Purdue University researchers have discovered a faster, less expensive method to test the quality and purity of dietary supplement oils, such as flax seed, borage seed and grape seed oil, often touted as cures for many human maladies.
The research results are published in the September issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and on the journal’s Web site.
“This study brings analytical chemistry, food science, nutritional sciences and consumer interest together,” sai
A DNA sequence that acts as a throttle to control the rate at which an enzyme moves along the DNA has been observed by researchers at UC Davis. By controlling the activity of the RecBCD helicase enzyme, the “Chi” sequence can affect how efficiently genes are repaired.
RecBCD unwinds the DNA double helix so that the genetic code can be read, copied or repaired. This unwinding is an essential first step in most processes involving DNA.
The research findings, which are published in t
UCLA astronomers report they have detected remarkably stormy conditions in the hot plasma being pulled into the monstrous black hole residing at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, 26,000 light years away. This detection of the hot plasma is the first in an infrared wavelength, where most of the disturbed plasma’s energy is emitted, and was made using the 10-meter Keck II Telescope at the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.
Plasma is a hot, ionized, gas-like matter — a fourth state of ma
Populations of fungi blanketed by Colorado’s snows are more active and diverse than previously thought, and are likely responsible for the productivity of the tundra ecosystem they are a part of, according to findings by scientists funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) and Microbial Observatories programs. The researchers have published their results in this week’s issue of the journal Science.
Christopher Schadt, now of t
European scientists are formulating conclusions for mine-water management right now
Next to mine waste, water contamination by mines poses a problem to which far less attention is paid to. Today and tomorrow the group of European scientists of the ERMITE project are gathered at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). On this very moment, they formulate their guidelines for new European legislation and sustainable water management in mines. In November, the official meeting
More than 220 ideas for making European scientific endeavours and policies better known, understood and more attractive to the young and to the public at large are published today on the Web by the European Commission’s research and innovation information service CORDIS (www.cordis.lu/eoi/science-society/).
These ideas, initiated by citizens, public and private bodies, research and civil society organisations, as well as by the media, in 29 countries, represent the impressive results from a
Researchers studying physical and chemical processes at the smallest scales, smaller even than the width of a human hair, have found that fluid circulating in a microscopic whirlpool can reach radial acceleration more than a million times greater than gravity, or 1 million Gs.
By contrast, a pilot flying a fighter jet at high speed and in relatively tight circular patterns might experience a force of 10 to 12 Gs, making the force his body feels 10 to 12 times normal.
“From a physi
Anti-rejection drugs and pre-transplant health problems both play a role
As if the ordeal of waiting for, receiving and living with an organ transplant weren’t enough, a new study finds that people who get a second chance at life from new hearts, lungs, livers or intestines are very likely to have their lives cut short by failing kidneys.
In fact, 16.5 percent of all non-kidney transplant recipients develop chronic kidney failure, and almost a third of those patients go
More dentists, patients see benefit of lasers
Until recently, the use of lasers in the dental office was marginalized because of the cost of the equipment and its limited use. Today, manufacturers and dentists believe “cutting with light” will gain a much wider appeal thanks to recent technological leaps and declining costs, according to the August/September 2003 issue of AGD Impact, the monthly newsmagazine of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD).
Not a day goes by that
Humans may learn cooperation in kindergarten, but what about bacteria, whose behavior is preprogrammed by their DNA?
Some legume plants, which rely on beneficial soil bacteria called rhizobia that infect their roots and provide nitrogen, seem to promote cooperation by exacting a toll on those bacterial strains that don’t hold up their end of the symbiotic bargain, according to a team of researchers at the University of California, Davis.
“In the case of soybeans, it appe
Physicians may be a step closer to pre-natal diagnosis of a rare genetic disorder called Joubert syndrome. This condition, present before birth, affects an area of the brain controlling balance and coordination.
New findings from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have identified chromosome 11 as a second site for a gene or genes that cause Joubert syndrome, a disorder that affects about 1 in 30,000 individuals. Prior to this study, chromosome 9 had been the on
The ultrafine particles will flow underground and destroy toxic compounds in place
An ultrafine, “nanoscale” powder made from iron, one of the most abundant metals on Earth, is turning out to be a remarkably effective tool for cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater-a trillion-dollar problem that encompasses more than 1000 still-untreated Superfund sites in the United States, some 150,000 underground storage tank releases, and a staggering number of landfills, abandoned mines
Exploring a deep-sea ridge off Northern California, scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have discovered a unique undersea nursery, where groups of fish and octopus brood their eggs, like chickens on their nests. This is the first time that marine biologists have directly observed any deep-sea fish brooding its eggs. It is also the first time that two different types of mobile deep-sea animals have been observed brooding together in the same area. Although the scientists
NASA’s improved global climate computer model, which simulates and projects how the Earth’s climate may change, indicates that the oceans have been absorbing heat since 1951 and will continue to absorb more heat from the atmosphere over the next 50 years. This increasing ocean heat storage suggests that global surface temperatures may warm less than previous studies projected, while the ocean acts as a bigger heat sponge. Further, such additional ocean heating would likely change regional c
A team of scientists and engineers from the Institute of Food Research and Lancaster University are developing a quick, safe and non-invasive scanner to measure the composition of the human body.
The prototype scanner, featured in the latest edition of New Scientist, uses two imaging techniques to simultaneously build a 3D image of the subject’s shape, and get under the skin to measure body composition.
“Techniques exist for measuring body shape and composition separately,
The University of Bradford and the Bolton Institute have been given more than £150,000 for a joint project to consider ways to recycle carpet waste into novel underlays.
Part of the funding, given to the University’s School of Engineering, Design and Technology, will be used will help investigate and test the characteristics of different materials.
The two-year project will utilise industrial carpet process waste resulting from edge cuts, mismatches and rejects to produce underlay
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