TORONTO, Ont., June 29, 2009 — A new scientific system developed by a St. Michael's Hospital physician, designed to rapidly evaluate the world's air traffic patterns, accurately predicted how the H1N1 virus would spread around the world, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine today.
Tech
Most scientists who create models trying to understand the mechanics and aerodynamics of insect flight have assumed that insect wings are relatively rigid as they flap.
New University of Washington research using high-speed digital imaging shows that, at least for some insects, wings that flex and deform, something like what happens to a heavy beach towel when you snap it to get rid of the sand, are the best for staying aloft.
Since NASA researchers began assembling the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) in the 1990s, the worldwide network of ground-based aerosol sensors has grown to 400 sites across seven continents.
The trouble is that two-thirds of the planet is covered by ocean. And aerosols -- the tiny atmospheric particles that can have an outsized impact on the climate -- are just as likely to be found in the air above the oceans as they are over land.
Criminals of all kinds are digging tunnels along the U.S. border at a fast and furious pace. Of every tunnel ever discovered by U.S. border patrol agents, 60 percent have been found in the last three years. Agents spot a new one every month.
"All of them have been found by accident or human intelligence," said Ed Turner, a project manager with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). "None by technology."
MADISON — A University of Wisconsin-Madison biomedical engineer and colleagues have developed a method that, applied in MRI scans of the breast, could spare some women with increased breast cancer risk the pain and stress of having to endure a biopsy of a questionable lump or lesion.
The universal technology will give radiologists greater confidence in visually classifying a lesion as malignant or benign.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Ultra-fast freezing of ovarian tissue from women who have lost their fertility as a result of cancer treatment can lead to it being used in transplants with the same success rate as fresh tissue, a researcher told the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Monday 29 June). Dr. Sherman Silber, Director of the St. Louis Infertility Centre, St.
Between the 1932 and 2008 Olympic Games, world record times of the men's 100m sprint improved by 0.6 seconds due to improved training techniques and technological advances. Imagine if this improvement could be achieved by a simple change in diet. Scientists at the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology in Austria have managed to achieve an equivalent feat in mice fed on a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids.
High ozone conditions cause a 30% decrease in yield and an increase in the concentration of a group of toxic compounds within oilseed rape plants. Combined with the results of previous studies which have shown a decrease in oil, protein and carbohydrate content of oilseed rape seeds in high ozone, these results (to be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Main Meeting in Glasgow on 29th June 2009) could signal a significant income loss for farmers and an indirect effect on human health and the safety of food in future climates.
The two leading bodies representing GPs in the UK have backed a call by the Wellcome Trust for clearer guidance for GPs to ensure medical records can be safely used in research.
Patient records in general practice surgeries are a unique resource of information which can help medical researchers improve their understanding of disease, develop potential new treatments and improve patient care. The increasing use of electronic records should make it easier for researchers to use this information.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Complications in early pregnancy or in previous pregnancies can predict thelikelihood of further problems in current or subsequent pregnancies, according to research carried out by aninternational group of experts.
Kansas State University researchers are studying the effects of integral bridge expansion resulting from heat to make these types of bridges a more viable alternative.
The recent increase in area burned by wildfires in the Western United States is a product not of higher temperatures or longer fire seasons alone, but a complex relationship between climate and fuels that varies among different ecosystems, according to a study conducted by U.S. Forest Service and university scientists. The study is the most detailed examination of wildfire in the United States to date and appears in the current issue of the journal Ecological Applications.
University of Houston research team aims to help caregivers monitor patients' health and whereabouts
For those who are caring for elderly parents, peace of mind is hard to come by. And, for their parents, dignity is hard to retain. But a team of University of Houston researchers hopes to ease worries and frustrations by designing an affordable in-home health-monitoring system that will notify caregivers, via smartphones or PDAs, if their loved ones need attention.
An emergency rule intended to reduce the number of deaths and injuries associated with Hawaiian air tours was followed by a 47 percent reduction in sightseeing crashes, according to a new study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy.
PHILADELPHIA (June 25, 2009)—Reviewing the records of 577 breast cancer patients, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers found that women with newly diagnosed breast cancer who receive a breast MRI are more likely to receive a mastectomy after their diagnosis and may face delays in starting treatment. The study demonstrates that, despite the lack of evidence of their benefit, routine use of MRI scans in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer increased significantly between 2004 and 2005, and again in 2006.