The next time you try to watch a homemade movie, or access your files from a recordable DVD on your computer’s DVD drive, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise. It might not work.
Initial tests conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in collaboration with the DVD Association and the Optical Storage Technology Association show that compatibility between recordable DVDs and DVD drives is only 85 percent. This means that if a recording is made o
For the first time since 1960, US scientists will be able to explore the deepest parts of the world’s oceans, up to seven miles below the surface, with a novel underwater vehicle capable of performing multiple tasks in extreme conditions. Researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) are developing a battery-powered underwater robot to enable scientists to explore the ocean’s most remote regions up to 11,000 meters (36,000-feet) deep.
The hybrid remotely operated vehicle
Ionizing radiation isn’t generally thought of as good for you, but it’s good for artificial hips. A new reference material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will help researchers determine what methods of irradiating the plastic parts in joint replacements during manufacturing will best increase their wear resistance.
Reference Material 8457 is intended to help address concerns about the long-term durability of orthopedic hip implants amid growing use
Exposure to endotoxin, a bacterial substance found commonly in outdoor and indoor air, makes mite-allergic asthmatics more sensitive to house dust and may place them at increased risk of asthma attack.
The new research findings from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine are consistent with previous UNC studies showing exposure to ozone to make asthmatics more sensitive to allergens, the environmental triggers of allergic reactions. Both ozone and endotoxin are n
Mayo Clinic Proceedings study emphasizes blood sugar level management
A study in the December issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings on blood-sugar levels in 1,826 intensive care unit patients showed that hyperglycemia (high blood-sugar levels) increased the patient’s chance of death. The findings have important implications for the management of blood sugar in critically ill patients.
Even a modest degree of hyperglycemia was associated with a substantial increase in deaths
A historical examination of amphibian deformities – frogs with extra legs growing out of the abdomen, for example – suggests that these aberrations are not a new phenomenon, but part of an emerging disease that could jeopardize the survival of these organisms.
The research, described in the December issue of Conservation Biology, shows that while amphibian malformations and the parasitic worm that causes them have been found in lakes and ponds for more than 50 years, they have substantiall
As utility companies search for ways to avoid blackouts, like the one that shut down the northeastern corner of the United States last summer, one idea comes from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Researchers from the College of Engineering have designed a system where a small network of local generators can reliably disconnect from the rest of the power supply, enabling locations where electricity is critical to stay in operation.
Most buildings receive their electrical power
Carnegie Mellon University robotics researcher Vladimir Brajovic has developed a tool that automatically improves the appearance of darkened or underexposed photographs by digitally adding light to dark areas.
The Shadow Illuminator, funded through a $350,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, was developed originally to help robots see better. Using principles based on the physics of how optical images are formed, Shadow Illuminator imitates the vision processes that take place in
Scientists have successfully immunized mice against Ebola virus using hollow virus-like particles, or VLPs, which are non-infectious but capable of provoking a robust immune response. These Ebola VLPs conferred complete protection to mice exposed to lethal doses of the virus.
The work could serve as a basis for development of vaccines and other countermeasures to Ebola, which causes hemorrhagic fever with case fatality rates as high as 80 percent in humans. The virus, which is infectious by
Put a caramel in your mouth and your taste buds detect the sugary substance, instantly sending a message to the brain, which interprets the signal – sweet!
Trying to figure out what happens in the split-second between eating something and recognizing its sweet or bitter flavor – between detecting a taste and a signal reaching the brain – led USC neuroscientist Emily Liman to take a closer look inside the cells in the taste buds.
Her findings reveal new details about how the sense
The problem of hospital infection, severe disease caused by antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus bacteria, entails major costs and great suffering. Group A streptococcus bacteria, also called meat-eating killer bacteria, are another growing problem. A team of Lund scientists in Sweden has now developed a substance called Cystapep, which seems to work on bacteria that nothing else seems to be able to knock out.
If Cystapep delivers what it promises, this is nothing short of sensational. Swed
Scientists have developed a system to increase the safety of genetically modified (GM) microbes for release into the environment.
Release of GM micro-organisms is a cause of great concern to many, because the microbes could pass on genes for disease or other harmful traits to others. But, a team of researchers from Spain and Germany believes that it is possible to reduce this risk.
Dr. Eduardo Díaz of Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas-CSIC in Madrid and his colleagues have deve
Scientists have developed a new “intelligent” reliable soil moisture sensor that is set to ensure horticulturists accurately irrigate staple crops such as potatoes and fruit, and enhance environmentally friendly farming practices. A collaboration between the University of Warwick and Herefordshire based McBurney Scientific led to the development of the new product that harnesses enhanced sensor technology for measuring soil moisture with wireless communication and the processing power and convenience
In the past, museum guides carried a clipboard and waved a flag to help straggling tourists find the group. In the future – thanks to technology developed at the University of Toronto – talking robotic guides carrying a customized microchip and four-way speakers could lead tourists from exhibit to exhibit.
“This is a very unique solution to navigating,” says lead researcher Professor Parham Aarabi of U of T’s Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “Using a
In this PhD thesis, Eugenio Gubía proposed a solution for the problems of electric motors run from power converters. Controlling motors and electric generators by means of power converters has negative effects with the presence of overtvoltages and high-frequency currents throughout the installation. These effects accelerate the ageing process of the motors and, moreover, can provoke faults in the correct operating of the control circuits.
Thus, in his PhD, Mr Gubia has developed a generic m
While the nation’s blood supply is safe overall and there is a relatively small likelihood that transfusion recipients will acquire a transmitted disease, there are still risks involved when transferring one person’s blood into another. The advent of new diseases, such as West Nile Virus (WNV), increases the need for further clinical vigilance and improved screening methods.
The blood supply is currently inspected in minipools with nucleic acid testing for HIV, hepatitis C virus (
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