IBM today introduced a new software solution that enables businesses to make sense of the explosion of information from emerging social networks on the Web to deliver new insight into brand reputation and customer, competitor and public opinion about their company.
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved plans to begin a study to evaluate the safety of using adult stem cells from bone marrow to treat chronic ischemia, a serious form of heart disease.
Peggy Bosch, University of Bergen, Norway
Abstract
On reading the title of this paper, many of you will be thinking: “What in the world do those needles have to do with schizophrenia?” This is a very good question. According to some of the (mostly Chinese) studies that have been done during the last 20 to 30 years, the needles do have an influence on these patients. As a psychologist, scientist, but also an acupuncturist, these results made me curious. You might ask yourself; why does a western psychologist who was educated at the Radboud University Nijmegen (the Netherlands), think this is even remotely interesting? I will try to explain this to you in the following paper and I invite all of you to make up your own minds as to whether we should be doing (thorough and western) research on this subject. One opinion that I would like to add is that I think that we owe it to our patients to do research on anything that might be helpful. In the last decade, there have not been many breakthroughs in the field of schizophrenia, at least not in the treatment of it. We have been concentrating on fMRI, gene-technology, neurotransmitters etc., however, apart from some small improvements in medication, no real large differences were made for our patients. As therapists we should do everything in our power to change this.
Key words: schizophrenia, acupuncture, fMRI, limbic system, ECT.
The European spacecraft Venus Express has been successfully placed into a trajectory that will take it on its journey from Earth towards its destination of the planet Venus, which it will reach next April. A virtual twin sister of the Mars Express spacecraft which has been orbiting the Red Planet since December 2003, Venus Express is the second planet-bound probe to be launched by the European Space Agency.
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown for the first time that a sample of children who either have or are at high risk for bipolar disorder score higher on a creativity index than healthy children. The findings add to existing evidence that a link exists between mood disorders and creativity.
For the first time, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart have succeeded in examining, in the smallest detail, the adhesive mechanisms on the soles of gecko feet — with about a billion nanohairs per foot — using high resolution microscopy and certain special tricks. The researchers have discovered that, at the nanoscale, the adhesiveness of geckos increases with the amount of humidity. It is an important finding for the bio inspired development of artificial adhesive systems — for example, new kinds of self-adhesive tapes.
The voters in the York County, PA, Dover School District have spoken. Eight of the nine members of the school board, which has tried to institute the teaching of Intelligent Design in the science curriculum, were defeated for reelection.
A new report indicates that the vast majority of the rapid temperature increase recently observed in Europe is likely due to an unexpected greenhouse gas: water vapor. Elevated surface temperatures due to other greenhouse gases have enhanced water evaporation and contributed to a cycle that stimulates further surface temperature increases, according to a report in Geophysical Research Letters. The research could help to answer a long-debated Earth science question about whether the water cycle could strongly enhance greenhouse warming.
Researchers have uncovered new evidence to explain the observation that diets rich in protein stunt the appetite, according to a report in the November Cell Metabolism. The findings suggest a novel link connecting macronutrients in the diet to hunger, the researchers said. The results also point to a potential new target for the treatment of eating disorders, they added.
A report in the November Cell Metabolism reveals powerful effects of light on the adrenal glands, a finding that might explain the broad benefits of bright light therapy for a variety of conditions, including sleep and depressive disorders, according to researchers. The body’s two adrenal glands sit atop each kidney, where they secrete hormones that regulate stress response and metabolism.
Phenolic compounds in olive oil, which have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-clotting properties, may explain cardiovascular health benefits associated with the so-called Mediterranean Diet, according to a new study in the Nov. 15, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
New software is helping scientists get a more complete view of the environment from satellites that orbit the earth. Maps that depict the thickness of the ozone layer, for instance, frequently contain blank spots where a satellite wasn’t able to record data on a particular day, explained Noel Cressie, professor of statistics and director of the Program in Spatial Statistics and Environmental Sciences (SSES) at Ohio State University.
Robots, both large and micro, can potentially go wherever it’s too hot, cold, dangerous, small or remote for people to perform any number of important tasks, from repairing leaking water mains to stitching blood vessels together. Now MIT researchers, led by Professor Sidney Yip, have proposed a new theory that might eliminate one obstacle to those goals – the limited speed and control of the “artificial muscles” that perform such tasks.