Materials scientists and engineers at Northwestern University are developing a new “high-security” steel that would be resistant to bomb blasts such as the one that struck — and nearly sank — the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000. The researchers now have a state-of-the-art instrument that enables them to get a precise look at steel’s composition on the nanoscale: a $2 million atom-probe tomograph that is only the fourth of its kind in the world.
Using the new Local-Electrode Ato
New reports prove that the aloe vera plant, which has been used to heal skin for more than 2,000 years, can also treat many oral health problems including canker sores, cold sores, herpes simplex viruses, lichen planus and gingivitis according to the January/February issue of General Dentistry, the Academy of General Dentistry’s (AGD) clinical, peer-reviewed journal.
“There is good evidence to support using aloe vera for oral health problems,” says AGD spokesperson Kenton A.
In three spatial dimensions, it is a close relative of the quark-gluon plasma, the super-hot state of matter that hasn’t existed since the tiniest fraction of a second after the big bang that started the universe. When viewed in 10 dimensions, the minimum number prescribed by what physicists call “string theory,” it is a black hole.
No matter what you call it, though, that substance and others similar to it could be the most-perfect fluids in existence because they have ultr
New generation lenses help protect against infection
Sleeping in contact lenses can lead to an increased risk of severe eye infection, new research suggests. But new generation contact lenses, the investigation reveals, perform better in this regard than their predecessors.
The University of Manchester study found that wearers who failed to remove their lenses before bedtime had an increased risk of developing keratitis than those who routinely took out their lenses b
Scientists with The Woods Hole Research Center are analyzing the surprising results of the first phase of a drydown experiment occurring in the Amazonian rainforest.
From January 2000 to July 2004, rainfall was excluded from a one-hectare (2.2 acre) plot in the middle of the Tapajós National Forest, in Brazil. A total of 6 feet of rainfall was diverted with six thousand 2’ by 6’ clear plastic panels suspended 3 to 12 feet above the soil. The panels were removed during the five-mon
When bacteria invade the body, a molecule called CD14 binds to substances liberated from the bacteria and initiates the cellular defense mechanisms. In a report published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists in Korea announced their elucidation of three-dimensional structure of CD14 and showed how it is perfectly suited to bind to certain bacterial products.
The research appears as the “Paper of the Week” in the March 25 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry,
Only one of five cancer survivors surveyed in a Penn State study were disabled or out of work four years after treatment, but a minority suffered lasting effects that prevented them from working.
Dr. Pamela Farley Short, professor of health policy and administration and demography who led the study, says, “One of the reassuring findings from this study is that encouraging people to get mammograms to detect breast cancer and PSA tests to check for prostate cancer has clearly ha
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are taking a new approach to “filling up” a fuel cell car with a nanoscale solid, hydrogen storage material. Their discovery could hasten a day when our vehicles will run on hydrogen-powered, environmentally friendly fuel cells instead of gasoline engines.
The challenge, of course, is how to store and carry hydrogen. Whatever the method, it needs to be no heavier and take up no more space than a
World Water Day – 22 March 2005
South America’s giant Pantanal wetlands, one of the world’s most bio-diverse ecosystems, is at growing risk from intensive peripheral agricultural, industrial and urban development – problems expected to be compounded by climate change, United Nations University experts warn.
Covering more than 165,000 square kilometers – an area roughly equal to Florida – in the heart of South America, the Pantanal is the world’s largest freshwater we
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University are developing a novel method of testing exhaled breath to detect infection rapidly after potential exposure to a biological warfare agent. They report their findings today at the 2005 ASM Biodefense Research Meeting.
“We want to have a tool that can help in the emergency room or first responders to triage on site so that people who are infected can get treatment first,” says Joany Jackman, a researcher on the project. “It’s not so har
Using a strategy involving a genetically modified baculovirus and caterpillar cells scientists from Protein Sciences Corporation have been able to speed up a key step in the development of an experimental cell-based influenza vaccine. They report their findings today at the 2005 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting.
“The bird flu may become the next flu pandemic strain. It could happen at any time,” says Keyang Wang, a scientist at Protein Sciences Corp.
Nisin, a commonly used food preservative effectively neutralizes anthrax spores and could be used to decontaminate skin in the event of exposure. Researchers from Biosynexus, Inccorporated report their findings today at the 2005 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting.
“Contamination of human skin with even a few spores may potentially disseminate disease beyond the initial area of attack,” says John Kokai-Kun, a researcher on the study. “There is currently
New studies show mixed results on the effects of epilepsy drugs taken during pregnancy. With a newer drug, lamotrigine, the risk of birth defects was similar to that in women without epilepsy. But long-time epilepsy drug valproic acid, or sodium valproate, does increase the risk of birth defects. Both studies were published in the March 22 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Another study in the same issue found that children ages 6
Studies may help identify best materials for variety of future electronics applications
Flexible displays that can be folded up in your pocket? More accurate biological and chemical sensors? Biocompatible electronics? In research that may help determine the best materials for a wide range of future electronics applications, a scientist from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory will report on the intrinsic electronic properties of molecular organic crystals
Physicists trace the “hopping” of single electrons in magnetic materials
How much energy does it take for an electron to hop from atom to atom, and how do the magnetic properties of the material influence the rate or ease of hopping? Answers to those questions could help explain why some materials, like those used in a computer hard drive, become conductors only in a magnetic field while they are very strong insulators otherwise. They might also help scientists learn how to use
A new ‘specimen access device’ (SPAD) to allow safe and fast access to spacecraft being tested in the Large Space Simulator chamber is now fully operational at ESA’s Test Centre.
The SPAD is basically a customised crane, carrying a basket to move an operator inside the Large Space Simulator (LSS). The LSS is a huge chamber at ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands, which can simulate the space environment. Its exceptional test volume makes it
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