Tech

WHAT: A special media phone briefing with leading infectious disease scientists and healthcare-associated infection experts who will headline the 2011 Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America's (SHEA) Annual Meeting

As part of the study, which will follow 40,000 UK households over a number of years, young people aged between 10 to 15 years have been asked how satisfied they are with their lives. The findings indicate that a mother's happiness in her partnership is more important to the child than the father's. The findings are based on a sample of 6,441 women, 5,384 men and 1,268 young people.

ORLANDO, Fla. — A new hedgehog pathway inhibitor demonstrated efficacy in preventing and treating basal cell cancer among patients with basal cell nevus syndrome, a rare inheritable disease, according to Phase II data presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.

Berlin, Germany, Saturday 02 April 2011: Thalidomide has shown potential to be used as the first adjuvant therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), according to data presented at the International Liver CongressTM 2011.1

A new study found thalidomide gave HCC patients who'd undergone grossly curative resection surgical removal of the cancerous part of the liver double the two-year disease free survival rate (65%) compared to placebo (33%).

CORDOBA, SPAIN—Irrigating agricultural crops places huge demands on water resources around the globe. In Spain for instance, where agriculture is a major contributor to the nation's economy, 85% of country's total water demand comes from the agricultural sector. The excessive use of irrigation water has resulted in serious environmental concerns in Mediterranean countries, where rising demand has deteriorated groundwater resources, depleted aquifers, and accelerated saltwater intrusion.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Engineers at Oregon State University have invented a new way to use surface-mount adhesives in the production of low-temperature, microchannel heat exchangers - an advance that will make this promising technology much less expensive for many commercial applications.

This type of technology will be needed, researchers say, in next-generation computers, lasers, consumer electronics, automobile cooling systems, fuel processors, miniature heat pumps and more.

Ants and termites have a significant positive impact on crop yields in dryland agriculture, according to a paper published today in the journal Nature Communications by scientists at CSIRO and the University of Sydney.

"Ants and termites perform the same ecosystem service functions in dryland agriculture that earthworms perform in cooler and wetter areas, but the potential for ants and termites to provide these benefits has received little attention until now," said CSIRO's Dr Theo Evans.

Planting short rotation energy crops on England's unused agricultural land could produce enough biomass to meet renewable energy targets without disrupting the food industry or the environment, according to research led by Professor Gail Taylor from the University of Southampton.

Economists from the Bank of Spain's Research Department have published a study on the direct, indirect and 'second time around' effects of oil prices on the economies of Spain and those of the European Monetary Union (EMU). The results show that Spanish inflation reflects oil prices than more directly inflation in the euro area overall.

SEATTLE – A landmark breast health care publication reveals a multitude of barriers that keep women of developing nations from being screened and treated for breast cancer – but offers tools to help countries improve their breast care programs.

Alexandria, VA — In recent years reimbursement for surgical services has declined, failing to keep up with inflation and economic growth. Financial incentives aimed at re-distributing reimbursement from procedural specialties to primary care specialties have been ineffective thus far, and the financial returns of being a physician continue to decrease, according to new research published in the April 2011 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

ANAHEIM, March 31, 2011 — Scientists today described development and successful initial tests of a spray-on material that both detects and renders harmless the genre of terrorist explosives responsible for government restrictions on liquids that can be carried onboard airliners. They reported on the new ink-like explosive detector/neutralizer at the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), being held here this week.

Just in time for Mother's Day teens have spoken out on what they consider makes a good mother. The project Young Lives and Times, part of the Timescapes study and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), reveals how teens view their mums.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Getting older doesn't mean giving up muscle strength.

Not only can adults fight the battle of strength and muscle loss that comes with age, but the Golden Years can be a time to get stronger, say experts at the University of Michigan Health System.

On April 8, 2011, the scientific community will celebrate the centennial of the discovery of superconductivity—the ability of certain materials to conduct electricity without resistance when cooled below a specific temperature. Quantum voltage standards are among the successful practical applications of superconductivity, so to mark the anniversary, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has created an online museum highlighting important accomplishments and historical images from the voltage standards program.