Physicians have known for decades that many premature babies suffer respiratory problems stemming from insufficiency of a lung substance called surfactant during their first few weeks of life. The standard treatment has been to provide replacement surfactant immediately after birth. A new study has found that even after infants begin producing their own surfactant, it often fails to function properly in premature infants who continue to have lung disease after their first week.
Ohio State University researchers are finding new insights into how microscopic corrosion attacks an aluminum alloy commonly used in aircraft.
They’ve developed a statistical model of the deterioration and simulated it on computer, using what may seem like an unlikely analogy: a cracking brick wall. What they’ve found could one day help scientists better understand this kind of corrosion, and also explain corrosion in other types of alloys. Although the alloy, called 2024-T3, is
Nuclear imaging will play an increasing role in both the detection of atherosclerosis (coronary heart disease) and, more specifically, the composition of plaque build up that can block the flow of blood through an artery, according to journal reports published by the Society of Nuclear Medicine.
A trio of articles, “Evaluation of 18F-FDG Uptake and Arterial Wall Calcifications Using 18F-FDG PET/CT,” “Molecular and Metabolic Imaging of Atherosclerosis” and “Noninvasive Imaging o
Findings may have implications for contraceptive
A study led by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has determined that a novel enzyme in sperm is essential for sperm motility and male fertility. The new study may offer a potential target for an effective, non-hormonal male contraceptive, the researchers said. The findings will be published today (Nov. 15) in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A rep
Northern plants must ’use it or lose it,’ says Queen’s study
A new, Queen’s-led study shows that plants growing in harsh northern climates are losing the ability to reproduce sexually, an evolutionary phenomenon similar to the loss of sight in cave-dwelling fish. “Our genetic analysis shows that northern plant populations acquire mutations that disable sex itself, a trait central to the biology of almost all higher organisms,” says Queen’s biologist Christopher Eckert, co-autho
Prolonged abstinence, no visual problems in patients taking GVG for meth/cocaine abuse
A second, small-scale clinical trial of a proposed addiction treatment originally investigated at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory has produced favorable results in the treatment of long-term addiction to methamphetamine and/or cocaine, with no visual side effects in any of the 30 patients enrolled. This research on vigabatrin (a.k.a. gamma vinyl GABA, or GVG) was
Marine invertebrate called sea cucumber resembles vegetable cucumber by not only shape, but also by some metabolites. The substances produced by the animal can affect the growth of the plant. This study was conducted by Russian biochemists and supported by the RFBR.
Sea cucumbers are cucumber-shaped echinoderms of the genus Cucumaria (Latin designation for vegetable cucumber sounds similar – Cucumis) having a flexible body with tentacles surrounding the mouth. Very recently, the Ru
The ophthalmologist who pioneered customized LASIK surgery – supervision – now aims to further improve patients’ eyesight and minimize the risk of side effects. Patients should benefit from several recent discoveries, Scott MacRae, M.D., told an audience of eye doctors in a keynote address at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology last month.
The techniques appear crucial for minimizing unwanted side effects and allowing patients, most of whom now have visio
Did your grandmother always tell you to “eat up your greens”? It appears that she may have known something scientists are only now discovering. When the substances produced in cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, sprouts or cauliflower are eaten, they could help in the fight against cancer.
A research team headed by Professor Alison Fiander, Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, at the Wales College Of Medicine, Cardiff University in the UKare asking wo
Findings have implications for treatment
A team of researchers, led by a Cardiff University professor, has discovered how the body regulates the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream. The findings, by Professor Paul Kemp of the Cardiff School of Biosciences, and colleagues at both Cardiff and Leeds Universities, will be published in the journal Science later this month. “The discovery could have important implications for understanding how the body adjusts to major changes in ox
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated the laser operation of a heterojunction bipolar light-emitting transistor. The scientists describe the fabrication and operation of their transistor laser in the Nov. 15 issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters. “By incorporating quantum wells into the active region of a light-emitting transistor, we have enhanced the electrical and optical properties, making possible stimulated emission and transis
The General Accounting Office estimates that there are some 1500 manufacturing and repacking facilities for dietary supplements in the US. These facilities produce approximately 29,000 unique formulations that are packed into more than 75,000 distinctly labeled products and made readily available to the public through supermarkets, retail outlets, the Internet and television infomercials.
Protecting the health of those that consume dietary supplements is of great importance to p
Children of immigrants share with their parents all problems connected with adaptation to new surroundings. It is difficult for the children to cope with new social environment and lifestyle, but their relationships with parents are better than those in native families. This conclusion is drawn by the Russian psychologists from Saratov.
Political and social-economic developments within the post-soviet space have induced mass departure of Russian people from newly formed states.
Men using the female estrogen hormone replacement therapy (HRT) patches as treatment for advanced prostate cancer suffer fewer side effects than with other treatments, according to a new study reported in the latest issue of the Journal of Urology (December 2004). Scientists at Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust and Imperial College London have already shown that HRT patches have considerable potential as prostate cancer therapy. For the first time they have additionally shown that this therapy
NorayBio, a bioinformatics company located at the Bizkaia Technological Park (Basque Country) and specialising in developing software for the biosciences, has launched a new software for cancer research on to the market – BITIA, primarily aimed at research centres and cancer wards in hospitals.
BITIA aims to help oncologists to answer the question that has been around for some time: Why is it that two patients with very similar pathology profiles respond in distinct ways to treat
When the non-profit organisation IdéeVerte Compétition decided to create a ’green’ racing car, they turned to space technology to make it safer. Running on liquefied petroleum gas, one of the least polluting fuels, and lubricated with sunflower oil, the car is protected against fire hazards by space materials. ’Green’ does not have to mean slow – last week the car set a new speed record of 315 km/h.
“The car of the future will have to respect the environment. This is the only
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