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Coal-Tar Sealcoat a Major Source of PAHs to Air and to Children Living Nearby
Shear stiffness and friction mechanics of single-layer graphene measured for the first time
‘Invisibility’ cloak could protect buildings from earthquakes
Plants use circadian rhythms to prepare for battle with insects
Fragmented Sleep, Fragmented Mind: A New Theory of Sleep Disruption and Dissociation
Radiation treatment transforms breast cancer cells into cancer stem cells
UCLA brain-imaging technique predicts who will suffer cognitive decline over time
Scientists discover reason for Mt. Hood’s non-explosive nature
Sensing self and non-self: new research into immune tolerance
Stanford engineers weld nanowires with light
New technology to tackle treatment-resistant cancers
New devices could hold key to predicting premature births
Oral Blood Test Compares Well to Finger-Stick Samples for Diabetes Screening
Engineers create tandem polymer solar cells that set record for energy-conversion
Compound May Help in Fight Against Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs
Georgia Tech Develops Computational Algorithm to Assist in Cancer Treatments
New cases of rare genetic disorder identified
In Older Adults, Fluctuating Sense Of Control Linked To Cognitive Ability
New HIV-vaccine tested on people

Coal-Tar Sealcoat a Major Source of PAHs to Air and to Children Living Nearby

Posted: 14 Feb 2012 07:14 AM PST

Coal-tar-based sealants are emitting polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) into the air at rates that may be greater than annual emissions from vehicles in the United States, according to new reports by the U.S. Geological Survey, published in the scientific journals Chemosphere and Atmospheric Environment.

Shear stiffness and friction mechanics of single-layer graphene measured for the first time

Posted: 14 Feb 2012 06:49 AM PST

Graphene is a material that has many potential groundbreaking uses in the electronics and composites industry.

Researchers from the University of Bristol have measured and identified for the first time the stress and strain shear modulus and internal friction of graphene sheets. The research, in collaboration with the US Office of Naval Research, is published in Nano Letters.

‘Invisibility’ cloak could protect buildings from earthquakes

Posted: 14 Feb 2012 04:35 AM PST

University of Manchester mathematicians have developed the theory for a Harry Potter style ’cloaking’ device which could protect buildings from earthquakes. Dr William Parnell’s team in the University’s School of Mathematics have been working on the theory of invisibility cloaks which, until recently, have been merely the subject of science fiction.

Plants use circadian rhythms to prepare for battle with insects

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 08:17 PM PST

In a study of the molecular underpinnings of plants' pest resistance, Rice University biologists have shown that plants both anticipate daytime raids by hungry insects and make sophisticated preparations to fend them off.

Fragmented Sleep, Fragmented Mind: A New Theory of Sleep Disruption and Dissociation

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 08:09 PM PST

Scientific research has shed new light on dissociative symptoms and dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder. This condition seems to arise most often when a vulnerable person meets a therapist with a suggestive line of questioning or encounters sensationalized media portrayals of dissociation.

Radiation treatment transforms breast cancer cells into cancer stem cells

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 07:54 PM PST

Breast cancer stem cells are thought to be the sole source of tumor recurrence and are known to be resistant to radiation therapy and don't respond well to chemotherapy.

Now, researchers with the UCLA Department of Radiation Oncology at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center report for the first time that radiation treatment –despite killing half of all tumor cells during every treatment - transforms other cancer cells into treatment-resistant breast cancer stem cells.

UCLA brain-imaging technique predicts who will suffer cognitive decline over time

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 07:49 PM PST

Cognitive loss and brain degeneration currently affect millions of adults, and the number will increase, given the population of aging baby boomers. Today, nearly 20 percent of people age 65 or older suffer from mild cognitive impairment and 10 percent have dementia.

Scientists discover reason for Mt. Hood’s non-explosive nature

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 07:23 PM PST

For a half-million years, Mount Hood has towered over the landscape, but unlike some of its cousins in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains and many other volcanoes around the Pacific “Rim of Fire,” it doesn’t have a history of large, explosive eruptions.

Now a team of scientists has found out why.

Sensing self and non-self: new research into immune tolerance

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 12:08 PM PST

At the most basic level, the immune system must distinguish self from non-self, that is, it must discriminate between the molecular signatures of invading pathogens (non-self antigens) and cellular constituents that usually pose no risk to health (self-antigens).

Stanford engineers weld nanowires with light

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 12:01 PM PST

One area of intensive research at the nanoscale is the creation of electrically conductive meshes made of metal nanowires. Promising exceptional electrical throughput, low cost and easy processing, engineers foresee a day when such meshes are common in new generations of touchscreens, video displays, light-emitting diodes and thin-film solar cells.

Standing in the way, however, is a major engineering hurdle: In processing, these delicate meshes must be heated or pressed to unite the crisscross pattern of nanowires that form the mesh, and are thereby damaged.

New technology to tackle treatment-resistant cancers

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 11:52 AM PST

Circulating tumor cells have been mapped with unprecedented accuracy in the bloodstream of patients with prostate, breast and pancreatic cancer, using a brand new approach, in an attempt to assess and control the disease as it spreads in real time through the body, and solve the problem of predicting response and resistance to therapies.

New devices could hold key to predicting premature births

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 11:46 AM PST

Two major trials, together worth nearly a million pounds in funding, are being set up at the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to evaluate the accuracy of the new technologies.

The innovative devices will be able to assess a woman´s cervix to establish the risk of her having a premature birth, by using electrical impulses to take measurements of the resistance of tissue in the cervix.

Oral Blood Test Compares Well to Finger-Stick Samples for Diabetes Screening

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 11:39 AM PST

Oral blood samples drawn from deep pockets of periodontal inflammation can be used to measure hemoglobin A1c, an important gauge of a patient’s diabetes status, an NYU nursing-dental research team has found. Hemoglobin A1c blood glucose measures from oral blood compare well to those from finger-stick blood, the researchers say. The findings are from a study funded by an NYU CTSI (Clinical and Translational Science Institute) grant awarded to the research team last year.

Engineers create tandem polymer solar cells that set record for energy-conversion

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 11:07 AM PST

In the effort to convert sunlight into electricity, photovoltaic solar cells that use conductive organic polymers for light absorption and conversion have shown great potential. Organic polymers can be produced in high volumes at low cost, resulting in photovoltaic devices that are cheap, lightweight and flexible.

In the last few years, much work has been done to improve the efficiency with which these devices convert sunlight into power, including the development of new materials, device structures and processing techniques.

Compound May Help in Fight Against Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 10:47 AM PST

North Carolina State University chemists have created a compound that makes existing antibiotics 16 times more effective against recently discovered antibiotic-resistant “superbugs.”

Georgia Tech Develops Computational Algorithm to Assist in Cancer Treatments

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 10:28 AM PST

High-throughput DNA sequencing technologies are leading to a revolution in how clinicians diagnose and treat cancer. The molecular profiles of individual tumors are beginning to be used in the design of chemotherapeutic programs optimized for the treatment of individual patients. The real revolution, however, is coming with the emerging capability to inexpensively and accurately sequence the entire genome of cancers, allowing for the identification of specific mutations responsible for the disease in individual patients.

New cases of rare genetic disorder identified

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 08:24 AM PST

Scientists at the University of Liverpool, working with international partners, have shown a rare genetic disease, that causes crippling osteoarthritis in the spine and major joints, is far more prevalent worldwide than previously thought.

In Older Adults, Fluctuating Sense Of Control Linked To Cognitive Ability

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 08:19 AM PST

Everyone has moments when they feel more in control of their lives than at other times. New research from North Carolina State University shows that this sense of control fluctuates more often, and more quickly, than previously thought – and that this sense of control may actively affect cognitive abilities.

New HIV-vaccine tested on people

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 07:40 AM PST

Scientists from the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp University Hospital and Antwerp University have tested a new ‘therapeutic vaccine’ against HIV on volunteers. The participants were so to say vaccinated with their own cells. The researchers filtered certain white blood cells out of the volunteer’s blood, ‘loaded’ them outside the body and then gave them back. The immune system of the testees was better than before in attacking and suppressing the virus, the scientists reported in the top journal AIDS.