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News | Archive (February 2010)
Hormone study gives scientists a sense of how animals bond
— 25 Feb 2010 | BiologyScientists have pinpointed how a key hormone helps animals to recognise others by their smell…
The toxicity of antimicrobial silver in products can be reduced
— 25 Feb 2010 | ChemistryChemists at the University of Helsinki have managed to manufacture new polymer-stabilised silver nanoparticles. The result is significant because the antimicrobial characteristics of silver are used in textiles, floor coatings and paints even though the impact on health of silver nanoparticles are not entirely known. Finnish researchers now think that exposure to silver can be reduced by chemically binding the nanoparticles to polymers. The research results will soon be published in a leading journal in the field, Colloid and Polymer Science…
Deluge of scientific data needs to be curated for long-term use
— 25 Feb 2010 | TechnologyWith the world awash in information, curating all the scientifically relevant bits and bytes is an important task, especially given digital data's increasing importance as the raw materials for new scientific discoveries, an expert in information science at the University of Illinois says…
Thicker brains fend off pain
— 25 Feb 2010 | HealthPeople can reduce their sensitivity to pain by thickening their brain, according to a new study published in a special issue of the American Psychological Association journal, Emotion. Researchers from the Universite de Montreal made their discovery by comparing the grey matter thickness of Zen meditators and non-meditators. They found evidence that practising the centuries-old discipline of Zen can reinforce a central brain region (anterior cingulate) that regulates pain…
Tides, Earth's rotation among sources of giant underwater waves
— 25 Feb 2010 | Geology and palaeontologyScientists at the University of Rhode Island are gaining new insight into the mechanisms that generate huge, steep underwater waves that occur between layers of warm and cold water in coastal regions of the world's oceans…
UTHealth research shows modified adult stem cells may be helpful in spinal cord injury
— 25 Feb 2010 | HealthResearchers at UTHealth have demonstrated in rats that transplanting genetically modified adult stem cells into an injured spinal cord can help restore the electrical pathways associated with movement. The results are published in the Feb. 24 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience…
Antibodies linked to cardiovascular disease increase in patients with active lupus
— 25 Feb 2010 | HealthA study by researchers in Australia and the United Kingdom suggests that autoantibodies to fat binding proteins significantly increase in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with active disease. This increase in anti-apolipoprotein (anti-Apo A-I), anti-high-density lipoprotein (anti-HDL), and anti-C-reactive protein (anti-CRP) may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis in SLE patients, placing them at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Complete findings of this study are available in the March issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism, published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology…
Hepatitis B and C remain public health issue - up to 5.3 million Americans infected
— 25 Feb 2010 | HealthA recent report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) confirmed that 3.5 to 5.3 million people (1-2 % of the U.S. population) have chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. Despite efforts by federal, state and local government agencies to control and prevent these diseases, they remain a serious public health concern. The major factor impeding efforts to control HBV and HCV is lack of knowledge and awareness among health care providers, social service professionals, members of the public, and policy-makers. The full IOM report is now available online and published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD)…
Prozac and Celexa exhibit anti-inflammatory effects
— 25 Feb 2010 | HealthA new study found that fluoxetine (Prozac(R)) and citalopram (Celexa(R)) treatment significantly inhibited disease progression of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice. Research led by Sandra Sacre, Ph.D. from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) in the UK studied the anti-arthritic potential of these drugs, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), most commonly used to treat depression. Both SSRIs exhibited anti-inflammatory effects and may provide drug development opportunities for arthritic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Full findings of this study are published in the March issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology…
Researchers issue outlook for a New England 'red tide' in 2010
— 25 Feb 2010 | EnvironmentToday, scientists from the NOAA-funded Gulf of Maine Toxicity (GOMTOX) project issued an outlook for a significant regional bloom of a toxic alga that can cause 'red tides' in the spring and summer of this year, potentially threatening the New England shellfish industry…
New bacterial species is found trapped in 120,000-year-old ice
Researchers pioneer method for making giant lunar telescopes