Archive | July, 2009

Opening a new window on daylight

A new approach to windows that could let in more light and cut indoor lighting needs by up to 99% in buildings in Tropical regions without losing the cooling effect of shades. Details are reported in the International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation this month.

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BioVault locks up biometrics

A system that allows biometric data to be used to create a secret key for data encryption has been developed by researchers in South Africa. They describe details of the new technology in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics this month.

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From graphene to graphane, now the possibilities are endless

Ever since graphene was discovered in 2004, this one-atom thick, super strong, carbon-based electrical conductor has been billed as a “wonder material” that some physicists think could one day replace silicon in computer chips.

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Skeptics’ Circle #116

Ladies and Gentlemen! Head on over to Beyond The Short Coat for the Skeptics’ Circle: your fortnightly romp through skeptical posts, be they about the Obama birth certificate conspiracy, the latest pseudoscientific concoction, or whatever else people need a dose of evidence-based evaluation about today. You may also find a link to my first ever post! A cup of skepticism about the promises of green tea for prostate cancer.

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Got migraines?

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. — Migraine headaches are a drain — not only on the estimated 30 million Americans who suffer from them, but on the economy, too. Because pain and other symptoms caused by migraine headaches can be quite severe, it is projected that nearly $13 billion is spent every year in headache treatment and loss of time from work, which no one can afford these days.

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Conflating Open Access With Copyright Reform: Not Helpful to Open Access

Conflating Open Access With Copyright Reform: Not Helpful to Open Access

SUMMARY: Professor Shavell’s paper on copyright abolition conflates (i) books with journal articles, (ii) Gold OA with Green OA, and (iii) the problem of Open Access with the problem of copyright reform. Although copyright reservation by authors and copyright reform are always welcome, they are unnecessary for universal Green OA; and needlessly suggesting that copyright reservation/reform is or ought to be made a prerequisite for OA simply slows down progress toward reaching the universal Green OA that is already fully within the global research community’s grasp.

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Researchers uncover genetic link to age-related cataracts

CLEVELAND — July 30, 2009 — Bing-Cheng Wang, Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine professor of pharmacology and senior staff scientist at MetroHealth Medical Center, and Sudha K. Iyengar, Ph.D.

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Rodent size linked to human population and climate change

You probably hadn’t noticed — but the head shape and overall size of rodents has been changing over the past century. A University of Illinois at Chicago ecologist has tied these changes to human population density and climate change.

The finding is reported by Oliver Pergams, UIC research assistant professor of biological sciences, in the July 31 issue of PLoS One.

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Afghanistan prepares itself to resist deadly plant plague that threatens food security in region

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (31 July 2009) -Scientists are racing to arm Afghanistan against a new invader-a deadly, airborne wheat rust disease that threatens wheat production and food security in this war-torn nation and the region that stretches east across neighboring Pakistan and into India.

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New statistical method shows importance of dialysis dose

A new approach to statistical analysis may be better suited to study the relationship between higher “dose” of dialysis and survival time for patients with advanced kidney disease, according to an upcoming paper in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

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Chronic kidney disease profoundly impacts quality of life

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) can significantly lessen patients’ quality of life, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Certain types of patients — women, diabetics, and those with a history of heart complications — are most affected.

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NIH study finds low short-term risks after bariatric surgery for extreme obesity

Short-term complications and death rates were low following bariatric surgery to limit the amount of food that can enter the stomach, decrease absorption of food or both, according to the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS-1). The study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health.

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Membrane breaks through performance barrier

Engineers have developed a new method for creating high-performance membranes from crystal sieves called zeolites; the method could increase the energy efficiency of chemical separations up to 50 times over conventional methods and enable higher production rates.

The ability to separate and purify specific molecules in a chemical mixture is essential to chemical manufacturing.

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New analysis of global fisheries data suggests marine ecosystems can recover

An international team of scientists with divergent views on ocean ecosystems has found that efforts to rebuild many of the world’s fisheries are worthwhile and starting to pay off in many places around the world. Their study puts into perspective recent reports predicting a total collapse of global fisheries within 40 years.

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New hope for fisheries on the horizon?

Scientists have joined forces in a groundbreaking assessment on the status of marine fisheries and ecosystems.

The two-year study, led by Boris Worm of Dalhousie University and Ray Hilborn of the University of Washington and including an international team of 19 co-authors, shows that steps taken to curb overfishing are beginning to succeed in five of the 10 large marine ecosystems that the

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Mayo researchers find race has role in incidence, survival of rare brain tumor

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The incidence of a rare and deadly tumor called primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is two times higher in black Americans, ages 20 to 49, than in white Americans, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the June issue of Journal of Neuro-Oncology. In patients older than 49, the results were reversed.

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Is Science Journalism taking a backseat at a time when it should be at the forefront of news?

As both a science and a journalism major, I have many appalling moments while watching broadcast news – moments when the reporter on television is stating some very obviously erroneous or exaggerated scientific facts.

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Communication breakdown: New strategy may be valid alternative to traditional antibiotics

Certainly there is strength in numbers, but only if those numbers can effectively communicate with one another. Now, a new study finds that administration of a novel small molecule which effectively disrupts a key bacterial communication process protects an animal host from infection.

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