Building on a series of recent breakthroughs in silicon photonics, researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a novel approach to silicon devices that combines light amplification with a photovoltaic – or solar panel – effect.
Hockey players, rejoice! A team of University of Alberta researchers has created technology to regrow teeth–the first time scientists have been able to reform human dental tissue. Using low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS), Dr. Tarak El-Bialy from the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and Dr. Jie Chen and Dr. Ying Tsui from the Faculty of Engineering have created a miniaturized system-on-a-chip that offers a non-invasive and novel way to stimulate jaw growth and dental tissue healing.
Nearly half of elementary school teachers surveyed about bullying in schools, admitted to bullying students, according to a study in the May issue of The International Journal of Social Psychiatry. The study surveyed 116 teachers from seven elementary schools. While more than 70 percent of teachers believed that bullying was isolated, an estimated 45 percent of teachers admitted to bullying a student themselves.
A team of NASA engineers, who are used to making a difference in the lives of astronauts in space, recently had the chance to improve the lives of villagers in Iraq using NASA technology. The engineering team at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., helped install and test a water purification system in the northern village of Kendala.
In a full car, some poor soul is relegated to the middle of the back seat, the least desirable, most uncomfortable, most “un-cool” spot in the vehicle. It also happens to be the safest. University at Buffalo researchers studied all auto crashes involving a fatality in the U.S. between 2000 and 2003 where someone occupied the rear middle-seat.
Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s disease and other brain disorders are among a growing list of maladies attributed to oxidative stress, the cell damage caused during metabolism when the oxygen in the body assumes ever more chemically reactive forms. But the precise connection between oxidation and neurodegenerative diseases has eluded researchers. Now, a study by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine reveals that damage is linked to a natural byproduct of oxidation called nitration.
Patients with insomnia who implemented cognitive behavioral therapy interventions such as relaxation techniques had greater improvement in their sleep than patients who received the sleep medication zopiclone, according to a study in the June 28 issue of JAMA.
A new study out of Sydney, Australia has shown a link between depression (and bipolar disorder) and deficiency of Omega-3 fatty acids in the diet. The researchers point out the practical applications of their work:
Continue reading about the link between omega-3 fatty acids and depression
With flashy toys, expensive classes and music compilations all promising to make your child smarter, it’s hard to sort out the best way to help your child’s brain thrive. A new policy paper helps put those worries to rest. The gist of the paper is this: what kids need is a secure relationship with adults who adore them.
A close encounter of the “bird” kind during last year’s return-to-flight launch of Space Shuttle Discovery prompted NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to look at ways to reduce the possibility of future occurrences. During the launch, a large vulture struck the top of the external tank during ascent. Now Kennedy is taking precautions to avoid another encounter with a large bird.
The European Space Agency’s Venus Express data undoubtedly confirm for the first time the presence of a huge ‘double-eye’ atmospheric vortex at the planet’s south pole. This striking result comes from analysis of the data gathered by the spacecraft during the first orbit around the planet.
Health physicists are establishing safe procedures for a promising experimental brain-cancer therapy which uses a radioactive version of a protein found in scorpion venom. For many, this will conjure images of Spiderman’s nemesis, the Scorpion. The purpose of this work is not science fiction, but rather to help to develop a promising new therapy for brain cancer. The venom of the yellow Israeli scorpion preferentially attaches to the cells of a type of essentially incurable brain cancers known as gliomas.
Putting building debris contaminated by chemical weapons into municipal landfills likely would pose only a minimal risk to nearby communities and the surrounding environment, according to a study scheduled for publication in the July 1 issue of the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science & Technology. The study’s computer model, developed by environmental engineers at the Technical University of Denmark and North Carolina State University, could help policymakers and waste management officials determine what to do with these harmful materials if another terrorist attack occurs.
The administration made a big splash during the 2004 campaign by signing a U.N. tobacco treaty. Then the president shoved it in his back pocket, making another mockery of “the culture of life.”
There are many misconceptions about hand hygiene on the Internet. Hopefully, this information will help clear up some of those misconceptions.Washing your hands with soap and water will kill germs.
Truth or misinformation?
Misinformation
1. Plain soaps have minimal if any antimicrobial activity.
Ohio State University engineers have invented a radar system that is virtually undetectable, because its signal resembles random noise. The radar could have applications in law enforcement, the military, and disaster rescue.
The older we get, the more we regret not having more fun, says new study in the September issue of the Journal of Consumer Research. Researchers from Columbia University show that choosing work over play leads to regrets about having missed out on the pleasures of life. Over time, these regrets intensify, while guilt about indulging tends to fade.
Eliminating antibiotic drugs from food animal production may have little positive effect on resistant bacteria that threaten human health, according to the Institute of Food Technologists. In fact, such actions abroad have resulted in more antibiotic use and more resistant bacteria in some cases according to the international, nonprofit scientific society and its latest Expert Report, Antimicrobial Resistance: Implications for the Food System, released here today.
