Embed the open source Linux operating system within a microprocessor and what do you get? For IST project ACEOS it led to demonstration applications for standard Linux networking and voice telecommunications.
Porting Linux to a new processor platform
Project coordinator Gregory Doumenis of the Athens-based system house Global Digital Technologies (GDT) explains why the ACEOS project was considered successful. “We were very happy with the project results because, one, we ma
The Internet has turned the sale and resale of information into a growing business, resulting in the birth of new enterprises. Making their creation and work easier is OPELIX’s open software toolset enhancing the uptake of this innovative business model.
“The OPELIX project was dedicated to information e-commerce, i.e. the sale of information over the Internet,” project coordinator Anne Marie Sassen at Atos Origin, formerly SchlumbergerSema, notes. “This obviously represents some very
A study showing how the expression of genes changes when the brain tissue of fruit flies becomes cancerous is published this week in BMC Genomics. As the function of many of these genes is conserved across evolution, the researchers expect their results will help us to understand why human brain tumors develop.
The causes of brain tumor development are largely unknown. To investigate this question, researchers from University of Basel, Switzerland and University of Freiburg, Germany, used mi
Researchers from Taiwan report the identification of a new form of drug-resistant salmonella bacterium in this week’s issue of THE LANCET.
Salmonella enterica serotype choleraesuis usually causes infections that require antimicrobial treatment. Multidrug-resistant strains have been identified, but the antimicrobial ceftriaxone has been effective against them so far.
Professor J T Ou, from Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan, and colleagues isolated a s
Results of a small trial in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggest that electrical stimulation of the sacral nerve could be a future treatment option for faecal incontinence.
Anal incontinence affects an estimated 2% of the general population. Prevalence rises with age, affecting up to 11% of men and 26% of women after age 50 years. Treatment options are limited for patients with faecal incontinence in whom conservative treatment (eg, alterations to diet, pelvic-floor exercise to increase
Testing for DNA changes in stools might provide a new, accurate, and less invasive way to screen patients for colorectal cancer, conclude the authors of a research letter in this week’s issue of THE LANCET.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in the industrialised world, and early detection might help to reduce the risk of death from the disease. However, although several methods of detection are available, these procedures are either uncomfortable for the patient or
VLT looks through narrow atmospheric window and produces most detailed images yet New images of unsurpassed clarity have been obtained with the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) of formations on the surface of Titan, the largest moon in the Saturnian system. They were made by an international research team [1] during recent commissioning observations with the “Simultaneous Differential Imager (SDI)”, a novel optical device, just installed at the NACO Adaptive Optics instrument [2].
With the hi
Each year over 50,000 patients undergo life-saving kidney, liver, or heart and lung transplant surgery. Unfortunately, organ transplantation remains a significant challenge because of the shortage of organ donors and differences in tissue type between donor and recipient that can cause rejection of the donor organ by the recipient’s immune system. If this rejection reaction is not successfully treated through the administration of immunosuppressive drugs, the donor organ is normally destroyed wi
Wearing protective helmets during sports can affect performance, according to a new study from Northumbria University.
Tests were carried out on a group of young male cricketers and researchers investigated the physical and mental demands during an intense batting practice over eight overs when wearing a standard non-vented safety helmet and when not wearing a helmet at all.
The research revealed that wearing helmets led to significant attentional impairments and slower re
Remote ‘marine deserts’ in the Atlantic Ocean could provide scientists with valuable clues to understanding climate change.
A research team led by the Plymouth Marine Laboratory will shortly set sail from the Falkland Islands, for the start of an expedition to study the interaction between tiny floating marine organisms (plankton) and the atmosphere. By monitoring the plankton and the influence of changing climate on its growth, they hope to discover whether the plankton act as a so
Black South African women are becoming thinner because of the influence of the West, including media-portrayed images of waif-like women in films and TV shows according to new research.
The findings come from a study between Northumbria University in the United Kingdom and the University of Zululand in rural South Africa. The study, which will be presented at the British Psychological Society conference in London today (Friday 16th April), revealed that young black women are becoming
No further studies should be carried out to compare the effectiveness of oral rehydration and intravenous therapy for treating children who are dehydrated after suffering from diarrhoea, write researchers in BMC Medicine this week. Their systematic review of published research concludes that current guidelines recommending oral rehydration therapy as a first course of treatment are correct.
The researchers, from University of Alberta and Stollery Children’s Hospital, studied 14 randomised c
New insights into how tumours neutralise CD8 T cells, and a strategy for overcoming the tumour’s response to attack.
It has long been recognised that the immune system is able to recognise and destroy cancer cells, but although the immunological battle might slow the progression or spread of cancer, it’s usually the cancer that eventually wins the war. Scientists have speculated that this may be because the immune response is not strong enough, or because it does not last long enough
Adding small amounts of seaweed to contaminated soil could prove to be a natural and effective way of breaking down the toxic pesticide DDT, according to new research in the Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology. A British biologist, Ian Singleton, worked with colleagues in Australia and Thailand to find the right formula to use. Too much seaweed hindered biodegradation, but the most effective mix – 0.5% seaweed added to waterlogged soil – managed to remove 80% of the DDT present over si
Researchers from the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam have discovered a common link between cancer cells and stem cells. Together with colleagues from the University of Zurich, Merel Lingbeek and NWO pioneer Prof. Maarten van Lohuizen published their findings on 18 March 2004 in Nature.
Because cancer cells and stem cells can both reproduce themselves in unlimited numbers, it was suspected that they have something in common. That suspicion proved to be correct. Together with their
Dutch researcher Niels Prins has discovered that elderly people with a lot of damage to the small blood vessels in the brain have a greater chance of developing dementia or depression. The damage is visible on MRI scans as white matter lesions and infarcts of the brain.
Elderly people with serious white matter abnormalities and infarcts were found to deteriorate more quickly in their cognitive functioning than peers with fewer abnormalities. In particular, the processing of information was
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