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168,132 articles from ScienceDaily

Towards perfect control of light waves

Scientists have constructed a detector, which provides a detailed picture of the waveforms of femtosecond laser pulses (1 fs = 10-15 seconds). Knowledge of the exact waveform of these pulses enables scientists to reproducibly generate light flashes that are a thousand times shorter -- lasting only for attoseconds -- and can be used to study ultrafast processes at the molecular and atomic...

New horizons in radiotherapy?

Targeted radiation therapy that is less harmful to healthy cells could see the light of day thanks to a team of researchers. Until now, radiotherapy treatments employed to combat cancer used a wide energy range when irradiating biological tissues. By studying at a fundamental level the behavior of molecules subjected to radiation with a carefully chosen energy, the researchers paved the way for...

No nano-dust danger from façade paint

After 42 months the EU research project "NanoHouse" has ended, and the verdict is a cautious "all clear" – nanoparticles in the paint used on building façades do not represent a particular health risk. Researchers discussed these results with specialists from the construction...

Shoulder replacement eases pain, improves motion in rheumatoid arthritis patients

Shoulder arthritis is a common problem for rheumatoid arthritis patients: pain and difficulty moving their arms can grow so severe that daily tasks and sleep become difficult. If medication and physical therapy aren’t enough, shoulder replacement surgery is a common next step. Despite surgical challenges with some rheumatoid arthritis patients, the procedure improves range of motion and reduces...

Brief mental training sessions have long-lasting benefits for seniors' everyday function

Older adults who received as few as 10 sessions of mental (cognitive) training showed improvements in reasoning ability and speed-of-processing when compared with untrained controls participants as long as 10 years after the intervention. These gains were even greater for those who got additional "booster" sessions over the next three years. Older adults who received brief cognitive training also...

Study: At-home test can spot early Alzheimer's

Researchers have developed an at-home test that can help doctors spot early symptoms of cognitive issues in their patients, like Alzheimer's disease. The test is cheap, self-administered, and a new study shows, can be just as effective as other costlier and more time-consuming tests. It's called the self-administered gerocognitive examination...

Freshwater turtles from wetlands can transmit Salmonella to humans

Professors have studied 200 specimens of freshwater turtles from eleven Valencian wetland areas, to determine the prevalence of Salmonella and Campylobacter in these animals, because of their potential risk of transmitting gastrointestinal diseases to humans, especially children. According to the results, 11% of the analyzed specimens of freshwater turtles were found positive for Salmonella....

BLAST off! Exploring the universe of biochemical reactions

Scientists have developed EC-BLAST: software that makes it easier to develop novel enzymes. The program makes it possible to quickly compare the functions of thousands of catalysts, facilitating research into anything from drug interactions to the efficient production of...

Research breakthrough in understanding hereditary emphysema

Researchers have made an important breakthrough in the understanding and treatment of hereditary emphysema. Their research bridges the research-to-treatment gap. The exciting findings show how the protein Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) plays an important role in controlling inflammation from white blood cells and its importance for good...