Tech | Page 1639 | Science Codex

Going underground to monitor carbon dioxide

LIVERMORE, Calif. - A technique originally, applied to monitor the flow of contaminants into shallow groundwater supplies, has been repurposed to monitor carbon dioxide pumped deep underground for storage.

Electric Resistance Tomography (ERT) has been installed to track where a plume of injected CO_ moves underground in an oil field (Cranfield Oilfield) near Natchez, Miss. The site is part of the Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (SECARB), a project that eventually will store more than one million tons of CO_ in underground formations.

ORNL sows seeds with new agricultural carbon accounting tool

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 2, 2010 -- Carbon dioxide emissions from agricultural activity in the United States can now be tracked with unprecedented resolution because of a method developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Atmospheric scientists start monthlong air sampling campaign

SACRAMENTO, California -- More than 60 scientists from a dozen institutions have converged on this urban area to study how tiny particles called aerosols affect the climate. Sending airplanes and weather balloons outfitted with instruments up in the air, the team will be sampling aerosols in the Sacramento Valley from June 2-28.

Seal bulls in the service of science

Seal bulls in the service of science

Prompt gallbladder removal in elderly associated with increased survival, lower costs

CHICAGO (June 2, 2010) – New research findings published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons indicate that delaying cholecystectomy, the surgical removal of the gallbladder, in elderly patients with sudden inflammation of the organ often results in increased costs, morbidity and mortality.

Bacterioplankton responses to desert dust in the (sub)tropical northeast Atlantic

Bacterioplankton responses to desert dust in the (sub)tropical northeast Atlantic

Inputs of dust from the Sahara desert could change the composition of microbial communities in the (sub)tropical eastern North Atlantic say Southampton researchers writing this month in the journal FEMS Microbiology Letters.

Fossil-fuel use and feeding world cause greatest environmental impacts: UNEP panel

How the world is fed and fueled will in large part define development in the 21st century as one that is increasingly sustainable or a dead end for billions of people.

A new and hard-hitting report concludes that dramatically reforming, re-thinking and redesigning two sectors—energy and agriculture—could generate significant environmental, social and economic returns.

Challenges for the next pandemic

Six public health challenges and data needs are evident, based upon lessons learned from the 2009 influenza pandemic. These are the conclusions of Maria Van Kerkhove and colleagues published in this week's PLoS Medicine, which they argue can help shape the response and readiness for future pandemics. As the global epidemiology of the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza (H1N1pdm) virus strain unfolds into 2010, substantial policy challenges will continue to present themselves for the next 12 to 18 months.

New tool for pre-surgical detection of kidney cancers may help patients avoid unnecessary surgeries

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. (June 1, 2010)––Kidney cancer is a radiographic diagnosis which means treatment decisions are often made based on the findings of a solid mass on CT or MRI. Unfortunately these tests cannot distinguish the different types of kidney cancers which have variable risks. As more Americans continue to be scanned as part of their evaluation for various ailments and symptoms, the number of kidney tumors found serendipitously has increased such that now up to 70 percent of kidney cancers are discovered incidentally.

Microbe power: A green means to hydrogen production

A green means to hydrogen production

Scientists have been hard at work harnessing the power of microbes as an attractive source of clean energy. Now, Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University researcher Dr. Prathap Parameswaran and his colleagues have investigated a means for enhancing the efficiency of clean energy production by using specialized bacteria.

Excess oxygen in blood after cardiac resuscitation may increase risk of in-hospital death

Patients who have excessive oxygen levels in arterial blood (hyperoxia) following resuscitation from cardiac arrest have a higher rate of death in the hospital than similar patients without arterial hyperoxia, according to a study in the June 2 issue of JAMA.

Study identifies treatments associated with lower bleeding rates following cardiac procedures

In a study that included data from more than 1.5 million patients, use of vascular closure devices and the anticoagulant bivalirudin were associated with significantly lower bleeding rates for patients following a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries), according to a study in the June 2 issue of JAMA. The researchers also found that patients who may benefit most from these treatments, those at greatest risk of bleeding, were least likely to receive them.

FSU scientists use unique model to predict active 2010 hurricane season

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State University scientists who have developed a unique computer model with a knack for predicting hurricanes with unprecedented accuracy are forecasting an unusually active season this year.

Immune system helps transplanted stem cells navigate in central nervous system

Irvine, Calif., June 1, 2010 — By discovering how adult neural stem cells navigate to injury sites in the central nervous system, UC Irvine researchers have helped solve a puzzle in the creation of stem cell-based treatments: How do these cells know where to go?

Tom Lane and Kevin Carbajal of the Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center found the answer with the body's immune system.

New automated tool 'debugs' nuclear weapon simulations

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University researchers, working with high-performance computing experts at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, have created an automated program to "debug" simulations used to more efficiently certify the nation's nuclear weapons.

The program, called AutomaDeD (pronounced like automated), finds errors in computer code for complex "parallel" programs.