High and volatile UK gas prices reached new levels over the last few days and have left some chemical companies no choice but to shut down operations. The Chemical Industries Association (CIA) now calls upon the DTI and OFGEM to take immediate, urgent action to resolve the situation before sites are closed down and companies make the decision not to manufacture in the UK.

The gas system operator, Transco, stated at a meeting today that there is ample gas to meet demand. Judith Ha

Research by a University of Nottingham expert has shed new light on a genetic mystery that has its origins millions of years ago.

A study by Dr Angus Davison has helped to uncover new facts about the most common organic compound found on earth — a substance called cellulose. Cellulose is found in large amounts in all crops and plant life, making it one of the foundations of modern farming, human diet and the global economy.There is just one problem with it: most animals are unable to

Proteins also link cellular aging and response to calorie restriction in mammals

In the March 3 issue of Nature, Johns Hopkins researchers report that two proteins best known for very different activities actually come together to turn the liver into a sugar-producing factory when food is scarce. Because the liver’s production of sugar is a damaging problem in people with diabetes, the proteins’ interaction might be a target for future drugs to fight the disease, the researchers sa

For wild turkeys, at least, helping your brother find a willing and eager mate is a better way to pass on your genes than chancing the mating game alone, according to a new study by a University of California, Berkeley, graduate student.

The American wild turkey is a textbook example of cooperative courtship, where subordinate male turkeys help dominant males attract a mate, even though they themselves do not get a chance to breed. When this cooperative courtship was first report

Clearance of beta amyloid accumulation within neurons stops memory decline in mice

Researchers at UC Irvine have identified a trigger at the molecular level that marks the onset of memory decline in mice genetically engineered to develop brain lesions – in the form of plaques and tangles – associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The trigger is a protein called “beta amyloid” that accumulates within neurons in the mice’s brains. Although several researchers have studied the

Fragile X Syndrome is one of the most commonly inherited forms of mental retardation, with an incidence of 1 in 4,000 males and 1 in 8,000 females. Not many medications exist to help Fragile X patients. Now, in a fruit fly model of the disease, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and their colleagues have shown that it is possible to reverse some of the symptoms of the disorder using drugs that dampen specific neuronal overactivity. Their findings appear in the Mar

Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School have discovered a gene called NPHP5 and found mutations in this gene that cause a rare genetic disease called Senior-Loken syndrome. Children with this syndrome develop a type of cystic kidney disease called nephronophthisis*, as well as a form of blindness called retinitis pigmentosa.

In both the eye and the kidney, U-M scientists found that mutations in NPHP5 produced defects in hair-like cellular structures called cilia,

If there were no bench for second-string players on a football team, who would substitute for tired or injured team members? A team of Weizmann Institute scientists has found that, if the team were made up of genes, they might pull athletes who can play a little football in a pinch from nearby basketball or rugby teams. Their findings were published in the March issue of Nature Genetics.

Dr. Yitzhak (Tzachi) Pilpel and graduate students Ran Kafri and Arren Bar-Even, of the Institu

Weizmann Institute findings might advance search for new therapies for injured nerve fibers

Long distance messengers star in many heroic tales, perhaps the most famous being the one about the runner who carried the news about the victory of the Greeks over the Persians in the fateful battle of Marathon. A team of researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science has now discovered how molecular messengers perform a crucial role in the ability of injured nerve cells to heal them

Researchers in Denmark have discovered a way to detect early signs of testicular cancer before it has started to spread. Their findings are the first step towards developing a simple screening test for men at risk of the disease.

Writing in Europe’s leading reproductive medical journal Human Reproduction[1] today (Thursday 3 March), doctors from the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen report the first diagnosis of pre-invasive testicular carcinoma in situ (CIS) in a semen sample from a

High risk and chronically ill patients in Europe may soon find themselves able to lead independent and fully mobile lives thanks to the work of a project that has developed a Body Area Network of wireless sensors to remotely monitor vital signs.
Since this IST-funded project MobiHealth ended in February 2004, the project partners have gone on to further develop the mobile healthcare system and expect to have a commercial product on the market by early next year, potentially marking a

Virtual reality games can help alleviate pain in children being treated for severe injuries, according to research published today in the Open Access, peer reviewed journal BMC Pediatrics.

Immersion in a virtual world of monsters and aliens helps children feel less pain during the treatment of severe injuries such as burns, according to a preliminary study by Karen Grimmer and colleagues from the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide, Australia.

A virtual realit

The importance of hand-washing

IFST Advisory Statement for Foodlink Food Safety Week 2005

The Institute of Food Science & Technology, through its Public Affairs and Technical & Legislative Committees, has authorised this Advisory Statement, dated 24 March 2005, as an IFST contribution to the 13th Foodlink National Food Safety Week, which runs from 13-19 June 2005, organised by Foodlink.

Summary

Much scientific effort goes into making fo

Black adolescents with high normal blood pressure who practice transcendental meditation improve the ability of their blood vessels to relax and may reduce their risk of becoming adults with cardiovascular disease, researchers say.

After eight months of meditation, these adolescents experienced a 21 percent increase in the ability of their blood vessels to dilate compared to a 4 percent decrease experienced by their non-meditating peers, says Dr. Vernon A. Barnes, physiologist at

Radiologists can estimate the risk of death to a SARS patient by the seventh day from the onset of symptoms by using chest radiographs, according to a new study by researchers in Hong Kong. This early determination can allow a physician to better tailor treatment for the SARS patient.

The researchers analyzed 4,369 chest radiographs from 313 SARS patients from the time of their admission into the hospital until death (in 48 of the patients) or discharge from the hospital. The r

Freezing tumors is an effective way to treat a cancer patient’s pain, preliminary results of a new study show.

The study, which appears in the March 2005 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology, found that cryoablation relieved the pain of four patients who had very advanced disease. The patients had various types of cancer that had spread to areas outside the abdomen organs, said Damian E. Dupuy, MD, professor of diagnostic imaging at Brown Medical School in Providence,