Australia’s breakthrough low-cost, thin magnesium sheet technology will be made fully production-ready during the next twelve months.
This follows the successful development by CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation) of an industrial-scale pilot plant now producing near-net-shape, or close to production thickness, low-cost magnesium sheet.
Ms Vicki Tutungi, the Head of Commercial Development at CSIRO Manufacturing & Infrastructure Technology, says, “
‘Black holes’ are truly black. When an object gets within a certain distance from a black hole, it will get swallowed forever with no chance to escape. That includes light, which means that black holes do not shine.
How do astronomers detect black holes if they are unable to see them? Well, to be precise, astronomers do not detect black holes. But they do detect the phenomena that can only be explained by the existence nearby of objects that match the description of black holes!
Th
Millions of men stand to benefit from new method of treatment for enlarged prostate
Millions of men stand to benefit from a discovery by UCL scientists that could provide a breakthrough in the treatment of enlargement of the prostate (BPH). The UCL team has developed a new drug, Rho-kinase inhibitor that, in preliminary tests, has been found to treat the condition by both relaxing the prostate and stopping the growth of cells within it. Their findings are set out in the current issue
To society, the word means racial, ethnic and cultural differences. To scientists interested in biological diversity, the meaning is no different.
So assembling Hispanic, African-American and Caucasian students and professors to examine the genome of grain sorghum, and tap into the collection of 40,000 different varieties from around the world, seems like the sensible thing to do.
Outreach to under-represented groups in hopes of attracting new scientists is part of a $2 million so
Background
The hippocampal formation has long been associated with the execution of higher-order cognitive functions, and impairment of this structure following severe stress and aging has been linked to cognitive disturbances. In order to understand the involvement of the hippocampal formation in the mediation of normal and pathological behaviors, much attention has recently been devoted to hippocampal neurogenesis. The dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation has the ability to g
Low doses of inhaled nitric oxide can decrease the risk of chronic lung disease and death by nearly one-fourth in premature infants who have respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), report researchers from the University of Chicago in the Nov. 27, 2003, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Nitric oxide also can cut the risk of severe bleeding into the brain and loss of brain tissue – devastating complications of prematurity – by almost half.
The combination of prematurity and
Continual release of gas from rising magma defuses explosive eruption
Two University of California, Berkeley, geophysicists have proposed an explanation for the unpredictable nature of volcanic eruptions, why volcanoes sometimes ooze lava, but at other times explode in showers of ash and pumice.
“One of the central problems of volcanoes is: Why do they erupt and why do they alternate between relatively benign effusive eruptions and destructive explosive eruptions?” said Mich
Results of a national clinical trial confirm that simultaneous treatment with chemotherapy and radiation preserves the voice of patients with advanced larynx cancer without compromising survival rates. The findings, reported in the November 27, 2003 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine are compelling enough to have the combination treatment become the standard of care for such patients, the study’s authors report.
“Chemotherapy and radiation together are recommended for advance
A group of scientists from the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), working with the Marine and Coastal Management Branch of South Africa, have perfected an unusual, hands-on method to study great white sharks, where these fearsome predators are gently hauled into research vessels to receive high-tech satellite tags.
According to the scientists, the technique is safe to both shark and researcher, resulting in better data to understand – and ultimately protect – one of nature&#
A western American pasture grass crossed with wheat can improve resistance to a fungus that can be toxic to plants, animals and people, according to Purdue University researchers.
Resistance genes in the grass that replaced genes in wheat increased protection against Fusarium head blight, or wheat scab, the scientists said. In the December issue of the journal Theoretical and Applied Genetics the researchers also report that they located and mapped the small bits of DNA, or markers, associa
As the first snowfalls mark the opening of the new skiing season in Europe, glaciologists at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (UWA) are warning that time may be running out for ski resorts built on glaciers.
Dr Bryn Hubbard of the Centre for Glaciology at UWA is studying the response of some of the world’s most sensitive ice masses to climate change. As part of the work his team is set to study the decay of the Tsanfleuron glacier in Switzerland, home to one of the country’s premier summ
Researchers from Germany have identified a gene that is associated with an increased risk of suffering from skin cancer. The research, published this month in Journal of Carcinogenesis, could also explain why men are more likely to suffer from malignant melanoma than women.
Although most people associate melanoma with exposure to UV light, through excessive sunbathing for example, the disease can be inherited – indicating that faulty genes are also partly to blame. Genetic risk factors also
VLT Interferometer Gives Insight Into the Shape of Eta Carinae
Ever since 1841, when the until then inconspicuous southern star Eta Carinae underwent a spectacular outburst, astronomers have wondered what exactly is going on in this unstable giant star. However, due to its considerable distance – 7,500 light-years – details of the star itself were beyond observation.
This star is known to be surrounded by the Homunculus Nebula, two mushroom-shaped clouds ejected by the star,
Australian scientists have had their first view of the habitats and ecosystem that support Australia’s largest commercial crab – the “giant crab”.
A series of five surveys are planned in waters of 150-350 metres depth to assess the seabed habitats of the giant crab (Pseudocarcinus gigas) at the edge of the continental shelf around Tasmania.
The pilot survey was completed on the State’s east coast earlier this month in a collaborative project between CSIRO Marine Research
Anyone who has ever waited for a bus can relate to the saying that you hang around for an hour and then three come along at once. It has been true in Europe’s congested cities for years, but with the development of a best practice guide for prioritising bus services by the PRISCILLA project it may well be a phrase that falls into disuse.
Through trials in medium-sized European cities where buses are the principal method of public transport, PRISCILLA has detailed solutions to one of the
The European Union has introduced a directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The directive makes producers responsible for the recycling of the electrical and electronic equipment that they put on the market. The results from a study of refrigerators made by CIT Elektronik, Chalmers Industriteknik in Sweden, indicate that the targets of the WEEE directive can not be achieved with the ordinary shredders used today. The study is based on the situation in Sweden, but it will be muc
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