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• How black holes change gear
• Bright X-Ray Flashes Created in Laser Lab
• Floating dock from Japan carries potential invasive species
• VCU researchers identify changes in cholesterol metabolic pathways
• Cell Contents May be Key to Controlling Toxicity of Huntington’s Disease Protein
• Manipulating chromatin loops to regulate genes may offer future treatments for blood diseases
• Meditation practice may decrease risk for cardiovascular disease in teens
• Photovoltaic Cells Tap Underwater Solar Energy
• Doubling Down on Heart Failure: Researchers Discover New Route to Disease, and Drugs to Match
• Helping adolescents root out stigma associated with mental illness
• Study Will Provide Information on How Infectious Diseases May be Transmitted on Aircraft
• New compound could become “cool blue” for energy efficiency in buildings

How black holes change gear Posted: 08 Jun 2012 07:10 AM PDT Black holes are extremely powerful and efficient engines that not only swallow up matter, but also return a lot of energy to the Universe in exchange for the mass they eat. When black holes attract mass they also trigger the release of intense X-ray radiation and power strong jets. But not all black holes do this the same way. This has long baffled astronomers. read more

Bright X-Ray Flashes Created in Laser Lab Posted: 08 Jun 2012 05:21 AM PDT A breakthrough in laser science was achieved in Vienna: In the labs of the Photonics Institute at the Vienna University of Technology, a new method of producing bright laser pulses at x-ray energies was developed. The radiation covers a broad energy spectrum and can therefore be used for a wide range of applications, from materials science to medicine. Up until now, similar kinds of radiation could only be produced in particle accelerators (synchrotrons), but now a laser laboratory can also achieve this. read more

Floating dock from Japan carries potential invasive species Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:38 PM PDT When debris from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan began making its way toward the West Coast of the United States, there were fears of possible radiation and chemical contamination as well as costly cleanup. But a floating dock that unexpectedly washed ashore in Newport this week and has been traced back to the Japanese disaster has brought with it a completely different threat – invasive species. read more

VCU researchers identify changes in cholesterol metabolic pathways Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:28 PM PDT A new study from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine has identified molecular changes responsible for abnormal cholesterol production and metabolism in the livers of patients with a common liver condition, and these changes may explain the severity of a patient's liver disease and risks to their heart health. read more

Cell Contents May be Key to Controlling Toxicity of Huntington’s Disease Protein Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:22 PM PDT New research into the cell-damaging effects of Huntington’s disease suggests a new approach for identifying possible therapeutic targets for treating the nerve-destroying disorder. Huntington’s disease causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain and affects an individual’s movement, cognition and mental state. Genetically, the disease is associated with a mutation in the Huntingtin gene that causes the huntingtin protein to be produced with an extended region containing the amino acid glutamine. read more

Manipulating chromatin loops to regulate genes may offer future treatments for blood diseases Posted: 07 Jun 2012 10:00 AM PDT In exploring how proteins interact with crucial DNA sequences to regulate gene activity, researchers have shed light on key biological events that may eventually be manipulated to provide new disease treatments. read more

Meditation practice may decrease risk for cardiovascular disease in teens Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:36 AM PDT Regular meditation could decrease the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in teens who are most at risk, according to Georgia Health Sciences University researchers. In a study of 62 black teens with high blood pressure, those who meditated twice a day for 15 minutes had lower left ventricular mass, an indicator of future cardiovascular disease, than a control group, said Dr. Vernon Barnes, a physiologist in the Medical College of Georgia and the Georgia Health Sciences University Institute of Public and Preventive Health. read more

Photovoltaic Cells Tap Underwater Solar Energy Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:30 AM PDT Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Electronics Science and Technology Division, dive into underwater photovoltaic research to develop high bandgap solar cells capable of producing sufficient power to operate electronic sensor systems at depths of 9 meters. read more

Doubling Down on Heart Failure: Researchers Discover New Route to Disease, and Drugs to Match Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:24 AM PDT A new study in the journal Circulation packs a powerful one-two punch in the fight against heart failure. The leading blow: Identification of a unique alliance of proteins that plays a major role in the development of the disease. The second but equally powerful hit: Drugs that interfere with this axis already exist. read more

Helping adolescents root out stigma associated with mental illness Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:16 AM PDT Health experts agree that reducing the stigma associated with adolescent mental illness is an essential step toward increasing the number of teenagers who seek the help they need. But, say researchers at Case Western Reserve in the Journal of Nursing Measurement, the relative dearth of data regarding stigma in this age group makes tackling the topic particularly tough. Not only is adolescent mental health stigma rarely studied, but even less is known about the accuracy of measures used to assess it. read more

Study Will Provide Information on How Infectious Diseases May be Transmitted on Aircraft Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:06 AM PDT A new study is expected to provide the first detailed information on how infectious diseases may be transmitted aboard commercial airliners. Sponsored by aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the research will document patterns of passenger movement inside aircraft cabins and inventory the microbes present in cabin air and on surfaces such as tray tables and lavatory fixtures. read more

New compound could become “cool blue” for energy efficiency in buildings Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT A new type of durable, environmentally-benign blue pigment discovered at Oregon State University has also been found to have unusual characteristics in reflecting heat – it’s a “cool blue” compound that could become important in new approaches to saving energy in buildings. The compound, which has now received patent approval, was discovered about three years ago almost by chance, as OSU scientists were studying some materials for their electrical properties. read more

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