Astronomers are searching for gravitational waves in space, a feat that would literally change what we know about the cosmos. Gravitational waves are produced when massive objects in space move violently. The waves carry the imprint of the events that cause them. Scientists already have indirect evidence that gravitational waves exist, but have not directly detected them.
Our brain is very good at picking up speech even in a noisy room, an adaptation essential for holding a conversation at a cocktail party, and now we are beginning to understand the neural interactions that underlie this ability. Investigations using neuroimaging have revealed that the brain's left hemisphere helps discern the signal from the noise.
A new study suggests that a holistic approach is needed in assessing the potential environmental and health effects of toxic effluent from industry. Studies of industrial effluent toxicity usually focus on a single contaminant, such as an environmental or marine pollutant, a potential carcinogen, or a toxic heavy metal. However, toxicity tests of effluent using bacteria generally underestimate the total toxicity.
New research suggests that the presence or absence of two proteins may be important markers for long-term survival in some breast cancer patients. One of the proteins, called ErbB-4, is important for the growth and differentiation of several types of cells in the body. The second protein, called Wwox, is a tumor suppressor ?it helps prevent cells from becoming cancerous ?and it is missing in many breast cancers.
Scientists are closer to developing novel devices for optics-based quantum computing and quantum information processing, as a result of a breakthrough in understanding how to make all the spins in an ensemble of quantum dots identical.
Practicing Zen meditation by psychotherapists matters. All therapists direct their attention in some manner during psychotherapy. A special form of directing attention, 'mindfulness', is recommended. This study indicates that promoting mindfulness in psychotherapists in training could positively influence the therapeutic course and treatment results in their patients.
Microscopically tiny marine organisms known as plankton increase their carbon uptake in response to increased concentrations of dissolved carbon dioxide and thereby contribute to a dampening of the greenhouse effect on a global scale. In simulations of the future ocean, scientists measured an increased carbon dioxide uptake of up to 39%. The unexpected positive effect for the global climate system harbors at the same time considerable risks for the oceans and their ecosystems. What appears to be a blessing for the atmospheric greenhouse effect may prove to be a curse for deep ocean ecosystems.
Neuroscientists have put forward a new computational theory of brain function that provides answers to one of the central questions of modern science: How does the human brain organize itself to give rise to complex cognitive tasks such as reading, problem solving and spatial reasoning?
Doctors have observed, through a research carried out during the past 9 years, an increase in the number of children affected by tinea of the nails, as well as an underdiagnosis of this affection by paediatricians.
Chronic pancreatitis, an inflammatory condition of the pancreas, is usually associated with parenchymal calcification and multiple stones in the pancreatic duct. Lithostathine, a major proteic component of pancreatic stones, is thought to play an important role in stone formation. A research group from India has investigated if mutations in the gene encoding lithostathine (reg1) are responsible for stone formation, using tropical calcific pancreatitis as their model of chronic pancreatitis.
A new method for the large-scale synthesis of three-dimensionally patterned polymer particles with morphological characteristics in the submicrometer range has been developed. With the use of stop-flow interference lithography, scientists have even been able to produce microparticles with two chemically different hemispheres.
Previous work has shown that, when a drug study was funded by the company that made that drug, the results might be biased in favor of that drug because the methods or analyzes were manipulated. New research shows that, for blood pressure drugs, studies are now much less likely to have biased results but still tend to have overly positive conclusions favoring the company's products.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has challenged the world's policymakers to start devising a comprehensive deal for tackling climate change at next month's summit in Bali, Indonesia, after a United Nations report released Nov. 17 found that global warming is unequivocal and could cause irreversible damage to the planet. Launching the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which brings together hundreds of scientific experts, Mr. Ban said that slowing and even reversing the effects of climate change "is the defining challenge of our age."He also stressed the report makes clear that "concerted and sustained action now can still avoid some of the most catastrophic scenarios"in the IPCC forecasts.
The delay in autumnal leaf coloration and leaf fall in trees is caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and not by increased global temperatures according to a new study. In recent years, woodland autumnal color changes have been occurring later in the season whilst re-greening in spring has been occurring earlier.
