Three studies are underway at the NYU School of Medicine to find out whether short-term counseling can ease the psychological stress and depression of people with Alzheimer’s disease and their family members. These studies were inspired by the success of a previous trial at the NYU School of Medicine that showed that even a short period of counseling can have a long-term beneficial impact on the emotional well-being of people taking care of spouses with Alzheimer’s disease.
While many infectious diseases are caused by human-to-human transmission, others are caused by microorganisms that exist in the outside environment. Scientists from a variety of fields, including medicine and the environment, must work together to address the challenges posed by these environmental pathogens, according to a new report, From Outside to Inside: Environmental Microorganisms as Human Pathogens, released today by the American Academy of Microbiology.
“The key differenc
A surprisingly large number of beetles are missing one of their testes, the male gonads of insects. As far as the researchers who discovered this can tell, the insects are not in any way bothered or impaired by this absence.
The discovery is striking because most animals are bilaterally symmetrical, which means the left and right sides of the body roughly mirror each other. This bilateralism extends to many internal organs, although some systems, such as the human heart and li
Researchers at the University of York are investigating a new method of organising care for some of the three million adults in the UK who suffer from clinical depression.
The innovative regime known as ’collaborative care’ has been developed over the last decade, principally in the USA, but it has never been used in the UK. It involves a case manager, supervised by experts in mental health, working alongside the general practitioner, to improve the management of patien
If a mammogram or sonogram suggests that a woman has breast cancer, an MRI should be done to help determine whether there actually is a cancer and if so, what are the woman’s best treatment options, a new study shows. The study, done in a large community hospital, found that MR images, which were acquired and analyzed in a specific way, can help identify if a lesion is benign or malignant and can show cancers that would otherwise be missed.
“This is the first time a prospective st
Mayo Clinic epidemiologists have found that the systemic inflammation characterizing rheumatoid arthritis may be to blame for the increased risk of cardiovascular death in patients with the disease.
“We believe that inflammation is a strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease among rheumatoid arthritis patients,” says Hilal Maradit Kremers, M.D., lead study investigator and research associate in the Mayo Clinic Department of Health Sciences Research.
Rheumatoid art
Three of the world’s largest and fastest yachts are in the midst of a non-stop trans-global race, hurtling in excess of 25 knots – 46 kilometres per hour – through the Southern Ocean encircling Antarctica. Iceberg collision is a real risk, but ice-sensitive radar satellites are monitoring the area to provide advance warning to crews.
“It has been a huge tactical – and psychological – advantage to planning our track through the Southern Ocean,” says navigator Will Oxley aboa
A ballpoint that detects if we are forging a signature or a substitute in miniature for the CD-ROM are some of the applications that can be carried out using microwires.
3 or 5 times thinner than a human hair, these fine threads were invented in the old Soviet Union for military purposes but, the broader scientific community has been studying them for some time now for other applications – including at the University of the Basque Country (EHU).
Body and coating
Public confidence in electronic channels of communication, such as the internet, mobile and wireless communications is at its lowest point for a decade, claim information and communication technology (ICT) experts at two leading British Universities.
Researchers from Cranfield University, Shrivenham, Oxfordshire and the London School of Economics recently collaborated in a Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) funded research study that examined the evolution of the inter
A dissertation from the Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University in Sweden shows that 1.3 percent of those waiting for a bypass operation die waiting. Many more patients would survive if high risk cases were given top priority.
Diseases of the coronary artery are the most common cause of death in the world. Surgery of the coronary artery, bypass operations, reduce the risk of death in the majority of patients and has become one of the most common major surgical interventions. In
The Interim Board of Directors of the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA) announces the completion of the amalgamation of the former European Society of Anaesthesiologists (ESA), the former European Academy of Anaesthesiology (EAA) and the former Confederation of European National Societies of Anaesthesiologists (CENSA) into the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA). For the first time, a single body exists to represent European anaesthesiologists, and to promote the highest clinical an
Love the warmth of woollen clothes but dislike having to dry clean them? Europeans will soon get familiar with the advantages of the new biotech process allows wool garments to be washed in water without shrinking or pilling.
The Washwool process can be used with woven fabrics and garments as well as knitted garments. As a bonus, it adds enticing softness to materials. Yet Washwool-treated wool is tough enough to withstand repeated washes without matting or shrinking.
The environme
A Finnish innovation has resulted in a patent for the first method for removing lactose from food without affecting flavour.
In other lactose-free products, enzymes are used to dissolve the lactose, leaving traces of the substance, which can affect lactose-intolerant consumers.
The traditional method also changes the taste of milk products, making them sweeter. The new Valio milk is completely lactose-free and “Tastes the same as regular milk,” says Valio Research Manager
A genome-wide scan in hypertension in the East Finland founder population has re-affirmed the majority of genes previously known to be associated with hypertension. The new genes discovered include also ones, which appear to give humans a strong protection against hypertension. The scan was conducted by a novel approach.
The DNA samples used in the study were collected in the 1980’s from a genetically-homogeneous population that can be accurately traced back to a few hundre
One of nature’s most versatile microorganisms – a bacterium called Pseudomonas putida – could help mop up the toxic by-products caused by the destruction of the chemical weapon mustard, write Russian researchers in Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology this month.
At 40’000 tonnes, Russia houses the world’s largest stockpile of chemical warfare agents (CWAs). The country faces a race against time to dispose of the stockpile by 2007, in accordance with the Chemical We
Researchers from Berlin and Seoul store light in plasmonic crystals
Light can creep through tiny holes in a metal plate, even if those holes are smaller in diameter than the wavelength of light. What’s more, the light is stored for a short period of time on the metal surface, as if the metal were a photonic crystal. The controlled interaction of light with such metal structures could pave the way to unique methods for nanosensing or nanoscale information transfer, write Claus
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