Body

Every boat owner recognises the dilemma: environmentally friendly or effective. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have now found a way of reconciling these two almost unattainable aims. By using smart combinations of the most environmentally friendly biocides in the paint, it is possible to both reduce the total quantity of biocides and dramatically reduce the environmental impact.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - MIT researchers have created a new detector so sensitive it can pick up a single molecule of an explosive such as TNT.

To create the sensors, chemical engineers led by Michael Strano coated carbon nanotubes — hollow, one-atom-thick cylinders made of pure carbon — with protein fragments normally found in bee venom. This is the first time those proteins have been shown to react to explosives, specifically a class known as nitro-aromatic compounds that includes TNT.

ATHENS, Ohio (May 9, 2011)—While adult tyrannosaurs wielded power and size to kill large prey, youngsters used agility to hunt smaller game.

"It's one of the secrets of success for tyrannosaurs—the different age groups weren't competing with each other for food because their diets shifted as they grew," said Ohio University paleontologist Lawrence Witmer.

A new, promising marker for diagnosing prostate cancer has been discovered by Uppsala researchers with the aid of a unique method developed at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology. The study, being published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS, can lead to more reliable diagnoses and fewer unnecessary operations.

Scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London and the University of Leicester have discovered animals searching for food do not stick to a complicated pattern of movement as previously thought but tend to wander about randomly.

It was previously believed that when searching for food, animals move in very peculiar way called a Lévy flight where they move small distances most of the time, but occasionally move a very long distance.

DALLAS – May 9, 2011 – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered new clues about how the intestine maintains friendly relations with the 100 trillion symbiotic bacteria that normally live in the digestive tract.

New Rochelle, NY, May 9, 2011—Disorders of the eye are excellent targets for gene therapy because the ocular environment is readily accessible, relatively easy to monitor, and sequestered from the rest of the body. A series of articles available online ahead of print in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com), highlight several exciting developments in ocular gene therapy.

Similar to humans, the bacteria and tiny plants living in the ocean need iron for energy and growth. But their situation is quite different from ours--for one, they can't turn to natural iron sources like leafy greens or red meat for a pick-me-up.

So, from where does their iron come?

New research results published in the current issue of the journal Nature Geoscience point to a source on the seafloor: minute particles of pyrite, or fool's gold, from hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean.

An international team of researchers co-led by a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist has sequenced the genomes of two fungal pathogens-one that threatens global wheat supplies and another that limits production of a tree crop valued as a future source for biofuel.

CHICAGO, IL (May 9, 2011) — Research being presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) shows that psychological issues may play a role in the severity of gastrointestinal symptoms. Another study found that just an hour a week of low-intensity exercise decreases the risk for colon polyps, particularly among overweight and obese individuals. DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians and researchers in the field of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

Sleeve gastrectomy, in which part of the stomach is removed, can be safe and effective when performed either transorally or transvaginally, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) who are pioneering the surgery in the U.S.

Ann Arbor, Mich. — Wealth, population size, race and age associate with the supply of hospice care available in a county, according to a study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management this month.

CHICAGO, IL (May 7, 2011) – Research being presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) shows that while there are significantly increased benefits for qualifying patients undergoing bariatric surgery, the potential side effects and outcomes need to be considered when determining whether the surgery is appropriate for patients.DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians and researchers in the field of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

A key step in the processing of HIV within cells appears to affect how effectively the immune system's killer T cells can recognize and destroy infected cells. Researchers at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard have found that – as HIV proteins are broken down within cells, a process that should lead to labeling infected cell for destruction by CD8 T cells – there is a great variability in the stability of resulting protein segments, variations that could significantly change how well cells are recognized by the immune system.

Obesity appears to impair normal muscle function in rats, an observation that could have significant implications for humans, according to Penn State researchers.