Tiny copper structures with pores at both the nanometer and micron size scales could play a key role in the next generation of detonators used to improve the reliability, reduce the size and lower the cost of certain military munitions.
Women who have miscarried or had an abortion run three times the normal risk of having a subsequent low birthweight baby, suggests new research. The more miscarriages or abortions a woman has, the greater are her chances of giving birth to a child that is underweight or premature in the future, the research shows. Low birthweight (under 2500 g) and premature birth (less than 37 weeks) are two of the major contributors to deaths among newborn babies and infants.
Hypertensive encephalopathy is an often-fatal disease of the brain that results from extremely high blood pressure. This disorder can lead to a breakdown of the blood-brain barrier, resulting in fluid accumulation in the brain, a condition known as cerebral edema. The mechanisms underlying the breakdown of the BBB were previously unknown.
Quantum cryptography, or quantum key distribution, enables two communicating parties to produce a shared random bit string know only to them, which can be used as a key to crypt and decrypt messages. An important and unique feature of quantum cryptography is the ability of the two communicating parties to quickly detect the presence of any third party trying to gain access to the key. This third party, the eavesdropper if you like, is commonly known as Eve among cryptographers. Quantum cryptography then is essentially all about cutting Eve out of the equation.
In one of the largest studies of its kind, researchers assessed the risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens among nonhospital based registered nurses, and found that nearly one out of 10 of the more than 1100 nurse participants reported at least one needlestick injury in the previous 12 months.
Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is emitted in great quantities as bubbles from seeps on the ocean floor near Santa Barbara. About half of these bubbles dissolve into the ocean, but the fate of this dissolved methane remains uncertain. Researchers have discovered that only one percent of this dissolved methane escapes into the air -- good news for the Earth's atmosphere.
When we think of the holiday season, pleasant and joyous thoughts come to mind but each and every year there are those families for whom the holidays turn tragic. Fires during the holiday season each year claim the lives of more than 400 people, injure 1,650 more, and cause more than $990 million in damage within the United States.
Humor appears to develop from aggression caused by male hormones, according to new research. A professor conducted a year long study observing how people reacted to him as he rode a unicycle through the streets of Newcastle upon Tyne in England. What began as a hobby turned into an observational study after he realized that the huge number of stereotypical and predictable responses he received must be indicative of an underlying biological phenomenon.
Lack of sunlight may increase the risk of lung cancer, suggests a study of rates of the disease in over 100 countries. Lung cancer kills over a million people every year around the globe. The researchers looked at the association between latitude, exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) light, and rates of lung cancer according to age in 111 countries across several continents.
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are tiny components etched from silicon. Production is extremely complex, sometimes with hundreds of steps, each with dozens of parameters. One European project has developed software that can test, simulate, track and share new manufacturing processes. It could slash development times and pave the way for innovative MEMS designs. If you could shrink yourself smaller than a dust mite and explore the innards of a modern car you would discover some amazing microscopic machines. Carefully etched out of silicon wafers are microscale accelerometers to trigger airbags, gyroscopes to detect and correct dangerous yaw and pressure sensors to monitor tyre inflation.
Severe muscle weakness caused by myasthenia gravis -- a highly debilitating autoimmune disorder -- can be prevented or reversed by blocking a key step in the immune response that brings on the disease, researchers have found. Myasthenia gravis, which affects about 120,000 Americans, is caused when the immune system produces antibodies that attack and damage acetylcholine receptors, which are mechanisms that play a key role in transmitting the electrical impulses that cause muscles to move and contract.
As electronics designers cram more and more components onto each chip, current technologies for making random-access memory (RAM) are running out of room. European researchers have a strong position in a new technology known as resistive RAM (RRAM) that could soon be replacing flash RAM in USB drives and other portable gadgets. On the 'semiconductor road map'setting out the future of the microchip industry, current memory technologies are nearing the end of the road. Future computers and electronic gadgets will need memory chips that are smaller, faster and cheaper than those of today --and that means going back to basics.
Sex education greatly boosts the likelihood that teens will delay having intercourse, according to a new study that is the first of its kind in years. Male teens who received sex education in school were 71 percent less likely -- and similarly educated female teens were 59 percent less likely -- to have sexual intercourse before age 15. Males who attended school, meanwhile, were 2.77 times more likely to rely upon birth control the first time they had intercourse if they had been in sex-education classes.
Scientists long have focused on how climate and vegetation allowed human ancestors to evolve in Africa. Now, geologists are calling renewed attention to the idea that ground movements formed mountains and valleys, creating environments that favored the emergence of humanity.
