A new way of taking pictures of the retina could give medics a powerful new tool in diagnosing and monitoring the most prevalent diseases of the eye — glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and age related macula degeneration. The technique was revealed today at the Institute of Physics conference Photon 04 in Glasgow.
By 2020 there will be 200 million visually-impaired people worldwide but 80% of these cases are preventable or treatable. For this to happen, screening and early detection
A team of scientists from Glasgow today revealed a new technique that will allow dentists to detect and study the tell-tale signs of tooth decay before too much damage is done.
Speaking at one of the opening sessions at the Institute of Physics conference Photon 04 in Glasgow, Simon Poland outlined a new way of making a detailed 3D picture of a diseased area of a tooth, which could be done while a patient waits. Simon Poland, from the Institute of Photonics at the University of St
“These tiny relics, a millionth of a meter small, could point us to the first steps of dust formation in both old and young stars,” stated Dr. Larry Nittler of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. Nittler is co-author of a study published in the September 3, 2004, issue of Science,* about the origin of two presolar grains from the Tieschitz meteorite and the implications they have for resolving observational and theoretical challenges of dusty outflows surrounding
In the Friday 3 September 2004 issue of Science Express, two physicists from Penn State University will announce new experimental evidence for the existence of a new phase of matter, a “supersolid” form of helium-4 with the extraordinary frictionless-flow properties of a superfluid.
“Solid helium-4 appears to behave like a superfluid when it is so cold that the laws of quantum mechanics govern its behavior,” says Moses H. W. Chan, Evan Pugh Professor of Physics at Penn State. “One of
This week, UK particle physicists have demonstrated the world’s largest, working computing Grid. With over 6,000 computers at 78 sites internationally, the Large Hadron Collider Computing Grid (LCG) is the first permanent, worldwide Grid for doing real science. The UK is a major part of LCG, providing more than 1,000 computers in 12 sites. At the 2004 UK e-Science All Hands Meeting in Nottingham, particle physicists representing a collaboration of 20 UK institutions will explain to biolog
Blue light destroys certain structural elements in the eye, as was revealed by the Russian research team. The mechanism of this effect was studied, and protective measures were offered. The work was supported jointly by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) and the Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE), project no. 02-04-08012.
Frankly, the results arising from the long-term study conducted by the team headed by Academician Michael Ostrovsky are
One of the Sun’s greatest mysteries is about to be unravelled by UK solar astrophysicists hosting a major international workshop at the University of St Andrews from September 6-9th 2004. For years scientists have been baffled by the ’coronal heating problem’: why it is that the light surface of the Sun (and all other solar-like stars) has a temperature of about 6000 degrees Celsius, yet the corona (the crown of light we see around the moon at a total eclipse) is at a temperature of
Space digest: September 2004
This release contains a summary of some significant astronomical and space events that will be taking place during September. It has been written in order to assist the media in planning and researching future stories related to space science and astronomy, particularly those with UK involvement. It is not intended to be fully comprehensive. Dates and times may be subject to change.
3 September: ISS Spacewalk
NASA Flight Engineer a
Were E.T. really interested in getting in touch with home, he might be better off writing than phoning, according to Christopher Rose, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Rose contends that inscribing information and physically sending it to some location in deep space is more energy-efficient than pulsing it out on radio waves, which disperse as they travel.
“Think of a flashlight beam,” Rose says. “Its intensity d
Two new “Neptunes” are the smallest extra-solar planets yet—but could be the first of many
A team of astronomers has announced the discovery of some of the smallest planets yet detected beyond our solar system: two worlds that represent a new category of extra-solar planets, as well as significant and much-anticipated advance in the hunt for such objects.
Each of newly discovered planets is roughly comparable to the planet Neptune in our own solar system, says Geoffrey Marcy
Self-organizing synthetic molecules originally used for gene therapy may have applications as templates and scaffolds for the production of inorganic materials. Using electrostatic interactions between oppositely charged molecules as the binding force, scientists are learning how to organize these synthetic molecules into more versatile complexes with large and controllable pore sizes.
“By investigating the fundamental design rules for the control of self-assembled supramolecular str
Sharks are, by tradition, the eternal threat facing divers. Yet, a diver is quite a lot more unlikely to meet such a creature under the water than, at some time or another, to come up against an even greater danger – hypothermia, or exposure. To enable divers to prevent this syndrome from creeping silently up on them, two researchers from the Area of Applied Physics at the University Jaume I (Spain) have formulated an equation that enables divers to calculate the time they can safely remain submerge
Development phase completion of the European-built observation module, or “cupola”, for the International Space Station will be marked by a ceremony at the Alenia Spazio facility in Turin, Italy on Monday 6 September.
The cupola, currently scheduled for launch in January 2009, is an observation and control tower for the ISS, with windows that will provide a panoramic view for observing and guiding operations on the outside of the station.
The pressurised module will accommod
These images, taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft, show the southern part of Valles Marineris, called Eos Chasma.
The images were taken during orbit 533 in June 2004, and are centred at Mars longitude 322° East and latitude 11° South. The image resolution is approximately 80 metres per pixel.
Between surrounding plains and the smooth valley floor, a height difference of about 5000 metres has been measured. The plain to the sout
Most miniature electronic, optical and micromechanical devices are made from expensive semiconductor or ceramic materials. For some applications like diagnostic lab-on-a-chip devices, thin-film polymers may provide a cheaper alternative, but the structure and properties of these materials—-often no more than a few nanometers (nm) thick—-are difficult to determine. In addition, defects in the thin polymer masking materials used to “print” integrated circuits can produce malfunctioning components.
University of Chicago scientists have solved a 20-year-old puzzle in particle physics using data from an experiment conducted for an entirely different purpose.
Physicists had long known that something was amiss regarding their understanding of how some quarks interact in the beta decay of particles, a common form of radioactivity. Either dozens of experiments conducted over a period of more than three decades were wrong, or the scientists’ theories were. Now, in a set of four
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