Frequent tanning bed users may be getting more out of the experience than darker skin. Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center say exposure to ultraviolet light may produce a “relaxing” effect that lures tanners back to the beds.

“We believe that ultraviolet light has an effect on mood that tanners value,” said Steven Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., lead researcher. “This may be creating a reinforcing effect that influences tanning behavior.”

The research – involving 14

Study performed through Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems calls for an established test procedure to evaluate the effectiveness of VOC removal

A new study conducted through the Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (CoE) to evaluate the performance of room air cleaners has found that no single air-cleaning unit effectively removes all volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air and underscores the need to establish standards, test proce

OHSU study flies in face of belief that plasticity causes stem cells to transform

An Oregon Health & Science University study is defying a long-accepted assertion among many scientists that stem cells repair diseased tissue by transforming into other cell types in a process called plasticity.

The first study from OHSU’s new Oregon Stem Cell Center, published in the current issue of the journal Nature Medicine, found that mature macrophages derived from bone marrow stem

As ministers prepare to decamp for their holidays, Professor Fiona Williams of the University of Leeds has just published the perfect summer reading. It’s only 96 pages long, it’s jargon-free, and it could change our lives – and theirs – immeasurably.
Rethinking Families is the crystallation of a £1.3 million research project by the ESRC-funded team on Care, Values and the Future of Welfare (CAVA). Over the course of five years, some 400 people gave 500 hours of interviews about their family live

A new University of Southampton study concludes that kiwi fruit appears to be a significant food allergen capable of causing severe reactions, particularly in young children with other allergic reactions. The study, which was funded by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), highlights the increasing incidence of allergic reaction to the popular tropical fruit.

The research team believes that the increase in allergic symptoms can be explained by the demonstrable rise in the incidence of food aller

Imagine the sound mixing desk in a concert hall controlled not by a technician manipulating hundreds of knobs and sliders, but by pointing to speakers and changing volume and tone with the movement of an arm. This futuristic orchestra conductor is being made reality by the work of researchers in the school of music at the University of Leeds.
Dr Kia Ng of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Scientific Research in Music is developing ways of capturing human movement in three dimensions and using it t

People who have early stage Alzheimer’s disease (AD) could be more capable of learning than previously thought, according to two new studies supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a part of the National Institutes of Health. The promising studies suggest that some people with early cognitive impairment can still be taught to recall important information and to better perform daily tasks.

In a July 2004 report, researchers in Miami, FL, found mildly impaired AD patients who pa

In a knowledge-based economy, where new ideas and scientific knowledge are central to innovation and growth, investment in human resources in science & technology (S&T) is an essential factor to remain competitive. Europe is top of the class as the world’s biggest ‘S&T brain factory’ with graduate numbers (2.14 million in 2000) above that of the US (2.07 million) and Japan (1.1 million). In fact, 26% of all graduates in Europe come from an S&T field in comparison with 21% in Japan and 17% in the US.

A study of patients with kidney cancer has shown that radiofrequency ablation, a minimally invasive, kidney-sparing procedure, can be a successful treatment option for patients whose cancer has not spread beyond the kidney, report researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Results from the three year study, which evaluated 22 patients who received the treatment, are published in the July issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. The treatment uses computed tomography to guide

Oxford geneticists have closed in on the genetic basis for risk factors of metabolic diseases such as hypertension, obesity and diabetes.

Studying 1,300 patients and healthy volunteers from over 400 families across Oxfordshire, the research team located several variations in the DNA sequence of the lipid phosphate SHIP2 gene which are associated with an increased risk for a cluster of common and increasingly frequent disorders, referred to as the ’metabolic syndrome’ or ’Syn

Dogs’ ability to discriminate brightness is about half as good as that of humans, according to a study appearing in Volume 4, Issue 3 in the Journal of Vision. In research conducted by scientists from the Veterinary University of Vienna and the University of Memphis, dogs showed a surprising lack of ability to discriminate between grey cards that varied in brightness, says researcher Ulrike Griebel of the University of Memphis.

While a great deal is known about dogs’ visual acuity

Choosing a diet soft drink over a regular, sugar-packed beverage may not be the best way to fight obesity, according to new research from Purdue University. But the researchers said this doesn’t mean you should grab a regularly sweetened soft drink instead.

Professor Terry Davidson and associate professor Susan Swithers, both in the Department of Psychological Sciences, found that artificial sweeteners may disrupt the body’s natural ability to “count” calories based on foods&#14

Teenage girls who have never smoked, never even puffed on a cigarette, are far more likely to start smoking if their favorite movie star smokes in movies, according to a 3-year study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the most-cited public health journal.

The study’s authors conclude that on-screen smoking by popular actors is undermining public health efforts to keep children from smoking.

“We’ve heard for years that big-screen movies influence k

When a fly drops in to sample your picnic lunch, it’s basically tasting the same thing you taste, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, scientists.

In the first detailed genetic study of fly taste receptors, UC Berkeley neuroscientist Kristin Scott and her colleagues showed that fruit flies have receptors devoted to sweet and bitter tastes just like humans. While human taste receptors are limited to the tongue, the receptors in flies are mounted on bristles sc

51 countries with R&D Programs and Fundings in Nanotechnologies in 2004.The race is on.

Total R&D spending are up to 12 billion US$ worldwide. High increase in defence and security projects. Public awareness under 15 percent. Markets up 180 billion US$.
hkc22.com is monitoring the world markets for nanotechnologies since more than 3 years and reporting every 6 month. The latest results show a strong increase in investments with more than 25 percent to 12 billion US $ for R&

Current legislation on preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in Germany is out of step with the attitudes of Germans and should be changed, researchers told a news briefing at the 20th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology on Monday 28 June).

At present PGD is forbidden in Germany, but in one of the first large study of attitudes to PGD amongst the general population and infertile couples in Germany, the researchers found that the majority of Ge