VLT Images Intergalactic Shock The Universe is a violent place – as astronomers use increasingly sensitive means and methods to study the diverse processes out there, they become aware of the extraordinary forces acting in the space that surrounds us. With larger telescopes and ever-more sophisticated instruments, new information is gained about remote celestial objects and their behaviour. Among the most intriguing ones are the radio galaxies which emit prodiguous amounts of
Subtle alterations of a hormonal stress response system called the HPA axis may play a role in chronic fatigue syndrome, according to a study in the November/December issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.
A smoothly functioning hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal, or HPA, axis helps the body remain stable under physiological and psychological stress through the actions of three hormones. First, the brain portion called the hypothalamus secretes a hormone that stimulates the pituitary gland to secrete
The ophthalmology team of the University Clinic of the University of Navarre has published a new technique to detect diabetic retinopathy. This research has been published in the magazine Investigative Ophthamology and Visual Science. The research is based on the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). This test allows measuring the thickness of eye macula without touching the eye and without using contrast injection. The macula is the central part of the retina and is the responsible of the central vis
The basque company SK10, which works in the integration of aeronautical structures, has given a significant step forward in its innovation range within compound materials of carbon fibre.
Recently, SK10 has signed with the company EADS-CASA a contract for the development, industrialisation and subsequent mass production of the leading edges of the horizontal stabiliser for the new aircraft Falcon F7X, of the French company DASSAULT.
The development of horizontal stabiliser
In the current crisis of global biodiversity loss, the discovery of new species is a welcome addition. But the recent finding that the mountain brushtail possum, an arboreal marsupial mammal of Australian wet forests, is actually made up of two species also poses new conservation challenges.
The new species is proposed in an article in the latest Australian Journal of Zoology (Volume 50, Issue 4), authored by Earthwatch-supported biologist Dr. David Lindenmayer (Australian National Universit
Using a tiny wireless sensor developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, doctors will know in minutes instead of hours if an organ is getting adequate blood flow after transplant or reconstructive surgery.
Conventional methods for assessing circulation involve invasive procedures or extensive laboratory testing. In some cases, by the time doctors realize there isn’t adequate blood flow to an organ or tissue, irreversible damage already has occurred.
“Our goal is to offer a te
Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) rely on mechanical ventilation to breathe, however routine suctioning to remove debris that may be blocking their airways can cause lung tissue to collapse. New research published in Critical Care explains how a new technique involving the re-inflation of lungs after suctioning can lead to a marked improvement in the condition of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome is a devastating inf
New test will be cheap, less invasive, and could take only minutes
Scientists from Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge have developed a rapid new blood test which may help predict the likelihood of a heart attack.
The research published in Nature Medicine shows how a new science, developed in the Imperial College laboratories, called Metabonomics, can be used to test for coronary artery disease, using minimally invasive procedures.
The test, wh
Wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest are in trouble — 26 populations are listed as threatened or endangered — and many conservationists fear hatcheries are a big part of the problem. In support of this belief, new research suggests that hatchery-reared steelhead are a threat to wild chinook in the Snake River.
“Our work suggests that steelhead released from hatcheries may increase the extinction risk of wild populations of Snake River chinook,” say Phillip Levin and John Williams of the N
Most of us don’t pay much attention to earthworms but maybe we should. New research suggests that non-native earthworms are radically changing the forest floor in the northern U.S., threatening the goblin fern and other rare plants in the process.
This is “the first research to show that exotic earthworms are harmful to rare native vegetation in northern forests,” says Michael Gundale of Michigan Technological University in Houghton, who presents this work in the December issue of Conservat
The discharge of groundwater to coastal waters represents an important source of dissolved nutrients and contaminants that may affect chemical and biological processes in coastal ecosystems. In a journal article published in a recent issue of Limnology and Oceanography, URI Graduate School of Oceanography chemical oceanographers Roger P. Kelly and S. Bradley Moran describe how they used radium isotopes as tracers to determine seasonal changes in groundwater input to the Pettasquamscutt estuary from
Phospholipid bilayers that mimic cell membranes in living organisms are of interest as substrates for biosensors and for the controlled release of pharmaceuticals. To better understand how these materials behave with embedded proteins, a necessary first step is to understand how the bilayers respond by themselves.
As will be reported in the Dec. 9 issue of Physical Review Letters (published online Nov. 21), scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have studied the phase t
Tethered Robotic Sub Helps Engineers Refine Computerized Navigation, Control Systems
In a new indoor tank filled with almost 43,000 gallons of water, Johns Hopkins engineers are developing and testing computer control systems to serve as the “brains” for some of the world’s leading deep sea robotic exploration vehicles. To promote advances in underwater robotics, the Whiting School of Engineering recently constructed the circular hydrodynamics tank, 14 feet deep and 25 feet in diamet
Work funded with $1.59-million from the National Science Foundation
Highly acidic drainage from an abandoned sulfide mine in Rowe is slowly cleaning itself over time, and an interdisciplinary research team from the University of Massachusetts Amherst is studying why. The group brings together experts from the fields of microbiology, geology, engineering, and science education, to determine the extent and rate of bioremediation. Researchers say their findings may enable quicker natura
Indiana University information technology experts working with others from the state’s leading educational institutions presented several new tools in high-performance computing, networks and visualization this week to colleagues at the international Supercomputing2002 conference. Among the tools demonstrated were a system that can track the physical location of wireless devices and a powerful mapping application.
The contributions of IU and its Research in Indiana (http://www.research-
Reducing the sulphur content of pollutants can have a substantial impact in reducing death from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, conclude authors of a study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET which describes the effect of a public-health initiative in Hong Kong.
A change in law to restrict sulphur emissions was introduced in Hong Kong in July 1990; all power plants and road vehicles had to use fuel oil with a sulphur content restricted to not more than 0·5% by weight. This intervent
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