A newly discovered virus may be responsible for many respiratory tract illnesses in infants and children, and may be associated with an important multi-organ disease whose cause has remained a mystery for decades, according to articles in the Feb. 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online. The virus is one of the numerous coronaviruses, most of which infect animals. In humans, coronaviruses have been known primarily for causing colds or, more recently, severe acute r
Researchers Identify Factors Associated with Abstinent and Non-Abstinent Recovery
More than one-third (35.9 percent) of U.S. adults with alcohol dependence (alcoholism) that began more than one year ago are now in full recovery, according to an article in the current issue of Addiction. The fully recovered individuals show symptoms of neither alcohol dependence nor alcohol abuse and either abstain or drink at levels below those known to increase relapse risk. They include roughly e
ROBOTIKER-TECNALIA Technological Centre is currently developing the project known as TANGER (Technologies for New Generation Automobiles). These technologies will integrate novel and innovative solutions into new automotive products centred at the point of driving. Within its strategy of product and processes design and development, ROBOTIKER-TECNALIA have taken a clear decision to technologically enhance the point of driving, this being the centre of control of the vehicle, taking in both th
Some anticipated the ’collision of the century’: the vast, drifting B15-A iceberg was apparently on collision course with the floating pier of ice known as the Drygalski ice tongue. Whatever actually happens from here, Envisat’s radar vision will pierce through Antarctic clouds to give researchers a ringside seat.
A collision was predicted to have already occurred by now by some authorities, but B-15A’s drift appears to have slowed markedly in recent days,
A new London research centre for the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease is launched today.
Cardiovascular disease is one of the biggest contributors to the global burden of disease, and by 2020 will be the number one contributor according to figures from the World Health Organisation. In response, the International Centre for Circulatory Health (ICCH) has been set up by Imperial College London and St Mary’s NHS Trust as an international research centre to develop
Paving the way for much more intuitive, interactive, and user-friendly ‘spoken dialogue technology’, DUMAS developed a multilingual speech-based system that creates new ways to communicate.
DUMAS, a three-year IST-funded project, began by developing the Athos platform, a generic and modular framework for multilingual speech-based systems. A consortium of eight partners from Sweden, Finland, Germany and the UK, its researchers built on basic speech technology, such as speech synt
In research published today, scientists from Broom’s Barn Research Station conclusively show how to use GM herbicide tolerant (GMHT) crop technology for environmental benefit. The authors suggest that the new crop management approaches they have demonstrated could resolve legitimate concerns about indirect environmental effects of GM sugar beet on weeds, insects and birds. John Pidgeon, director of Broom’s Barn comments that ‘This work adds a new perspective to future discussions about the benefit
Europe’s ports are where land and sea traffic meet – and ways of managing them differ greatly. A variety of data and operations must be handled, from the control of crane movements and parking of lorries to loading freight onto ships.
EUREKA project E! 2351 LOGCHAIN GHADIS tackled this logistical complexity by developing a graphic database system to make the management, administration, optimisation and communications of port operations simple and efficient, saving time and reducing
A new report by the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow reveals that the number of people misusing heroin in Scotland has dropped. The research shows a near eight per cent drop in the number of problem drug users since 2000.
The report entitled “Estimating the National and Local Prevalence of Problem Drug Use in Scotland, 2003” found that the estimated number of people misusing opiates and/or benzodiazepines had fallen from 55,800 in 2000 – the first yea
Plasso Technology Ltd has secured $2.8m (£1.5 million) second round funding from a Boston-based institutional investor which focuses on discoveries within UK academic institutions in the life sciences and physical sciences.
Plasso was formed in 2003 to exploit surface modification techniques initially developed at the University of Sheffield. Its expertise and understanding of surfaces in a biological context are built on fifteen years of research.
The company’s core te
Finding may offer new target for controlling obesity, diabetes
UCLA/VA scientists have identified a new gene that controls how the body produces and uses fat. Called lipin, the gene may provide a new target for therapies to control obesity, diabetes and other weight-related disorders. The first issue of the new journal Cell Metabolism publishes the findings in its January 2005 edition.
“Lipin regulates how the body stores and burns fat. Our findings suggest that differ
Infertility prevents roughly 6.1 million people in the United States from having children. As a result, infertile individuals and couples commonly seek to become parents through assisted reproductive technology (ART). Since 1981, approximately 177,000 babies have been born via ART: and, in one year alone (2000), some 100,000 cycles of ART were attempted, resulting in 60,253 live births. Beyond the factors of infertility and a candidate’s ability to afford treatment, little is known about the qual
Method could assist city and urban planners, architects, and landscape designers; affirms importance of restorative elements such as water and flowers
At $350 million, New York City’s Sept. 11 memorial for Ground Zero features pools of water, oak trees and vast open space for the sun to shine through. But given the huge investment, are these carefully chosen aesthetic touches truly the right ones? Will they resonate for visitors to the memorial? And what will they mean to those l
For decades, scientists have observed that Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, spins much faster than the sun. But thanks to a powerful new telescopic array, astronomers now know with unprecedented clarity what that means to this massive celestial body.
A group of astronomers, led by Hal McAlister, director of Georgia State University’s Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy, have used the center’s array of telescopes to detect for the first ti
According to conventional wisdom, old dogs and new tricks aren’t a good match. But a new study of beagles finds that regular physical activity, mental stimulation, and a diet rich in antioxidants can help keep aging canine–and perhaps human–brains in tip-top shape. The research, supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is among the first to examine the combined effects of these interventions and suggests that diet and mental e
Using advanced remote-sensing techniques from a U-2 surveillance plane and field studies, scientists from the Carnegie Institution Department of Global Ecology have for the first time determined large-scale interactions between ecosystems and the climate during the process of desertification. The study, to be published in the January 2005 issue of Global Change Biology, is a milestone both for the new methods employed and for understanding what is happening as agricultural and grazing lands chan
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