ScienceBlog.com

Cradle turns smartphone into handheld biosensor

ScienceBlog.com — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:52:49 +0000

Researchers and physicians in the field could soon run on-the-spot tests for environmental toxins, medical diagnostics, food safety and more with their smartphones.

Hubble reveals the Ring Nebula’s true shape

ScienceBlog.com — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:49:43 +0000

The Ring Nebula’s distinctive shape makes it a popular illustration for astronomy books. But new observations by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope of the glowing gas shroud around an old, dying, sun-like star reveal a new [...]

New insights contradict promising bexarotene Alzheimer’s research

ScienceBlog.com — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:47:37 +0000

Approximately a year ago, the leading journal Science published an article about bexarotene as a potential Alzheimer’s drug. A significant breakthrough and an important starting point for further Alzheimer’s research. The research group of Bart [...]

Micro-sphere based methods for detecting HIV antibodies

ScienceBlog.com — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:46:02 +0000

Detection of HIV antibodies is used to diagnose HIV infection and monitor trials of experimental HIV/AIDS vaccines. New, more sensitive detection systems being developed use microspheres to capture HIV antibodies and can measure even small [...]

A majority on Earth face self-inflicted water woes within 2 generations

ScienceBlog.com — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:44:11 +0000

A conference of 500 leading water scientists from around the world today issued a stark warning that, without major reforms, “in the short span of one or two generations, the majority of the 9 billion [...]

Why our early ancestors took to 2 feet

ScienceBlog.com — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:41:41 +0000

A new study by archaeologists at the University of York challenges evolutionary theories behind the development of our earliest ancestors from tree dwelling quadrupeds to upright bipeds capable of walking and scrambling. The researchers say [...]

Regenerating spinal cord fibers may be treatment for stroke-related disabilities

ScienceBlog.com — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:47:10 +0000

A study by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital found “substantial evidence” that a regenerative process involving damaged nerve fibers in the spinal cord could hold the key to better functional recovery by most stroke victims. [...]

Bacterium from Canadian High Arctic offers clues to possible life on Mars

ScienceBlog.com — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:45:50 +0000

The temperature in the permafrost on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian high Arctic is nearly as cold as that of the surface of Mars. So the recent discovery by a McGill University led team of [...]

A hidden population of exotic neutron stars

ScienceBlog.com — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:44:08 +0000

Magnetars – the dense remains of dead stars that erupt sporadically with bursts of high-energy radiation – are some of the most extreme objects known in the Universe. A major campaign using NASA’s Chandra X-ray [...]

Engineer helps pioneer flat spray-on optical lens

ScienceBlog.com — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:04:40 +0000

A University of British Columbia engineer and a team of U.S. researchers have made a breakthrough utilizing spray-on technology that could revolutionize the way optical lenses are made and used. Kenneth Chau, an assistant professor [...]