A new study by scientists at the University of Virginia (UVa) in Charlottesville and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, suggests that explosive volcanic eruptions in the tropics may increase the probability of an El Niño event occurring during the winter following the eruption. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
“The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the dominant mode of interannual climate variability on the planet,
The highly endangered North Atlantic right whale population is facing a difficult journey to recovery. That recovery may become even more precarious if North Atlantic climate takes a turn for the worse, according to Cornell University ecologists.
Cornell scientists say that winter atmospheric conditions over the North Atlantic affect the abundance of zooplankton eaten by right whales, one of the most endangered species of marine mammal. New models developed by these scientists can be used
UCLA-led study finds SARS death rate doubles in cities with poor air quality
A new study led by researchers at the UCLA School of Public Health associates air pollution with an increased risk of dying from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.
Published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source, the study shows that patients with SARS are more than twice as likely to die from the disease if they come from areas of high
While scientists and aurora spotters marvel at the explosions on the Sun, everyone responsible for the hundreds of satellites that serve human needs, from weather observations to car navigation, wishes that these potentially damaging events were more predictable.
So do the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, who recently had to shelter from energetic particles flung out by the most powerful solar flare ever recorded. Now, from space observations of the Sun going back more than
How can you be sure your watch is not a fake? How can you avoid a cargo container’s shipment changing, or disappearing, between departure and the arrival?
The Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has developed technical devices that support the fight against falsification and illegal trafficking. Using sophisticated technologies, originally devised for nuclear safeguards, the Commission has invented and tested prototypes and applications for the identification of watches and for the sea
Air pollution is associated with an increased risk of dying from SARS, according to a report published this week in Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source. The study shows that patients with SARS are more than twice as likely to die from the disease if they come from areas of high pollution. 5,327 cases of SARS have been diagnosed in mainland China since November 2002 and so far 349 patients have died from their disease. SARS death rates vary between regions of China, with high
Ohio A study of muffler technology at Ohio State University is giving automakers new options for designing quieter cars.
Engineers here have tested a promising new muffler design that utilizes glass fiber, and are developing the computational tools manufacturers will need to optimize the design.
The new design can often silence auto noise just as well as a typical muffler, but it can be lighter, less prone to corrosion, and help engines work more efficiently.
Ahmet
Ground-breaking techniques which will be used to find tiny planets orbiting stars outside our Solar System are already being developed to help scientists detect cells in the early stages of cancer.
The enormous amount of light emitted by a star makes it extremely difficult to spot a planet in orbit around it. By using a technique that combines signals from two or more telescopes, ESA astronomers are able to create an artificial solar eclipse, ‘neutralising’ the effects of the bright starli
Key AstraZeneca data presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC meeting
New research presented today at an official AACR-NCI-EORTC* press conference highlights the potential of a new approach to fighting cancer — inhibition of Aurora kinases. The study, carried out by AstraZeneca, represents part of a body of innovative research and discovery work undertaken by the company as part of a broad based development program of novel cancer therapies. Key research presented this week also includes resu
People with a genetic mutation that makes them more resistant to the AIDS virus probably have smallpox to thank, according to two population geneticists at the University of California, Berkeley.
About 10 percent of Europeans have a mutation that disables a protein the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1) uses to slip into immune system cells. HIV-1 has a harder time infecting people who have a mutation in one of the two genes that code for this receptor protein, and if these people become
Research could lead to new diagnostic tests; safer treatments for blood clots in deep leg veins
For a medical disorder affecting more than 250,000 Americans each year, researchers don’t know much more today about what causes blood clots in veins than they did over 100 years ago. But deep vein thromboses or DVTs are a serious health problem, especially in the elderly. When blood clots form in deep leg veins, they can permanently damage the venous system or even be fatal, if a bloo
Children’s Memorial Hospital is the only Chicago site for a study to determine whether early treatment of eczema using one of a new class of anti-inflammatory drugs will prevent subsequent development of asthma and other allergic diseases. Prevalence of eczema, or atopic dermatitis, has tripled in the last few decades, in parallel with asthma. Investigators at Children’s Memorial are part of a national clinical trial involving 1,100 children, from 3 to 18 months old, to test pimecrolimus (E
Women with ductal carcinoma in situ, a non-invasive form of breast cancer, are more likely to experience a recurrence after treatment if their DCIS is of a high nuclear grade or is detected by palpation during a breast examination, according to a study in the November 19 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
DCIS accounts for about 20% of all newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer in the United States and is initially treated surgically, either by mastectomy (removal of the
Critical innovations and new knowledge are now emerging from the laboratories of universities, medical centers and pharmaceutical companies worldwide, offering the prospect of a new generation of drugs capable of destroying cancer cells with pinpoint accuracy, without damaging adjacent normal cells.
Each year, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), jointly with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), brin
Six years ago Cornell University researchers built the world’s smallest guitar — about the size of a red blood cell — to demonstrate the possibility of manufacturing tiny mechanical devices using techniques originally designed for building microelectronic circuits.
Now, by “playing” a new, streamlined nanoguitar, Cornell physicists are demonstrating how such devices could substitute for electronic circuit components to make circuits smaller, cheaper and more energy-efficient.
Scientists studying the formation of the sea floor thousands of feet below the surface have a new theory for why there are so many holes and collapsed pits on the ocean bottom. In a recent article in the journal Nature, the researchers say the holes and pits of various sizes are probably formed by lava erupting onto the seafloor so quickly it traps water beneath it, forming bubbles of steam that eventually collapse as the water cools. The hardened crust then breaks, forming pock marks and glassy bla
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