Scientists have induced a movement disorder in rats that closely resembles Parkinson’s disease in humans. The study, published June 21, 2004, in the online edition of the Annals of Neurology, suggests that natural toxins found in the environment could contribute to the development of this debilitating movement disorder. The full study will be available via Wiley InterScience.
The compounds, called proteasome inhibitors, can be produced by bacteria and fungi. Man-made proteasome inhibitors
In a series of studies in breast cancer patients, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have confirmed the presence of “chemobrain” after chemotherapy treatment – but they also discovered that a significant portion of patients have cognitive declines even before chemotherapy. The studies, the latest of which is reported June 21 in the online edition of the journal Cancer, are the first to document such pretreatment losses in patients with non-metastatic breast c
People retiring in the next decade or so will live considerably healthier, more active and longer lives than their predecessors. But according to research by James Banks and colleagues, many are drastically underestimating the chances of their retirement lasting at least 10 years – and hence may not be saving ‘enough`.
The first results of Banks et al’s study of people’s expected longevity – which draw on data gathered in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and are published in ESRC’s
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) costs the United States over $9 billion each year in lost productivity according to an article published today in the Open Access journal Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation. This estimate, which is similar to the financial losses caused by digestive system disorders or infectious and parasitic diseases, does not include healthcare costs, which are likely to be substantial.
According to the study authors, “The extent of the burden indicates that contin
The forests of the world are not the stable and unchanging ecosystems they have been assumed to be. Without the occurrence of wide-spread disturbances in nature, such as forest fires, icing, or volcanic activity, forests will eventually be impoverished, owing to a lack of phosphorous.
This is shown in a study reported in this week’s issue of the journal Science. The scientists who carried out the investigation are David Wardle, Department of Forest Vegetation Ecology, Swedish University
Sales of Biofuels exceeded $ 12 billion in 2003 worldwide. High growth in 2004. The greening Automotive Industry in China.
In some countries the costs for biofuel are today lower than traditional oil and that’s only the beginning of a new development for many countries to be oil-free in the next 30 years. Nanobiotechnology will improve the biomass production by shaping molecules to design “energyplants” and optimize the biotechnology process. Nanotechnology and converging biotechnol
Peaches and nectarines sprayed with a calcium, magnesium and titanium-containing formulation increases fruit firmness and lifespan, according to new research published in Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.
Spanish researchers found that applying these natural compounds to peach and nectarine trees pre-harvest gives dramatic improvements in quality; but “the safety is assured totally, and no residues are expected which could be harmful for consumers or environment”, says Dr. Dan
“AIDS is now the leading cause of death in military and police forces in some African countries, accounting for more than half of in-service mortality,” write Ugboga Nwokoji and Ademola Ajuwon in the Open Access journal BMC Public Health today. They believe that secrecy about AIDS-related deaths, and multiple sex partnering in the Nigerian navy could be helping to fuel the HIV epidemic in Nigeria, Africa’s most populated country. Their survey of 480 Nigerian naval personnel revealed tha
Two swarms of microscopic cometary dust blasted NASA’s Stardust spacecraft in short but intense bursts as it approached within 150 miles of Comet Wild 2 last January, data from a University of Chicago instrument flying aboard the spacecraft has revealed.
“These things were like a thunderbolt,” said Anthony Tuzzolino, a Senior Scientist at the University of Chicago’s Enrico Fermi Institute. “I didn’t anticipate running into this kind of show.” Tuzzolino and Thanasis Economou, also a Senior S
Iowa City Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and University of Iowa (UI) researchers have unlocked part of the mystery of how a harmless virus known as GBV-C slows the progression of HIV and prolongs survival for many patients. The report appears in the June 19 issue of The Lancet, the leading British medical journal.
The findings provide the clearest insight yet into the biological mechanisms of GBV-C, a benign cousin of the hepatitis C virus. The virus infects almost all HIV patients
Today the European Commission presented the latest results of the EU-funded EPICA (European Ice Core Project in Antarctica) initiative. Scientists from 10 European countries including Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK have dug 3 kilometres-deep into the Antarctic ice crust and brought to the surface a 740, 000-year old ice core. It is the oldest ever analysed and records climate history. It shows changes in temperature and concentrat
The target of the project was to develop new magnetic sensors to help measure process variables in steel production, such as velocity or elongation.
Uniovi developed high sensitive magnetic sensors for a harsh environment.
A non-contact speed-measuring device based on the developed sensor was installed in the continuous annealing line of Aceralia. The system used a magnetic marker and two sensors separated more than 2 cm from the strip, working on a differential principle to impr
This is the PVNET Roadmap for European Research and Development for Photovoltaics, a network, which brought together representatives of relevant research and development (R&D) and production areas in photovoltaics. Their main task was to stimulate communication within the whole PV community by organising expert meetings, workshops and symposia, and disseminating the information gathered therein. This Thematic Network was carried out in the framework of the specific research and technological develop
An experimental campaign has been conducted for investigating the response of anchorages in concrete, principally to dynamic loads. Normal high performance steel fiber reinforced concretes have been considered and the best test pieces included: plain concrete specimens, cast-in-place and post installed rebars and cast-in-place and post-installed anchors. Innovative, Hopkinson bar based experiments have been produced for strain rates from 10E-6/sec up to 20/sec. The satisfactory performance with resp
The JRC is leading the indicator work-package (WP2) of the project EON2000+ (Earth Observation for Natura-2000 plus (2001-2004) ) . This project was funded under the 5th Framework Programme of the EC and targets spatial information needs related to nature protection of organizations acting to investigate their reporting and managing needs on protected areas, particularly on Natura 2000 sites. A template was then defined to collect the indicator related information. This portfolio summarises areas w
Acrylamide (AA)is a substance that has found widespread application in industry, e.g. for the purification of drinking water and in food packaging. Due to its toxicological properties, legal limits have been set both for drinking water and for migration into food.
Following a request of the participants of the European Workshop on “Analytical methods for the acrylamide determination in food”, the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) of the European Commission’s Directo
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