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Squeezing What Hasn’t Been Squeezed Before: Scientists Score Another Victory Over Uncertainty in Quantum Physics Measurements
Arctic Sea Ice Decline May Be Driving Snowy Winters Seen in Recent Years
Diabetes drug, TAK-875 improves glucose control without increasing risk of hypoglycemia
New study reveals increasing nurse-to-patient ratios do not extend patient safety
Scientists revise the 60-year-old definition of surface tension on solids
Physical complaints may suggest depression in cancer patients
Eye-Tracking Reveals Variability in Successful Social Strategies for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Swiss researchers confirm lethal effects of genetically modified Bt toxin on young ladybird larvae
Researchers developing aqueous lithium-ion battery - New energy storage device based on water
RBM8A - Thrombocytopenia with Absent Radii (TAR) Gene Identified
Scientists Score Another Victory Over Uncertainty in Quantum Physics Measurements

Squeezing What Hasn’t Been Squeezed Before: Scientists Score Another Victory Over Uncertainty in Quantum Physics Measurements

Posted: 27 Feb 2012 07:26 AM PST

Most people attempt to reduce the little uncertainties of life by carrying umbrellas on cloudy days, purchasing automobile insurance or hiring inspectors to evaluate homes they might consider purchasing. For scientists, reducing uncertainty is a no less important goal, though in the weird realm of quantum physics, the term has a more specific meaning.

Arctic Sea Ice Decline May Be Driving Snowy Winters Seen in Recent Years

Posted: 27 Feb 2012 07:11 AM PST

A new study led by the Georgia Institute of Technology provides further evidence of a relationship between melting ice in the Arctic regions and widespread cold outbreaks in the Northern Hemisphere. The study’s findings could be used to improve seasonal forecasting of snow and temperature anomalies across northern continents.

Diabetes drug, TAK-875 improves glucose control without increasing risk of hypoglycemia

Posted: 27 Feb 2012 06:54 AM PST

TAK-875, a new treatment for type 2 diabetes, improves blood sugar control and is equally effective as glimepiride, but has a significantly lower risk of creating a dangerous drop in blood sugar, called hypoglycemia, according to a new study.

The results of the phase 2 randomized trial were published Online First Sunday in The Lancet.

New study reveals increasing nurse-to-patient ratios do not extend patient safety

Posted: 27 Feb 2012 06:46 AM PST

Hospitals are currently under pressure to control the cost of medical care, while at the same time improving patient health and reducing medical errors through appropriate nurse staffing levels. A study into the effects of a law requiring increased nurse-to-patient ratios on patient mortality finds that mandating such changes do not reduce adverse patient outcomes.

Scientists revise the 60-year-old definition of surface tension on solids

Posted: 27 Feb 2012 06:35 AM PST

VTT researchers have shown that surface tension on a solid material is unconnected to the energy required to create a new surface. Consequently, surface tension on a solid does not exist in its conventional meaning.

Physical complaints may suggest depression in cancer patients

Posted: 27 Feb 2012 06:28 AM PST

New research from the University of Leicester demonstrates that physical symptoms may be indicative of depression in cancer patients.

Bodily complaints such as fatigue, insomnia and poor appetite are known to be symptoms of depression in primary care but traditional teaching suggested that these so called somatic symptoms of depression should be ignored in medical settings where they are assumed to be contaminants of physical illness.

Eye-Tracking Reveals Variability in Successful Social Strategies for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Posted: 27 Feb 2012 06:20 AM PST

In a study published in the March 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Katherine Rice and colleagues, from the Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Emory University School of Medicine, used eye-tracking technology to measure the relationship between cognitive and social disability in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and the ability of children with ASD to pay attention to social interactions.

Swiss researchers confirm lethal effects of genetically modified Bt toxin on young ladybird larvae

Posted: 27 Feb 2012 06:15 AM PST

Swiss researchers of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich confirm earlier findings that the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin Cry1Ab produced for pesticidal purposes by genetically modified (GM) Bt maize increases mortality in the young ladybird larvae (Adalia bipunctata L., two-spotted ladybird) in laboratory tests.

Researchers developing aqueous lithium-ion battery - New energy storage device based on water

Posted: 27 Feb 2012 06:06 AM PST

The global energy demand is still increasing. However, today's concepts for power generation aren't able to deliver the amount of electricity, which is needed in the future. Dr. Fabio La Mantia, junior group leader of the “Semiconductor and Energy Conversion”-group (Center for Electrochemical Sciences) of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, is working on a solution for the problem. In March he and his team are going to start a project, with the ambition to develop an aqueous lithium-ion battery.

RBM8A - Thrombocytopenia with Absent Radii (TAR) Gene Identified

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 06:04 PM PST

Researchers have identified an elusive gene, RBM8A, responsible for Thrombocytopenia with Absent Radii (TAR), a rare inherited blood and skeletal disorder. As a result, this research is now being transformed into a medical test that allows prenatal diagnosis and genetic counselling in affected families.

Scientists Score Another Victory Over Uncertainty in Quantum Physics Measurements

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 05:17 PM PST

For scientists working in quantum physics, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle says that measurements of properties such as the momentum of an object and its exact position cannot be simultaneously specified with arbitrary accuracy. As a result, there must be some uncertainty in either the exact position of the object, or its exact momentum. The amount of uncertainty can be determined, and is often represented graphically by a circle showing the area within which the measurement actually lies.