891,395 articles

Shuttle Discovery Arrives at Space Station

Space shuttle Discovery pulled up and docked at the international space station on Sunday night, delivering a full load of gear and science experiments. The linkup occurred as the spacecraft zoomed more than 200 miles above the Atlantic and ended a round-the-world chase of nearly two days. The astronauts cheered when the hatches swung open, and the two crews greeted each other with hugs and...

New iPods Expected as Apple Confirms Media Event

Apple has confirmed it will hold its traditional invitation-only media event on Sept. 9 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. An announcement of the rumored Apple tablet computer is unlikely, but Apple is expected to announce new iPods. Invitations with an iPod-style silhouette holding what appears to be an iPod touch were sent to members of the press, with the words "It's...

Astronomers find coldest, driest, calmest place on Earth

The search for the best observatory site in the world has lead to the discovery of what is thought to be the coldest, driest, calmest place on Earth. No human is thought to have ever been there but it is expected to yield images of the heavens three times sharper than any ever taken from the ground.

Family stability may be more crucial than two parents for child success

The advantage that children get from living in two-parent families may actually be due to family stability more than the fact that their parents are married. A new study finds that children who who are born and grow up in stable single-parent homes generally do as well as those in married households in terms of academic abilities and behavior problems.

Genes in prevention: Hopes and doubts

At present almost every month there are papers reporting the discovery of new genetic variants that affect the risk of coronary artery disease and heart attacks. This is a truly exciting time for both researchers and clinicians interested in understanding the genetic basis of heart disease. The findings will undoubtedly lead to new biological insights into the mechanisms that cause heart attacks...

High caffeine intake can lead to arrhythmias

Coffee is routinely consumed in countries within the Mediterranean basin. Coffee, an infusion of ground, roasted coffee beans, is the most widely consumed behaviourally active substance in the world. It contains several hundred different substances including, antioxidants, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, minerals, phenolic compounds and alkaloids. Nevertheless, the effects of coffee on the...

Open source DNA

A new mathematical tool from Dr. Eran Halperin of TAU's Blavatnik School of Computer Science aims to protect genetic privacy while giving genomic data to researchers.

Researchers to mimic nature's probes

The National Science Foundation has awarded Clemson University researchers $2 million to study ways to mimic the suction mechanism used by butterflies and moths to feed so that the same method can be used in medical diagnostics. The research will help develop a new class of fiber-based devices capable of probing and transporting previously impossible-to-reach liquids, such as those drawn from a...

Women, blacks, Medicare recipients less likely to be evaluated for liver transplantation

Patient race, gender and insurance status influence decisions about who will go on to receive liver transplants, according to a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study. Available online and published in the September issue of the American Journal of Transplantation, the study indicates that women, blacks and patients with Medicare who are in end-stage liver disease are less likely to be...

Are intravenous treatments safe? New research raises doubts

German scientists have identified a serious and previously misunderstood contaminant that brings the safety and efficacy of intravenous treatments into question. In a report published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, they show how a common intravenous treatment used to boost blood pressure in ailing patients also contains substances called "advanced glycation end...

Get the world on its feet: The role of exercise training

Western societies are struggling to pay for their ever increasing medical budgets. In the US up to 393 billion US-$ were spent in 2005 for cardiovascular diseases alone. Based on epidemiologic studies in primary prevention it is reasonable to estimate that 30% of coronary heart disease and stroke could be prevented by 2.5 hours of brisk walking per week and approximately 284,886 cardiovascular...

Heart failure: More or less malignant than cancer?

A recently completed analysis of over one million hospital cases in Sweden during the period 1988 to 2004 has revealed that heart failure, relative to most common forms of cancer specific to men and women, represents a major health burden in respect to the risk of being hospitalised for the first time, poor overall survival and the number of premature life-years lost.

Opals set to shine with new grading technology

CSIRO and a consortium of Australian Opal miners (Opal Producers Australia Limited) have unveiled the world's first automated device to grade opals using image analysis, at the 2009 National Council of Jewellery Valuers forum in Sydney.

Risks involved with transgenic fish

Fast growing transgenic fish can revolutionise commercial fish farming and relieve the pressure on overexploited fish stocks. But what happens in the natural environment if transgenic fish escape?

Study reveals how a common virus eludes the immune system

Viruses have numerous tricks for dodging the immune system. In the September 7, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, Stagg et al. reveal a key detail in one of these stratagems, identifying a protein that enables cyto-megalovirus to shut down an antiviral defense (online August 31).