Doctors working at the edge of extreme are set to climb the world’s tallest mountain to look death in the face – and take its pulse. The medical research team will make the first ever measurements of blood oxygen in the ‘death zone’, at altitudes above 8,000 metres where the human body has struggled – and frequently failed – to survive.
The Centre for Aviation, Space and Extreme Environment Medicine (CASE) team, based at University College London (UCL), will lead the expedition
At its second General Assembly on 17 and 18 March, the European Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Platform will present its proposals for the medium- and long-term development of hydrogen and fuel cells for carrying and converting energy cleanly. Europe faces the challenge of fluctuating oil prices, concerns about global warming and growth in energy demand. Hydrogen, with fuel cells as its primary application, is now widely recognised as a flexible and environmentally friendly energy carrier, which
Eleven leading biomedical organizations announced today the formation of a unique $18M, three-year public-private consortium to create a comprehensive library of gene inhibitors to be made available to the entire scientific community. Based on the method of RNA interference (RNAi), this library will give scientists worldwide the tools to knock down expression of virtually all human and mouse genes, accelerating the growth of basic knowledge of gene function in normal physiology and disease.
Over 35 million could be affected
The potential for devastating tsunamis in the northern Caribbean is high, say marine scientists, based on their analysis of historical data since the arrival of Columbus. Several natural phenomena could trigger giant tsunamis, they say, with effects felt in the islands of the Greater and Lesser Antilles and along the east and Gulf coasts of the United States.
Nancy Grindlay and Meghan Hearne of the University of North Carolina Wilmingto
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh are seeking people with arthritis to help them better understand how mood– particularly depression– affects their symptoms. The study will investigate the way depression and pain impact on the thinking processes of those with arthritis.
Research psychologist Anthoula Lioni said: “Depression is common in people with arthritis, and arthritis patients are twice as likely to suffer from depression as members of the general population. In addition,
There are just under three years to go to the first launch of a new European launcher – Vega. Last week representatives of over 20 European space industries met at ESA’s European Space Research Institute, ESRIN, just outside Rome in Italy, to discuss progress on this new small-scale launcher.
“The preliminary project stage is now completed,” said Stefano Bianchi, responsible of the Launch Vehicle Development Programme. “We are now moving from the drawing board to the construction
Who has made Mama Raja ill? Was it witchcraft, evil spirits, malaria or God’s punishment? Dutch researcher Ien Courtens discovered that in the interior of the Bird’s Head of West Papua, the presumed cause of the illness determines the choice of treatment.
By studying the illness progression of Mama Raja, Courtens discovered how inhabitants of the village of Ayawasi in the interior of the Bird’s Head of West Papua heal illnesses. In her doctoral thesis she unravels
Experiments with liposomes – cell-like “water balloons” composed of artificially created phospholipid bilayers similar to natural cell membranes – have revealed unexpected behavior in the presence of electrical fields that may provide a paradigm-shifting change in science’s understanding of biomembrane function in operating living systems.
Arizona State University chemists Mark Hayes and Michele Pysher have found that liposomes have a tendency to form tube-like extensions in t
Biologists identify chemicals affecting plant growth in response to gravity
A team of biologists from the University of California, Riverside has used chemical genomics to identify novel compounds that affect the ability of plants to alter their direction of growth in response to gravity, a phenomenon known as gravitropism.
The researchers screened a library of 10,000 small molecules, the practice is known as chemical genomics, to identify those that could positively or n
Chemical engineers at Purdue University have made a discovery that may help to improve a promising low-polluting energy technology that combusts natural gas more cleanly than conventional methods.
The finding revolves around the fact that catalysts and other materials vital to industry have complex crystalline structures with numerous sides, or facets. Different facets sometimes provide higher performance than others, so industry tries to prepare catalytic materials that contai
When you grab a piece of food and put it in your mouth, when you smile in response to the smile of a passerby or squint and grimace in anger, the complex pattern of movements that you make may be hard-wired into your brain.
Scientists have long known that many of the behaviors of lower organisms are innate. In the insect world, for example, instinctive behaviors predominate. Birds have a larger repertoire of fixed behaviors than dogs. In primates, voluntary or learned behavior pred
University of Michigan researchers have developed a faster, more efficient way to produce a wide variety of nanoparticle drug delivery systems, using DNA molecules to bind the particles together.
Nanometer-scaled dendrimers can be assembled in many configurations by using attached lengths of single-stranded DNA molecules, which naturally bind to other DNA strands in a highly specific fashion. “With this approach, you can target a wide variety of molecules—drugs, contrast agents—
Developing chemical sensors that can be placed in the bloodstream or under the skin to continuously monitor oxygen, acidity (pH), or glucose levels is a major challenge for analytical chemists and biomedical engineers. The problem is, the body responds to these foreign objects in ways that interfere with their ability to accurately measure blood chemistry. In the bloodstream, clots form on the surface of implanted sensors or blood vessels contract around them. Sensors implanted under the skin may
A different style of coastal barrier islands that forms under lower-energy conditions than classic ocean-facing barriers, such as North Carolina’s Outer Banks, has been identified by coastal geological researchers at Duke University and the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. The new style of islands is typically found in protected bays and lagoons.
“This is a major and important recognition,” said Orrin Pilkey, a geology professor emeritus at Duke’s Nicholas
Researchers have developed an analytical model that explains why the internet may actually be bad for consumers in some cases.
Many experts had argued that the internet will be a boon to consumers, forcing businesses to compete more aggressively on prices as customers effortlessly compare prices on the web.
There’s just one problem: actual empirical studies have shown mixed results, with prices on the web sometimes no better than brick-and-mortar competitors. “We’re chal
It does not appear there will be any major relief this spring or summer from the unusually dry weather that has recently hit the Pacific Northwest, according to new projections of drought severity and fire risk that are based on “general circulation” models that forecast global climate.
The analysis, which was developed by researchers at the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and Oregon State University, also shows that the northwestern part of the country will face forest and rangeland fire
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