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191,281 articles from EurekAlert
Saving the wild orchids of Borneo
Borneo (Kalimantan) is the third largest island in the world. Borneo's rain forests are also home to some extremely rare species of orchids, all highly valued for their exotic aromas and aesthetic beauty. Borneo's orchids are also endangered, a result of the loss of natural habitat from fire, forest damage, and illegal logging. Increased exploitation of the forests of West Borneo, including gold...
Scientists demonstrate the sharpest measurement of ice crystals in clouds
Scientists have created an instrument designed to help determine the shapes and sizes of tiny ice crystals typical of those found in high-altitude clouds, down to the micron level (comparable to the tiniest cells in the human body), according to a new study in Optics Letters, a journal published by the Optical Society. The data produced using this instrument likely will help improve computer...
Second flight for ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang
ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang from Sweden has been assigned as a mission specialist onboard the 11-day STS-128 mission, currently scheduled for launch with Space Shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station on July 30, 2009.
Second national scorecard on US health care system finds no overall improvement
A new national scorecard from The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System finds that the US health care system has failed to improve overall and that scores on access have declined significantly since the first national scorecard in 2006. Despite spending more on health care than any other industrialized nation, the US overall continues to fall far short on key indicators...
Study on government's controversial choice of HPV vaccine
The UK government may save up to £18.6 million a year by deciding to use the HPV vaccine Cervarix, given that it is equally effective as the more expensive Gardasil in preventing cervical abnormalities, according to a study published online today.
Study shows cost-effectiveness of 64-slice CT scanner in emergency department chest pain patients
A recent study led by Rahul Khare, M.D., emergency department physician and assistant director of operations at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, sought to determine the cost-effectiveness of utilizing a CT scanner to evaluate low-risk chest pain patients in the emergency room.
Study: Migrant laborers valuable to horticulture industry
Despite tremendous growth in mechanization and technological advances, nursery, greenhouse, and sod production in the US are still extremely labor-intensive. The agricultural industry depends heavily on laborers who can provide on-time production of highly perishable horticultural crops. Savvy employers know that a skilled and accessible labor supply is imperative for the agricultural industry's...
Suckling infants trigger surges of trust hormone in mothers' brains
Researchers from the University of Warwick, in collaboration with other universities and institutes in Edinburgh, France and Italy, have for the first time been able to show exactly how, when a baby suckles at a mother's breast, it starts a chain of events that leads to surges of the "trust" hormone oxytocin being released in their mothers brains.
Super-resolution X-ray microscopy
A novel super-resolution X-ray microscope developed by a team of researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) and EPFL in Switzerland combines the high penetration power of x-rays with high spatial resolution, making it possible for the first time to shed light on the detailed interior composition of semiconductor devices and cellular structures.
Surges of trust hormone between mother and infant are created by dendrites
Researchers from China, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, have created a model that shows exactly how, when a baby suckles at a mother's breast, it starts a chain of events that leads to a surge of the "trust" hormone oxytocin in their mother's brain. Details are published July 18 in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology.
The aorta is torn apart in the Marfan syndrome
A severe complication of the Marfan syndrome is that the aorta may split and be torn apart. The patient can be protected if the syndrome is diagnosed and treated in good time. In the current edition of the Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, the human geneticist Mine Arslan-Kirchner from Hannover University Medical School and his coauthors present additional studies on Marfan patients.
The benefits of a little resistance for older adults
University of Queensland research is showing the benefits of resistance training in keeping older Australians in tip top form.
Too much, too little sleep increases ischemic risk in postmenopausal women
Sleeping nine hours or more a night significantly increases the risk for ischemic stroke among post menopausal women. Sleeping less than 6 hours showed a modest increase risk of stroke, but was reported by twice as many women.The findings cannot be applied to other groups.
Tree branching key to efficient flow in nature and novel materials
Nature, in the simple form of a tree canopy, appears to provide keen insights into the best way to design complex systems to move substances from one place to another, an essential ingredient in the development of novel "smart" materials.
UC's Lowell talks about latest in Younger Dryas work in Science article
UC professor of geology Tom Lowell has authored an article in the July 18 edition of Science, discussing the latest research into determining the impact of the Younger Dryas event on the Southern hemisphere.
UNC, Caltech research finds further evidence for genetic contribution to autism
Some parents of children with autism evaluate facial expressions differently than the rest of us -- and in a way that is strikingly similar to autistic patients themselves, according to new research by psychiatrist Dr. Joe Piven of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and neuroscientist Ralph Adolphs, Ph.D., of the California Institute of Technology.
Using genetics to improve traditional psychiatric diagnoses
Prior versions of DSM followed the path outlined by Emil Kraeplin in separating these disorders into distinct categories. Yet, we now know that symptoms of bipolar disorder may be seen in patients with schizophrenia and the reverse is true, as well.
Vaccine for koala chlamydia close
Eighteen female koalas treated with an anti-chlamydia vaccine are showing positive results, giving QUT scientists hope they have an answer to the disease that is threatening the survival of koalas in the wild.
Virulence factor that induces fatal Candida infection identified
Singapore scientists found that certain substances from bacteria living in the human intestine cause the normally harmless Candida albicans fungus to become highly infectious.
Weill Cornell science briefs June/July 2008
Weill Cornell Science Briefs is an electronic newsletter published by the Office of Public Affairs that focuses on innovative medical research and patient care at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
When fish talk, scientists listen
New research on the midshipman fish, a close relative of the toadfish, indicates that that the ability to make and respond to sound is an ancient part of the vertebrate success story.
Yale researchers discover remnant of an ancient 'RNA world'
Some bacterial cells can swim, morph into new forms and even become dangerously virulent -- all without initial involvement of DNA. Yale University researchers describe Friday in the journal Science how bacteria accomplish this amazing feat -- and in doing so provide a glimpse of what the earliest forms of life on Earth may have looked like.
WEDNESDAY 16. JULY 2008
A new method to weigh giant black holes
How do you weigh the biggest black holes in the universe? One answer now comes from a new and independent technique that UC Irvine scientists and other astronomers have developed using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
A new way to weigh giant black holes
How do you weigh the biggest black holes in the universe? One answer now comes from a completely new and independent technique that astronomers have developed using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. By measuring a peak in the temperature of hot gas in the center of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4649, scientists have determined the mass of the galaxy's supermassive black hole. The...
After ER visit, many patients in a fog, U-M study finds
Every year, more than 115 million patients enter emergency rooms at hospitals around the nation. And more than three-quarters of them leave with an impression of what happened -- or what should happen next -- that doesn't match what their emergency care team would want.