Crystal ball gazing has long been part of what scientists do, whether it’s forecasting the weather or predicting long term climate change, but now researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) will be able to present people with highly realistic visions of what the future might look like and then ask them to vote on which one they prefer.
In a set up unique in the UK academic world, a state-of-the-art, purpose built virtual reality theatre has been installed at UEA, coupled to a ‘decisi
When physicians routinely “thin” the blood of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery in order to place them on the heart-lung machine, they may be causing more damage to the kidneys and other organs than previously appreciated, according to a new study by Duke University Medical Center researchers.
For years moderate dilution of the blood has been thought to protect the kidneys from damage, but the Duke researchers found in their study of more than 1,400 bypass patients that dil
Seeing really is believing
“Virtual product demonstrations that allow individuals to interact with merchandise create more vivid mental images of the consumer using the products, thereby increasing the likelihood they’ll purchase the item,” said Ann Schlosser, UW Business School assistant professor of marketing.
“We’ve found that the more easily individuals can envision themselves using a product, the more likely they are to buy it.”
Schlosser studied how consumer
The latest discovery of a large asteroid moving through our Solar System puts a spotlight on the studies of these and other wandering celestial objects by the European Space Agency.
Some astronomers have predicted that this newly discovered object could hit the Earth on 21 March, 2014, but now data indicate that the chances of it doing so are really very small – less than one in 909,000.
However, scientists continue to monitor these objects which could give clues to the orig
Markus Neurath and fellow researchers at the University of Mainz, Germany, have characterized the interaction between intestinal bacteria and dendritic cells (DCs) that may provide an explanation for the clinical symptoms of Crohn disease that only occur in specific regions of the gut.
The authors used transgenic mice to investigate the expression of the p40 subunit of IL-12 and IL-23. The authors demonstrate that p40 is expressed by a newly identified subset of DCs at greater levels in the
Dale Greiner and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts have developed a protocol for achieving stem cell transplantation that is not limited by significant patient side-effects and may not necessarily require that donor blood, bone marrow or whole organs are a “match” with the recipient –- characteristics that make these new procedures highly attractive for development and use in clinical human transplantation.
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are parent cells in the bone marrow that
The first line of defense used by the human blood-brain barrier in response to bacterial meningitis is described by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine in a study published in the September 2, 2003 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. The scientists also describe two bacterial factors specific to the meningitis pathogen that thwart the normal protective role of the blood-brain barrier, leading to serious infection.
Composed of a layer
A new University of Colorado at Boulder study of Jupiter’s moon Europa may help explain the origin of the giant ice domes peppering its surface and the implications for discovering evidence of past or present life forms there.
Assistant Professor Robert Pappalardo and doctoral student Amy Barr previously believed the mysterious domes may be formed by blobs of ice from the interior of the frozen shell that were being pushed upward by thermal upwelling from warmer ice underneath. Europa
Smokers carrying a newly found genetic marker are 5-10 times more likely to fall victim to the disease than other smokers; 120 times more than nonsmokers who don’t carry the marker
Scientists at the Weizmann Institute have discovered a new genetic risk factor that increases the susceptibility of smokers to lung cancer.
Published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the findings show that smokers who carry the newly discovered genetic marker are around 120 times
Identifying the structures of certain types of molecular compounds can now take minutes, instead of days, and be performed much more accurately, say scientists who developed a new approach for analyzing key experimental X-ray data.
Knowing the structure of a molecule allows scientists to predict its properties and behavior. While X-ray diffraction measurements have become a powerful tool for determining molecular structure, identifying the three-dimensional structure that best fits the diff
A cellular protein identified by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill may be the crucial molecular element for gene silencing.
The research findings, published Aug. 29 in the science journal Molecular Cell, add important knowledge to the understanding of epigenetic signals. These chemical signals affect the modulation of gene expression – activation or repression – throughout the genome.
Studies at UNC and elsewhere have shown that epigenetic phenomena unde
New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has identified a cellular enzyme that helps regulate the synthesis of proteins essential to cell functioning throughout the life of the organism. The enzyme binds to histone messenger RNA, which is DNA’s blueprint for histone protein synthesis.
As histones represent about half of the nucleoprotein complex known as chromatin, they are vital to DNA replication and the subsequent assembly of chromosomes A report of the rese
Purdue University biologists have learned how to control the development of stem cells in the inner ears of embryonic chickens, a discovery which could potentially improve the ability to treat human diseases that cause deafness and vertigo.
By introducing new genes into the cell nuclei, researchers instructed the embryonic cells to develop into different adult cells than they would have ordinarily. Instead of forming the tiny hairs that the inner ear uses to detect sound waves, the stem cell
Harbor Branch researcher deploying innovative camera system in Monterey Bay
Using a new lighted jellyfish lure and a unique camera system, researchers from HARBOR BRANCH are working to reveal for the first time life in the deep sea unaltered by the cacophony of sound and light that have been an integral part of most past research there. From Sept 2-5 a team will be using the lure for the first time in the dark depths of California’s Monterey Bay.
“We are hoping to do so
NASA will use software upon completion of space station
A new software system designed by a University at Buffalo aerospace engineer will help NASA detect and find air leaks in the International Space Station.
The software will be installed in NASA’s mission control when the manned space station is expanded from its current eight-module configuration to its final 15-module configuration, according to John L. Crassidis, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineer
In the treatment of stroke, there is currently only a three-hour “window of therapeutic opportunity” to prevent additional brain cell damage and only one medication approved to improve blood flow to oxygen-deprived neurons near the injury, thereby minimizing potentially debilitating side effects.
Now, scientists from Northwestern University report that a single injection of a chemical they created — given up to six hours after brain injury or stroke — protects against additional brain cel
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