Researchers are developing a new, eco-friendly technology that could generate as much electricity as 50 wind farms. They are investigating ways of painting solar cells onto the flexible steel surfaces commonly used for cladding buildings.
Previous studies have pointed out the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption as a factor in lowering cardiovascular risk. Researchers have now found that middle-aged nondrinkers who began consuming moderate amounts of alcohol saw an immediate benefit of lower cardiac disease morbidity with no change in mortality after four years.
Strawberries, grapes, blueberries and some familiar seasonings like rosemary contain compounds that can--in test tubes--kill cells of a childhood cancer. Molecular biologists are working to understand exactly how the powerful plant chemicals fight the disease known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Investigations provide some new clues about how phytochemicals attack cancer cells. Phytochemicals interfere with the orderly operations of mitochondria, the miniature energy-producing power plants inside cells.
University of Florida burn experts found that 69 percent of the 155 pediatric foot and ankle burns they reviewed were caused by children walking on hot ashes, coals and embers -- with some injuries occurring as long as a day or more after the fires were thought to be extinguished.
Strong, tough but light is the rare but desired combination of properties for numerous artificial materials. Now a new material is similar to natural mother-of-pearl, but twice as strong. Nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is one of nature's outstanding examples of a durable brick and mortar structure.
Smokers trying to quit in the future could do it with the help of cannabis based medicines, according to new research. Teams of pharmacologists, studying the cannabis-like compounds which exist naturally in our bodies (endocannabinoids), are exploring the potential for medical treatment. This includes treating conditions as diverse as obesity, diabetes, depression and addiction to substances like nicotine.
A brain network linked to introspective tasks -- such as forming the self-image or understanding the motivations of others -- is less intricate and well-connected in children, scientists have learned. They also showed that the network establishes firmer connections between various brain regions as an individual matures. The scientists are working to establish a picture of how these connections and other brain networks normally develop and interact. They want to use that picture to conduct more detailed assessments of the effects of aging, brain injuries and conditions such as autism on brain function.
Bottom-up manufacturing may hold the key to production of tiny medical devices capable of testing for multiple molecules like viruses or cancer markers, according to researchers.
Utilizing a technique that combines low temperature measurements and theoretical calculations, scientists have revealed for the first time the electronic structure of single DNA molecules. The knowledge of the electronic properties of DNA is an important issue in many scientific areas from biochemistry to nanotechnology -- for example in the study of DNA damage by ultraviolet radiation that may cause the generation of free radicals and genetic mutations.
Breakfast of champions? That would be a soy protein-packed, low-fat, high-fiber cereal that meets the requirements for three different FDA health claims and leaves you feeling full so you won't be tempted to eat again until lunch. Scientist have cooked up a "recipe" for just such a cereal, one that's passed the taste test of her sensory panel.
A 10-pound rodent pest called nutria ravaging southern wetlands in the US, which has been especially damaging to the marshland ecology in the Mississippi Delta following Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, may have finally met its match thanks to molecular science.
The hardest part of caring for loved ones with Alzheimer's-type disorders is not the everyday practical challenge, but rather the emotional impact of losing the patients' support and companionship as the disease robs them of their faculties, according to new research.
Researchers have discovered a way to control the growth rate of replacement tissue and the formation of new blood vessels, which solves one of the vexing problems of growing replacement tissue to treat injuries and trauma in humans.
Two kinds of body imaging -- positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging -- have been combined for the first time in a single scanner. Combining the two types of scan in a single machine is difficult because the two systems interfere with each other. MRI scanners rely on very strong, very smooth magnetic fields that can easily be disturbed by metallic objects inside the scanner. At the same time, those magnetic fields can seriously affect the detectors and electronics needed for PET scanning.
