When conventional therapies for glaucoma have been exhausted, ophthalmologists at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have a new surgical technique in their arsenal to arrest this blinding disease caused when there is too much pressure on the inside of the eye.
UT Southwestern ophthalmologists are among a few in the Dallas area to use the recently approved Ex-PRESS Mini Glaucoma Shunt, a metal cylinder smaller than a grain of rice. It is surgically implanted in the eye and offers an es
Since Tuesday 28 October, explosive events originating from the Sun have been bathing the Earth and its surroundings in high energy radiation.
Although 150 million kilometers away, the Sun is still capable of causing major disruption here on Earth to a range of systems that we depend on in everyday life. These include communication and navigation systems, aircraft and spacecraft operations and the distribution of electricity at high latitudes.
The activity started on Tuesday
A recent study conducted in eastern Greenland and published in the October 31 issue of the Science magazine provides new understanding of the dynamics of arctic lemming populations. Olivier Gilg and Ilkka Hanski from the University of Helsinki, Finland, and Benoît Sittler from the University of Freiburg, Germany, combined long-term field observations and mathematical modelling of what is probably the simplest vertebrate predator-prey community in the world. In the study area in the Karup Valley, at
A giant ice shelf the size of Scotland is melting rapidly in warm Antarctic waters, a report in SCIENCE will reveal today. Thinning of the Larsen Ice Shelf – vast sections of which collapsed catastrophically during the 1990’s – was discovered by scientists at the University of Cambridge, University College London, University of Bristol and the Instituto Antártico Argentino. The findings suggest that Antarctica may be more sensitive to the effects of global warming than was previously considered.
A mysterious arc of light found behind a distant cluster of galaxies has turned out to be the biggest, brightest and hottest star-forming region ever seen in space.
The so-called Lynx Arc is one million times brighter than the well-known Orion Nebula, a nearby prototypical ’starbirth’ region visible with small telescopes. The newly identified super-cluster contains a million blue-white stars that are twice as hot as similar stars in our Milky Way galaxy. It is a rarely glimpsed exa
Chemistry & Industry Magazine
The discovery of a gene responsible for learning and memory defects in Down’s Syndrome means mental retardation may soon be reversible, according to a report in this issue of Chemistry & Industry magazine. The gene was discovered by a group led by William Mobley, director of a new centre for Down ’s syndrome research at Stanford University, California.
’The bottom line is that we have found one gene that we think is very important
Osteocalcin, a small bone-specific protein that influences bone formation, may facilitate the development of drugs to combat bone-related diseases, such as osteoporosis and bone metastases of cancer, say McMaster University researchers. Their study is to be published in the October 30 issue of Nature, a high-impact scientific journal.
Although it’s generally accepted that osteocalcin, discovered in 1976, binds to the mineral component of bone, called hydroxyapatite, the biological function
Duke University Medical Center neurobiologists have discovered how neurons in the brain “reset” when they are overly active. This molecular reset switch works to increase or decrease the sensitivity of brain cells to stimulation by their neighbors. Such “homeostatic plasticity” is critical for the brain to adapt to changes in the environment — either to avoid having its neurons swamped by increased activity of a neural pathway, or rendered too insensitive to detect triggering impulses from other neu
Inside view of pterosaurs’ brain yields insights to posture, behavior
With its 13-foot wing span, a flying dinosaur soars above a lake, scanning for dinner as its shadow glides across the water’s surface below. Eying a fish, the aerobatic reptile, called a pterosaur, dives through the air, its shadow shrinking and darkening until – splash! The fish is in the pterosaur’s beak, which resembles a cross between a pelican’s bill and a crocodile’s snout.
While s
The first new oral drug in 50 years to prevent blood clots after knee-replacement surgery was superior to the standard treatment in a clinical trial of about 2,300 patients led by the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Researchers also have tested the new drug, ximelagatran, for prevention of stroke, heart attacks and deep vein thrombosis, and if approved by the FDA it would offer millions of patients an alternative to the commonly prescribed anticoagulant, warfarin.
Results
Fruits contain a number of vitamins and minerals that are used as supplements to treat everyday illnesses. Now, research suggests that common fruit extracts may have significant clinical benefits in decreasing risk for skin cancer. These studies are presented today at the American Association for Cancer Research Second Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research.
“The incidence of skin cancer is rising faster than any other solid tumor in the United States. It
A new mouse model developed by Harvard Medical School researchers and reported in the October 30 Neuron may allow scientists for the first time to spotlight two key proteins in a living animal and see how they contribute to the neuronal death and atrophy found in neurodegenerative diseases. The two proteins are dubbed p25 and cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5).
“This is an excellent animal model for any therapeutic approach toward p25 and its link to Alzheimer’s and similar neurodegenera
Hospital patients isolated for infection control experience more preventable adverse incidents and report greater dissatisfaction with their treatment, says a new study by University of Toronto and Harvard University researchers.
“Isolated patients were twice as likely as control patients to experience adverse events during their hospitalization,” says Professor Donald Redelmeier of U of T’s Department of Medicine. “Our most significant finding showed that they did not receive adequate
Police dogs across the country could soon be out of work, replaced by an electronic “dog-on-a-chip” that sniffs out cocaine and other narcotics. Scientists at Georgia Tech have created a new detection tool that is portable, inexpensive, and doesn’t require feeding or grooming. They say it is superior to previous “electronic noses” designed for this purpose.
The report will appear in the Nov. 15 edition of Analytical Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, t
Working with capsules of dye just a few billionths of a metre in diameter, researchers at University of Toronto and the advanced optical microscopy facility at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital have created a new strategy for encrypting photographs, signatures and fingerprints on security documents.
“This technology will give security or customs authorities the confidence that documents are not fake,” says U of T chemistry professor Eugenia Kumacheva, who holds the Canada Research C
Infants fed human milk fortified-in-hospital developed comparably to those fed infant formula
Premature infants fed breast milk made developmental gains equal to or greater than those fed formula specially designed for low-birth-weight infants, an international study finds.
“Definitely, appropriately fortified breast milk is the feeding of choice for these premature, low-birth-weight babies,” says U of T nutritional sciences professor Deborah O’Connor, lead author of a
Feedback
