LIVERMORE, Calif. - Acoustic waves play many everyday roles - from communication between people to ultrasound imaging. Now the highest frequency acoustic waves in materials, with nearly atomic-scale wavelengths, promise to be useful probes of nanostructures such as LED lights.
However, detecting them isn't so easy.
Toronto, ON, Canada Low maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy may affect primary tooth calcification, leading toenamel defects, which are a risk factor for early-childhood tooth decay. Today, during the 86th General Session of theInternational Association for Dental Research, investigators from the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg and Victoria) presentthe results of a study they conducted to determine the vitamin D status of pregnant women, the incidence of enameldefects and early-childhood tooth decay among their infants, and the relationship with pre-natal vitamin D levels.
Toronto, ON, Canada Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by altered glucose tolerance and impairedlipid and carbohydrate metabolism, and is associated with a number of complications directly resulting from hyperglycemiainducedinflammation. Vascular changes in diabetes lead to increased risk of myocardial infarction and stroke due to atherosclerosis,retinopathy, end-stage renal disease, debilitating neuropathies, poor wound healing, enhanced risk of infection, andperiodontal disease.
Toronto, ON, Canada Dental caries, or tooth decay, continues to be the most prevalent infectious disease in the world,presenting significant public health challenges and socio-economic consequences. It leads to the loss of the hard tissues ofthe tooth, followed by inflammation and necrosis of the subjacent dental pulp. In the U.S. alone, over 20 million dental restorationsare placed each year, with failure rates of up to 60%. Hence, there exists a critical need for better biologic therapeuticsto restore the damaged dentin-pulp complex to its original form and function.
Patients perceive no significant change in the quality of care for cancer since the United States’ government passed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) according to a study published in the November 15, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.
Countries where the main religion is Protestant Christianity have higher employment rates than those where other religions are dominant, according to University of Bath research published in the American Journal of Economics and Sociology.
These countries, which include the USA, the UK and Nordic countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Norway, have employment rates that are approximately six percentage points higher than countries where other religions are practiced by the largest proportion of the population.
In work that could lead to safe and effective techniques for gene therapy, MIT researchers have found a way to fine-tune the ability of biodegradable polymers to deliver genes.
Gene therapy, which involves inserting new genes into patients' cells to fight diseases like cancer, holds great promise but has yet to realize its full potential, in part because of safety concerns over using viruses to carry the genes.
Determining the genetic profile of a particular lung tumor can help clinicians make the crucial decision about which chemotherapy treatment to try first.
A new study led by researchers from the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy (IGSP) found distinct differences in the susceptibility different tumors have to widely used chemotherapy drugs.
A protein, known as AKAP18, could help the heart to beat faster in response to adrenaline or noradrenaline, according to a study published online this week in EMBO reports.
The protein has a crucial role in correctly targeting protein kinase A (PKA) to a molecular complex that helps control the rate and strength of heart muscle contractions. This complex regulates the uptake of calcium into intracellular stores in the heart, allowing it to relax and prepare for its next contraction. PKA must be present for the complex to be activated and AKAP18 makes sure that it gets there.
Smallpox is older than thought, according to results of a new technique reported in the Sept. 24 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The researchers created a molecular clock by looking at the rate of random mutations in the smallpox-causing virus collected in 47 locations around the world, from 1946 – 1977. The variation between the strains was compared to sequences from the most similar animal poxes.
Researchers at Texas A&M University are participating in developing a medicine that is worth sneezing about: a treatment for influenza that forms a jelly when sprayed into the nose.
Even though trial treatments are being used to treat bird flu in humans, technically termed the H5N1 virus, the vaccine has the potential for numerous other uses, such as for the common flu shot, says Dr. Ian Tizard, professor of pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.
There are many reports of medical journal articles being researched and written by or on behalf of pharmaceutical companies, and then published under the name ofacademics who had played little role earlier in the research and writing process.
Florida Atlantic University received U.S. patent no. 10/822,496, “Promoting Cardiac Cell Differentiation,” based on an invention which induces and restores cardiac muscle function.
Everyone knows how a bicycle works - or so we think. But for 150 years why a moving bicycle can, all by itself, be so stable has been something of a mystery.
What do video games and seismic explorations have in common? Both require very demanding computer applications that call for the ability to process massive quantities of data rapidly. Using computer technology originally co-designed by IBM for video-game consoles, University of Houston seismic researchers are employing this extremely fast technology to more effectively target oil reserves.