— Hogchoker - the new Internet star — A small flatfish living along the coast of North America is the…
— Cancer deaths are projected to double by 2030 — Cancer deaths are projected to double in the next two decades.…
More Boiling point…
— Entangled diamonds vibrate together — Objects big enough for the eye to see have been placed in a weirdly…
— How animals predict earthquakes — Animals may sense chemical changes in groundwater that occur…
— New Icelandic volcano eruption could have global impact — Hundreds of metres under one of Iceland's largest glaciers there…
More Minuscule…
Or subscribe for our Newsletter, a free e-mail publication. It is published practically every day.
News | Archive (2 September 2010)
Special edition journal provides new perspectives and guidance for managing white pine blister rust
— 17:25 GMT | Environment'My job was to locate the previously marked study trees... and record data on the activity of treated blister rust cankers,' wrote Charles 'Terry ' Shaw. 'The work took [me] in rickety four-wheel drive vehicles to remote locations scattered across the white pine forests of northern Idaho.' Shaw, now editor of a recently published special issue of Forest Pathology, described how 44 years ago, he and other young forestry students collected data about a destructive forest disease for senior scientists…
Surgery to repair torn shoulder muscles in the elderly can reduce pain and improve function
— 17:22 GMT | HealthRepairing torn shoulder muscles in elderly patients is often discouraged because of fears of complications. But a new study conducted at Rush University Medical Centre has shown that minimally invasive, or arthroscopic, surgery can significantly improve pain and function…
Scientists identify protein that spurs formation of Alzheimer's plaques
— 17:19 GMT | HealthIn Alzheimer's disease, the problem is beta-amyloid, a protein that accumulates in the brain and causes nerve cells to weaken and die. Drugs designed to eliminate plaques made of beta-amyloid have a fatal problem: they need to enter the brain and remove the plaques without attacking healthy brain cells. New research from the laboratory of Nobel Prize winner Paul Greengard, however, suggests that treatments modelled on the blockbuster cancer drug Gleevec could be the solution. The findings are reported in the Sept. 2 issue of the journal Nature…
NIST sensor measures yoctonewton forces fast
— 17:16 GMT | TechnologyPhysicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used a small crystal of ions (electrically charged atoms) to detect forces at the scale of yoctonewtons. Measurements of slight forces - one yoctonewton is equivalent to the weight of a single copper atom on Earth - can be useful in force microscopy, nanoscale science, and tests of fundamental physics theories…
The perfect nanocube: Precise control of size, shape and composition
— 17:13 GMT | TechnologyWith growing interest in using nanoparticles for everything from antibacterial socks to medical imaging to electronic devices, the need to understand the environmental, health and safety risks of these particles also grows. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a simple process for producing nanocrystals that will enable studies of certain physical and chemical properties that affect how nanoparticles interact with the world around them…
NIST ultraviolet source helps NASA spacecraft measure the origins of space weather
— 17:10 GMT | EnvironmentWith a brilliant, finely tuned spark of ultraviolet (UV) light, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) helped NASA scientists successfully position a crucial UV sensor inside a space-borne instrument to observe a 'hidden' layer of the Sun where violent space weather can originate…
NIST researchers create 'quantum cats' made of light
— 17:07 GMT | PhysicsResearchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created 'quantum cats' made of photons (particles of light), boosting prospects for manipulating light in new ways to enhance precision measurements as well as computing and communications based on quantum physics…
New material may reveal inner workings of hi-temp superconductors
— 17:04 GMT | TechnologyMeasurements taken at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may help physicists develop a clearer understanding of high-temperature superconductors, whose behaviour remains in many ways mysterious decades after their discovery. A new copper-based compound exhibits properties never before seen in a superconductor and could be a step toward solving part of the mystery…
Micro rheometer is latest Lab On a Chip device
— 17:01 GMT | TechnologyResearchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a microminiaturised device that can make complex viscosity measurements - critical data for a wide variety of fields dealing with things that have to flow - on sample sizes as small as a few nanolitres. Currently a table-top prototype, the NIST rheometer could be a particularly valuable tool for biotechnologists studying minute quantities of complex materials that must function in confined spaces…
Revaccination could benefit HIV-infected children
— 16:58 GMT | HealthHIV-infected children receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may require revaccination to maintain immunity against preventable diseases. There remains no standard or official recommendation on revaccination of children receiving HAART, an effective intervention in reducing morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected children. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reviewed published data to assess these children's immune responses to vaccines and found that most children treated with HAART remained susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases, but responded well to revaccination. Their review was published in the September issue of the Lancet Infectious Diseases…
'Cosmic Eye' sheds light on early galaxy formation
Stars stop forming when big galaxies collide