Materials Sciences

Based on a recent study, work fatigue, working overtime, job demands and dissatisfaction in combining paid work and family life are associated with weight gain.

A recently published study is part of the ongoing Helsinki Health Study, carried out at the University of Helsinki, Department of Public Health. The study population consisted of 7000 women and 2000 men, aged 40-60y. All participants are employees of the City of Helsinki, therefore, it was possible to examine the associat

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health have examined the effect of eating nuts on cardiovascular health, reports the Harvard Men’s Health Watch. “Their work shows that nuts really are healthy, especially for men at risk for heart disease,” says Dr. Harvey B. Simon, editor.

Studies show that healthy men, and those who have already suffered a heart attack, can reduce cardiovascular risk by eating nuts regularly, reports the Harvard Men&

New coating becomes water repellant when wet; applications include medical diagnostic equipment

Virginia Commonwealth University chemical engineering team has developed a novel material that becomes water repellent when wet, setting the stage for advances in engineering, medicine and diagnostics.

In the April 26, 2005, issue of the journal Langmuir, a publication of the American Chemical Society, Kenneth J. Wynne, Ph.D., a professor in the VCU School of Engineering’

American Journal of Cardiology to publish study on May 2

The American Journal of Cardiology reports in its May 2, 2005, issue that the Transcendental Meditation technique, a non-drug stress-reduction method, reduces death rates by 23% and extends lifespan.

The first-of-its-kind, long-term, randomized trial evaluated 202 men and women, average age 71, who had mildly elevated blood pressure. Subjects in the study participated in the Transcendental Meditation program; beha

The Cidetec Technological Centre continues to invest in nanotechnology development with its participation in the European NAPA (Emerging Nanopatterning Methods) project. The research institution is directing a working subgroup to develop new thermoplastic polymers for applications in nanopatterning and nanolithography.

The main objective of the European NAPA integrated project is to provide low-cost processes and tools that meet the needs of nanoprinting processes and required for

Many potential applications

Picture a flower that opens when facing the sunlight. In work that mimics that sensitivity to light, an MIT engineer and German colleagues have created the first plastics that can be deformed and temporarily fixed in a second, new shape by illumination with light having certain wavelengths. These programmed materials will only switch back to their original shape when exposed to light of specific different wavelengths.

The work, to be reported