A Dartmouth researcher is building a case for a “dark energy” – dominated universe. Dark energy, the mysterious energy with unusual anti-gravitational properties, has been the subject of great debate among cosmologists.
Brian Chaboyer, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Dartmouth, with his collaborator Lawrence Krauss, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Case Western Reserve University, have reported their finding in the January 3, 2003, issue of Science. Combining their calc
A potential new weapon in the fight against hospital acquired infections has been discovered by researchers at the University of Leeds.
The scientists studied the effect of negative air ionisers on infections caused by acinetobacter; a pathogen responsible for increasing numbers of sometimes fatal infections amongst hospital patients. Ionisers were placed in the intensive care unit at St James’s University Hospital, which, like similar wards across the UK, has had recurrent probl
Physicians have been concerned that relatively new prescription medications called statins, which are being increasingly prescribed to reduce blood cholesterol levels, might also decrease reproductive hormone levels and cause women of child-bearing age to be less fertile.
A study headed by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles found that neither the use of statins nor low blood cholesterol levels significantly affected reproductive hormone levels in pre-, peri-, or postm
Combining concepts from electromagnetic radiation research and fiber optics, researchers have created an extreme-ultraviolet, laser-like beam capable of producing tightly-focused light in a region of the electromagnetic spectrum not previously accessible to scientists. Between 10-100 times shorter than visible light waves, the extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths will allow researchers to “see” tiny features and carve miniature patterns, with applications in such fields as microscopy, lithography an
The flora and fauna are sending signals about the impact of global warming – a message that is being heard in backyards around the world.
A study in the Jan. 2 edition of the British science journal Nature synthesized data from 143 scientific papers to examine whether a signal, or “fingerprint,” of climate change can be found in how animals and plants have reacted to increasing temperatures.
Among their findings: In the temperate zone, the researchers estimate that, for spe
Scientists find key embryonic stem cell gene
Scientists have identified a gene that is required during early mammalian embryogenesis to maintain cellular pluripotency – the ability of an embryonic cell to develop into virtually any cell type of the adult animal. This discovery by Dr. Robin Lovell-Badge and colleagues at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research (London, UK) that the Sox2 gene is necessary to sustain the developmental plasticity of embryonic cells sheds new light
Quasars and active galactic nuclei (AGN) are likely powered by matter accretion onto a super-massive black hole located at their center. Before being swallowed by the black hole, matter spirals towards the center, while forming an accretion disc. Unfortunately, such a disc is too small so that one can in general solve it with present day telescopes. But the technique of radio interferometry with very long base (VLBI, with base length of the size of the earth’s radius) make it possible somehow. I
While promising the possibility of hardier crops and a larger, more robust food supply for the world, worries continue over the effect genetically engineered plants might have on the environment. One fear is over the movement of altered genes from domesticated populations to the wild and the effect of these “escaped” genes on ecosystems. In a study published in the December issue of Ecological Applications, Charity Cummings (University of Kansas), Helen Alexander (University of Kansas), Allison Snow
When members of two species compete directly with each other, scientists believe the one that rolls with the evolutionary punches and adapts most quickly has the upper hand. But new evidence suggests that in relationships that benefit both species, the one that evolves more slowly has the advantage.
“The idea that has been dominant for the last couple of decades is that when two species co-evolve, they try to outrun each other,” said Carl Bergstrom, a University of Washington assistant zoolo
A beer a day may help keep heart attacks away, according to a group of Israeli researchers. In preliminary clinical studies of a group of men with coronary artery disease, the researchers showed that drinking one beer (12 ounces) a day for a month produced changes in blood chemistry that are associated with a reduced risk of heart attack.
Their study adds to growing evidence that moderate alcohol consumption may reduce the risk of heart disease, the number one killer in the United States. T
For newly diagnosed multiple myeloma; Previously scorned thalidomide gives new option for patients with difficult-to-treat cancer
A recent study conducted at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center shows that patients with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, were more likely to achieve remission when treated with a combination of drugs that included thalidomide, a medicine that had previously been shelved for causing birth defects.
Donna Weber, M.D., a
An experimental drug designed to cut off a tumor’s blood supply showed promising results in patients with advanced colorectal cancer when paired with standard chemotherapy, according to a UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center study published in the Jan. 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The results of this and subsequent studies of the experimental drug Avastin could change the way oncologists treat patients with this devastating form of cancer, said Dr. Fairooz Kabbinavar, a Jonsson C
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have determined the molecular machinery that triggers normal cardiac muscle growth and survival, and have linked defects in this complex to an inherited form of human cardiomyopathy, a type of heart failure where an enlarged heart loses its ability to pump blood.
Published in the December 27, 2002 issue of the journal Cell, the study also identifies a subset of German cardiomyopathy patients with a specific gene
Unexplained and severe tinnitus–a ringing or buzzing in the ears–can be temporarily reduced in some patients by “jamming” the brain’s electrical activity with focused magnetic stimulation, according to a preliminary study to be published December 23, 2002 in the online edition of the Annals of Neurology. The results confirm that some phantom sounds are generated by abnormal activity in the brain itself.
“Controlled clinical trials are now necessary to evaluate whether this method can
Don’t worry – you are not the only one who thought this was a nice amateur photo of planet Saturn, Lord of the Rings in our Solar System!
But then the relative brightness and positions of the moons may appear somewhat unfamiliar… and the ring system does look unusually bright when compared to the planetary disk…??
Well, it is not Saturn, but Uranus, the next giant planet further out, located at a distance of about 3,000 million km, or 20 times the distance between the Sun and t
Pioneering new solvent systems which are recyclable and environmentally compatible have been developed by researchers at the University of Leicester.
The team, led by Drs Andy Abbott and David Davies, has developed a wide range of new solvents made from bulk commodity materials such as urea (a common fertiliser) and vitamin B4. These have been studied extensively in recent years as they offer a potentially clean way to carry out chemical processes. They are non-volatile whilst liquid over a
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