A Ugandan drug trial’s findings that the AIDS medication nevirapine is effective and safe in preventing HIV transmission from mother to unborn child during birth were well-supported, according to a new, independent analysis by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. The IOM’s analysis of the design and methodology of the 1997 drug study in Uganda, called HIVNET 012, determined that policy-makers and other scientists can rely on the resulting data and conclusions, despite some flaws
They look like an elegant row of columns, tiny enough for atomic-scale hide-and-seek, but these colonnades represent a new way to bring nanotechnology into mass production.
Nanotechnology, the ability to create and work with structures and materials on an atomic scale, holds the promise of extreme miniaturization for electronics, chemical sensors and medical devices. But while researchers have created tiny silicon wires and connected them together one at a time, these methods canno
Millions of painted lady butterflies that fluttered into California’s Central Valley in the last week of March could be just the advance guard of one of the largest migrations of the species on record, said Arthur Shapiro, a professor and expert on butterflies at UC Davis.
“This may be the biggest migration of modern times,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro said he is getting reports of “billions” of butterflies around Trona, near Death Valley, and in the San Fernando Valley. M
Scientists have long held the belief that the fracturing of the Earth’s brittle outer shell into faults along the deep ocean’s mountainous landscape occurs only during long periods when no magma has intruded. Challenging this predominant theory, findings from a completed study show how differences in mid-ocean ridge magma-induced activity produce distinctly different types of ocean floor faulting. W. Roger Buck, Doherty Senior Research Scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), i
Research in mice suggests that the liver may produce most of the body’s “good” cholesterol, an unexpected finding that might one day help scientists develop new treatments to raise levels of this heart-protecting molecule in humans.
In the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues will report on a project that used gene-targeting in mice to simulate a rare disease in people – Tangier disease
Inhaled therapy addresses most common cause of death among lung-transplant recipients
Data presented for the first time today at the 25th Annual Meeting and Scientific Session of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) show that cyclosporine inhalation solution (CyIS) significantly improves long-term survival in lung-transplant patients compared to placebo. The data, which include 10-month follow-up statistics on patients originally enrolled in the pivo
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven identified a novel human kidney protein called renalase that regulates both heart contraction and blood pressure; it is a strong candidate for easily administered treatment of advanced kidney and cardiovascular disease.
Over eight million people in the U.S. have kidney impairment and 500,000 have end-stage kidney disease (ESRD), for which treatment is often limited to dialysis. Elevate
A two-year joint ESA and UNESCO project to chart the habitats of endangered mountain gorillas with satellites came to a fruitful finish in Paris, with end-users receiving final maps and geographical data products for use in the field.
“These maps will help us make our anti-poaching efforts more effective,” said Eulalie Bashige, Director General of the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). “We can also clarify the ex
Bacteria that produce lactic acid have been used for thousands of years to preserve food. Some lactic acid bacteria also produce several other mold-inhibiting substances and are therefore of special interest to agriculture and the foodstuffs industry. This is demonstrated in a dissertation by Jörgen Sjögren from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU. One of the bacteria strains studied has been patented and will be part of a new biological conservation preparation.
Entrepreneurs who are quick to think along new lines, invest in new technology, and who dare to take risks are more successful than more traditional small-scale business people. This was found in a study carried out among 14 manufacturing companies mainly in the Mälaren Valley in central Sweden.
The focus of the study is on the so-called strategic resources of the companies and the purpose is to develop a model that identifies competitive advantages in small and medium-sized m
It is well known that a tiny number of cyanobacteria, previously known as blue-green algae, produce substances that can be toxic to both humans and animals. Now a research team from Sweden, Scotland, and the U.S. has found that a further toxin (BMAA, -methyl amino-alanine) with a possible connection to degenerative nerve diseases like ALS, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s is produced by cyanobacteria that are widespread around the world.
The findings are reported in the new issue of t
Scientists have developed a method of determining whether eggs labelled as ‘free-range’ or ‘barn’ have in fact been laid under battery conditions. The procedure, published in Journal of the Science of Food & Agriculture this month, means eggs can be tested without the need to visit farms.
The give-away is the dust that the eggs pick up from the surface on which they are laid.
Because the eggs are wet when freshly-laid, the dust attaches to the shell surface
European space scientists have strongly recommended a mission equipped with a rover as the next scientific mission to Mars as part of the European Space Agency’s [ESA] Aurora programme of planetary exploration. The mission would conduct a detailed analysis of the Martian environment and search for traces of past or present life. A launch in June 2011, followed by a two year journey, would arrive on the Red Planet in June 2013. A detailed proposal will be prepared for consideration by ESA member
Do you need to contact your bank to find out whether a payment has been made or would you like to make a purchase? How about using your mobile phone or PDA to access these services wherever you are? This is now possible, thanks to a secure mobile, universal real-time payment service.
The SEMOPS IST programme-funded project is a pioneer in mobile payment methods. This open, secure mobile payment service is based on a cooperative model between banks and mobile network operators.
A powerful, high-capacity chip currently under development has the potential to revolutionise daily life, doing away with many of the identity documents, credit cards and passwords people have to use each day.
Due to end in June, the IST programme-funded project SM-PAYSOC has so far created a working prototype of the chip packaged in a smartcard, which in the future could also be incorporated into a USB token or a SIM card.
It allows users to access services and carry
New Young Sub-stellar Companion Imaged with the VLT
Since the discovery in 1995 of the first planet orbiting a normal star other than the Sun, there are now more than 150 candidates of these so-called exoplanets known. Most of them are detected by indirect methods, based either on variations of the radial velocity or the dimming of the star as the planet passes in front of it (see ESO PR 06/03, ESO PR 11/04 and ESO PR 22/04).
Astronomers would, however, prefer to obtain a
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