around which a major European civil protection exercise is planned. Just as in a real emergency, the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters is being activated so rescue teams will receive satellite images of the disaster zone.
It begins with a train derailment, and then the situation gets worse. Train wagons of fuel begin to burn, the fire spreading to pressurised tanks of liquefied gas
Since the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona’s scientific communication website ( www.uab.es/uabdivulga/eng ) went online in May 2003, its aim has been to disclose research from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona to the public at large through the words of the researchers themselves. Over 200 researchers have now explained their work in a language accessible to all. From differential calculus to the latest breakthroughs in medicine, from
Launch of the new British Nutrition Foundation Task Force report
Despite improvements in death rates from cardiovascular disease (CVD) around the world, CVD remains a leading cause of death and ill health in the UK, where death rates are amongst the highest in the world. Reducing death rates from this disease remains high on the Government’s agenda, yet attention to the classical risk factors may not provide all the answers.
CVD is a multi-factorial disease, which ar
CeNeS Pharmaceuticals notes the recent publication of additional clinical data on its lead product morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G) by an academic group at King’s College, London. The data, which was published in the international journal ‘Anesthesiology’ (1), provides further support for the potential of M6G as a treatment for post-operative pain, focusing on its potential for administration under patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). Part of this data has been presented previously at the 4th Inte
The SINTEF Group, in co-operation with the re-cycling company Tomra now goes beyond cash deposits for bottles and cans to recycling plastic, glass and metal. Newly developed, patented technology makes it possible to sort different types of plastic, different colours of glass as well as metal – easily, effectively and inexpensively. A new, inexpensive gas-detector that contributes to a better indoor climate, is another area of use.
Although many things can be recycled or reused,
Researchers at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the University of California, Santa Cruz have discovered that Earth’s last great global warming period, 3 million years ago, may have been caused by levels of CO2 in the atmosphere similar to today’s.
Reporting this week in a leading Earth Science journal, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, the scientists describe how they tested two widely held ideas that attempted to explain the balmy conditions on Earth at that time. Their f
Researchers from the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh have begun a new study into the effects of a mother’s diet in pregnancy upon unborn babies and their future health. The research team will seek answers to the links between diet and health by carrying out further studies in a group of almost 1,000 men and women born in Motherwell, Scotland, in the late 1960s.
This latest research will look at the effects of an Atkins-type’ high meat, low carbohydrate diet in late pregna
Scientists at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden (1) and the University of Reading have been able to recover DNA from crop diseases on wheat samples stored as part of a Victorian field experiment (2). Using this DNA, they have discovered how changes in air pollution over the last 160 years have affected fungal diseases on our wheat crops.
The most damaging wheat disease in Europe is leaf blotch, caused by two different fungal species, Phaeosphaeria nodorum and Mycosphaerella gram
A new type of transistor structure, invented by scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has broken the 600 gigahertz speed barrier. The goal of a terahertz transistor for high-speed computing and communications applications could now be within reach. The new device – built from indium phosphide and indium gallium arsenide – is designed with a compositionally graded collector, base and emitter to reduce transit time and improve current density. With their pseud
A new study has found no link between use of cell phones and the risk of developing a brain tumor. The study is published in the April 12 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The Danish study questioned 427 people with brain tumors and 822 people without brain tumors about their cell phone use. The study found no increased risk for brain tumors related to cell phone use, frequency of use, or number of years of use.
“These results
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