People who previously were not considered good candidates for LASIK because of large pupils can now get the procedure, according to a study appearing in the July issue of Ophthalmology, the clinical journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Eye M.D. Association. By using a larger laser treatment zone on the underlying layers of the cornea, surgeons can avoid inducing night vision disturbances such as haloes and glare that patients with large pupils often experience.
In this study
There is more to losing weight than diet and exercise, according to investigators the Research Institute at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). Their study is the first to identify a new receptor protein present on fat cells that may play a role in fat metabolism. The findings, published recently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, have implications for the many individuals suffering from obesity.
“We have identified a receptor protein on fat cells that when stimulated may increa
While European environmentalists see quarries as scars in the Earth, these industrial operations may actually play a critical role in preserving rare species. New research shows that quarries provide the only suitable habitat for at-risk butterflies in some places, suggesting that current policies of filling in old quarries are misguided.
“Increasing evidence is revealing the counterproductivity of such practices,” say Jiri Benes, Pavel Kepka and Martin Konvicka, all of the University of So
While the high ocean surface temperatures during the 1997-98 El Nino bleached coral reefs in more than 50 tropical countries worldwide, patches of coral did survive in or near the damaged reefs. A new study of these patches identifies factors likely to protect these threatened marine ecosystems during climate change.
“As baseline sea surface temperatures continue to rise, climate change may represent the single greatest threat to coral reefs worldwide,” say Jordan West of the U.S. En
Researchers from Imperial College London and Charing Cross Hospital have discovered a way to help musicians improve their musical performances by an average of up to 17 per cent, equivalent to an improvement of one grade or class of honours.
The research published in this months edition of Neuroreport, shows that using a process known as neurofeedback, students at London’s Royal College of Music were able to improve their performance across a number of areas including their music
A new hybrid technique could lead to mass-produced chips with molecular-scale structure Scientists at the University of Wisconsin´s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) on Nanostructures, Materials, and Interfaces have demonstrated a technique that could one day allow electronic devices to assemble themselves automatically–giving semiconductor manufacturers a way to mass-produce “nanochips” that have circuit elements only a few molecules across, roughly ten times smaller than
For decades, scientists have hunted for signals that guide nerve cells’ tentacle-like axons, hoping to understand how these cell tips reach out to distant targets. It’s knowledge that might one day help researchers learn how to rebuild nerves lost to spinal cord injuries or diseases like Huntington’s.
Now, a Johns Hopkins team studying a family of proteins best known for repelling axons and inhibiting their growth reports finding one member that unexpectedly promotes axon growth ins
High temperature superconductor (HTS) devices could help the EU reduce its CO2 emissions by up to 52 million tonnes, equivalent to 65 per cent of its Kyoto Protocol commitment.
Teemu Hartikainen, Jorma Lehtonen and Risto Mikkonen from Tampere University of Technology, Finland have worked out how much European GHG emissions would be reduced if these devices were introduced. Their findings are published today (23 July) in the Institute of Physics journal Superconductor Science and Techn
New research on dwarf spheroidal galaxies by a team of astronomers at the University of Cambridge promises a real astronomical first: detection, for the first time, of the true outer limits of a galaxy.
The team is presenting today (23 July 2003) at the 25th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAUXXV) in Sydney, Australia. The research could provide the key to understanding how larger galaxies were formed, including our own Milky Way galaxy.
The rare dw
In a river valley just southwest of Mexico City stands a small patch of teosinte – a wild, weedy grass thought to be the ancient ancestor of corn. As a gentle breeze blows gene-carrying pollen from a nearby crop of maize to its wild relative, the genetic integrity and even survival of this ancient plant and others could be jeopardized, according to new mathematical models.
The models, described in the July 23 online edition of the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London and develo
NASA satellites’ “eyes” above Earth are providing scientists and fire managers with powerful monitoring tools. NASA is providing the “big picture” needed to understand how fires behave before, during, and after damage has been done. A suite of NASA satellites, flying in coordinated fashion, offers the unparalleled insight only possible from space.
Fire season is underway in the American West, with wildfires raging in at least 11 states, challenging fire agencies and their limite
Virginia Tech wood scientists hope that their vacuum-drying project will benefit wood pallet and container manufacturers and hardwood sawmill businesses across the nation.
“The vacuum controlling system eliminates the need for a heating system, saves energy, and does not release ozone-depleting chemicals into the earth’s atmosphere,” says Zhangjjng Chen, one the researchers working on the project at the Center for Unit Load and Design in the wood science and forest products depa
University of Delaware marine scientists are now working aboard the 420-foot U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy on a National Science Foundation project to track the fresh water flowing out of the Arctic Ocean into the Atlantic. This fresh water, from melting ice and rivers, affects the salinity and circulation of the ocean and thus has a major influence on the Earth’s climate.
“Freshwater discharge from the Arctic to the North Atlantic is a crucial factor controlling global climate,”
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have identified a previously unknown component of the body’s cellular garbage disposal called the ubiquitin system, which is responsible for regulation of cell function by removal of abnormal and unneeded proteins.
Published in the July 8, 2003 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study provides the first description of a molecule called GAIP interacting protein N terminus (GIPN)
Chemists at Rice University have identified a chemical process for cutting carbon nanotubes into short segments. The new process yields nanotubes that are suitable for a variety of applications, including biomedical sensors small enough to migrate through cells without triggering immune reactions.
The chemical cutting process involves fluorinating the nanotubes, essentially attaching thousands of fluorine atoms to their sides, and then heating the fluoronanotubes to about 1,000 Celsi
If your parents had coronary heart disease before age 60, the walls of your neck arteries are more likely to be thicker, putting you at higher risk of heart disease, too, researchers report in today´s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Compared with people with no parental history of early-onset coronary heart disease (CHD), those with at least one parent who had a heart attack or other coronary event such as chest pain before age 60, had th
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