For the first time, scientists have found a direct relationship between global warming and the evolution of contemporary wildlife. A research team led by Stanford University biologist Elizabeth A. Hadly published its findings in the Sept. 7 online edition of the journal PloS Biology.
“We think we know a lot about how animals might respond to global warming, but we really have very little idea about their actual genetic response to environmental change,” said Hadly, an assistant pro
A new technology developed by scientists at IBM could bring the promise of personalized medicine one step closer to reality.
Using a basic computer language, the researchers created a “smart” DNA stream that contains a patient’s entire medical record, according to a report in the upcoming Oct. 11 print edition of the Journal of Proteome Research, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society. The report was published online July 2
A report released today at the international Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies Conference in Vancouver concludes that geological conditions in the Weyburn oil field in western Canada are favourable for long-term storage of carbon dioxide (CO2). The four-year, multidisciplinary study was conducted by the Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC) in Regina under the auspices of the International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas (IEA GHG) Research and Development Programme.
The PTRC w
Pushing neurons’ physiological limits provides researchers with new ways to repair nerve damage
Sometimes it is the extremes that point the way forward. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have induced nerve fibers – or axons – to grow at rates and lengths far exceeding what has been previously observed. To mimic extreme examples in nature and learn more about neuronal physiology, they have mechanically stretched axons at rates of eight millimeters per d
A new study on liver transplants necessitated by the hepatitis C virus (the most common indication for this type of transplant) found that long-term outcomes are similar to patients receiving transplants due to other diseases. It was the first study to examine long-term transplantation results in hepatitis C patients and to identify risk factors that might lead to transplant failure or death.
The results of this study appear in the September 2004 issue of Liver Transplantation, the
The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which has been routinely given to young children since 2000, reduces the incidence of middle ear infection and pneumonia, a new study shows.
“This highlights that the vaccine significantly decreases illnesses in children and reinforces its importance in our public health efforts,” said Dr. Kathy Poehling, assistant professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville. The study appea
Within just 10 minutes of meeting, people decide what kind of relationship they want with a new acquaintance, a recent study suggests.
The research, conducted with college freshmen who met on the first day of class, found that these snap judgments influenced what kind of relationships actually did develop.
While the power of first impressions has been well known, this research shows that the course of a relationship may be influenced much more quickly than was once believe
Scientists at Ohio State University have found that a special type of glass that is finding use in the electronics industry softens when exposed to very low-level laser light, and hardens back into its original condition when the light is switched off.
The discovery — made by accident as physicists were trying to study properties of the material — may one day enable new uses for the glass. Ratnasingham Sooryakumar said that he and former doctoral student Jared Gump thought they wer
Caring for more than 180,000 Sudanese refugees gathered in the desert landscape of eastern Chad, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has begun using satellite data to identify hidden water resources and site new camps.
By permission of the Chadian government, there are currently nine United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps in place. UNHCR has transferred the vast majority of the refugees from the volatile border to the camps. Thousands more have co
Quake researchers ’look’ deep inside fault with cold war-era gravity sensor
Using classified technology developed by the military during the Cold War, a team of geoscientists led by Rice University’s Manik Talwani is conducting a first-of-its-kind experiment on California’s famed San Andreas fault this week. The researchers will gather data that could give scientists a much clearer picture of the fault’s “gouge zone,” a region 2-3 kilometers beneath the eart
The process of clearing consists of cutting down trees in such a way that those remaining have more resources and can grow more. The question was if too many had been cut down, with the concomitant removal of nutrients, and the manner, therefore, in which this process might affect long-term soil fertility.
A PhD thesis presented in the Public University of Navarre specifically analysed the internal cycle of nutrients in two wooded areas in Pinus sylvestris forests, this species, tog
In the near future the usual summer ozone peaks exceeding the allowed threshold may be a thing of the past: the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland has developed a new type of catalytic conversion system, which filters nearly all nitrogen oxides out of diesel exhaust gases using a refined control technology. This eliminates the main cause of summer ozone build-up. The process requires a non-toxic urea solution, which future diesel engine commercial vehicles can take with them in a separat
ISURPAK has announced that it will have the first packaging machine for its ecological carton by the middle of 2005. The first prototype is to be developed by a consortium in which the engineering group IDOM is participating. This first machine will be able to fill 25 packs per minute – particularly suitable for small- and medium-sized production lines.
Compared to similar packages, this design is the most simple, with a rectangular shape and stiffness, plus a secure waterproof and
Traditional treatment of movement problems for people who have suffered traumatic brain injury or strokes has mainly focused on making the best use of motor functions the patient has retained. A team at the University of Surrey is now examining a method which focuses on improving the weaker arm of patients with upper body hemiparesis (hand/arm disability resulting from brain damage). Professor Annette Sterr and her Clinical Neuroscience Research Group are carrying out a five-year study into the pract
Ionising radiation has long been recognised as a cause of leukaemia in exposed children. But delegates at a conference in London today (Tuesday 7 September) will hear how ground-breaking research is now providing evidence that the children of men exposed to radiation may also be at increased risk of developing leukaemia.
The causes of leukaemia in children are, in general, poorly understood. The disease is known to be multi-causal, and it is widely accepted that it is multi-stage, i
Dangerous multi-drug-resistant bacteria are also developing immunity to hospital disinfectants and antiseptics, according to new research presented today (Wednesday, 08 September 2004) at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.
Some of the most worrying microbes around, the drug-resistant bacteria known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) have been discovered in heavily disinfected hospital locations such as catheters and on
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