CAD software improves breast ultrasound, digital mammograms
New computerized systems that give doctors a “second pair of eyes” for looking at mammograms and other breast scans are showing great promise for detecting breast cancer, distinguishing it from benign problems without a biopsy, and tracking changes in a woman’s breast over time.
The systems, all developed at the University of Michigan Health System, are in various stages of readiness for clinical use. But UMHS
Engineers at Ohio State University and their colleagues have taken an unprecedented look at the interface between layers of silicon and other materials in electronic devices.
What they have learned may help traditional microelectronics remain vital to industry longer than most experts expect. It may even aid the design of other devices where one material meets another — including medical implants.
Using computer simulation, the engineers demonstrated for the first time how
Researchers at Northeastern University today announced that they have been able to demonstrate the unique feature of imaging through a flat lens. Using the phenomenon of negative refraction through a novel photonic crystal, Northeastern physicists observed that a flat slab of such material behaves as a lens and focuses electromagnetic waves at microwave frequencies to produce a real image.
The research, published in tomorrow’s edition of the journal Nature, represents an important advance in
Chemists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have produced a molecule that selectively kills cancerous cells in a desired way and leaves healthy cells virtually untouched.
While encouraging, the findings don’t mean a new treatment is imminent. The basic laboratory experiments were done in microtiter dishes, where the compound was simply exposed to leukemia and lymphoma cells and healthy white blood cells from mice.
“It’s hard to say where this discovery may
A startling mutual-aid society is linking fungus and snails in marine ecosystems, according to a study led by a Brown University biologist. The study presents the first evidence that a species of marine snail engages in a previously undemonstrated form of food acquisition and ecological control by initiating and encouraging the growth of fungi, its preferred food, on live marsh grass. Infestation by fungi greatly slows the growth of the grass.
In surveys conducted along 2,000 kilometers of s
Deleting a particular ion channel from sperm cells causes those cells to lose the power needed for fertilization, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas found while expanding studies into male infertility.
These findings, which could eventually lead to more effective forms of contraception, are currently available online and will appear in the Dec. 9 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In studies on mice, disrupting a gene that contains a
A $5 million University of Colorado at Boulder satellite dubbed the “Little Satellite That Did” now is expected to re-enter the atmosphere and burn up in early December following a successful six-year mission.
The Student Nitric Oxide Explorer, or SNOE, is carrying instruments that have measured nitric oxide in the upper atmosphere that affects Earth’s ozone layer, the intensity of X-rays from the sun and ultraviolet light from Earth’s aurora. Developed at CU-Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmosp
An artificial blood product developed by researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is showing great promise in ongoing clinical trials in Stockholm, Sweden – the first time that a blood substitute has ever been used successfully in humans. The Einstein researchers – whose work is supported by $2.2 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Army — are also fine-tuning a powder version of the substitute that can be reconstituted for use as
The “Great Dying”, a time of earth’s greatest number of extinctions, appears to have been caused by the impact of a large meteor, according to a research team that includes Luann Becker, a scientist with the Institute for Crustal Studies in the Department of Geology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The theory, recently published by the team in the journal Science (Nov. 21, 2003), explains that this extinction event, which occurred approximately 251 million years ago, is m
The type of nappies mothers use in the maternity ward may influence the type they continue to use for their baby, according to a new study by the University of Surrey, funded by SITA Environmental Trust.
The Environmental Psychology Research Group at the University partnered the Maternity Unit at East Surrey Hospital and Cotton Bottoms Nappy Laundry Service to give parents the chance to use cotton nappies at the hospital after giving birth. Some also took the opportunity to try Cotton Bott
Research published this week in BMC Psychiatry shows that people suffering from depression respond better to treatment if they have high levels of vitamin B12 in their blood
Researchers from the Kuopio University Hospital in Finland monitored 115 outpatients, suffering from depression, over a six-month period, and grouped them according to how well they responded to treatment: not at all; partially; or fully. By measuring the level of vitamin B12 in the patients’ blood when they fi
Many drugs cannot be administered orally since they cannot be taken up by the intestines. All attempts to solve this problem have thus far resulted in unacceptable risks of side-effects, mainly because the intestinal wall is so severely impacted that not only the drug but other substances, including toxins, can be absorbed. Now a team of scientists from Uppsala University in Sweden have made a major discovery that may solve the problem.
The intestinal wall functions as an effective obstacle
Two new technologies for removing heat from electronic devices could help future generations of laptops, PDAs, mobile phones, telecom switches and high-powered military equipment keep their cool in the face of growing power demands.
The patented technologies – synthetic jets that rely on trains of turbulent air puffs and a system that uses vibration to atomize cooling liquids such as water – were developed by Professor Ari Glezer and co-workers at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Schoo
A breakthrough in the fight against infections acquired in hospital could be achieved thanks to pioneering new research.
The project is investigating the use of ionisers to eradicate airborne infections in hospitals – a technique that could deliver major health benefits and financial savings.
Starting in December, the 3-year initiative will be carried out by engineers at the University of Leeds with funding from the Swindon-based Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (
Today 200 scientists meet in Rome at the EU conference on “The Role of Research in Combating Antibiotic Resistance”. It was organised by the European Commission together with the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID). Antibiotics, once hailed as a panacea to combat bacterial infections, seem to be more and more ineffective. The human body is responding less and less to antibiotics. New, more dangerous diseases, stubbornly resisting their power, are developing. The
Scientists have discovered a new role for estrogen in maintaining health. Drs. Yuka Nagata and Kazuo Todokoro report in the December 1 issue of Genes & Development that the most abundant form of naturally occurring estrogen, estradiol, triggers the formation of blood platelet cells. This discovery has important clinical implications for the treatment of conditions associated with altered platelet counts, like anemia, certain leukemias, and even chemotherapy.
Blood is composed of 3 cell type
Feedback
