science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Τετάρτη 17 Απριλίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

Researchers Devise X-ray Approach to Track Surgical Devices and Minimize Radiation Exposure
How some leaves got fat: It’s the veins
Study Shows One Quarter of Patients Discharged from Hospitals Return for Emergency Care Within 30 Days
Scientist's Discovery Could Lead to a Better Capacitor
Methods to repair kidney cells, assess kidney function on the horizon
Scientists discover new materials to capture methane

Researchers Devise X-ray Approach to Track Surgical Devices and Minimize Radiation Exposure

Posted: 16 Apr 2013 11:43 AM PDT

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) have developed a new tool to help surgeons use X-rays to track devices used in “minimally invasive” surgical procedures while also limiting the patient’s exposure to radiation from the X-rays.

How some leaves got fat: It’s the veins

Posted: 16 Apr 2013 11:09 AM PDT

Some plants, such as succulents, have managed to grow very plump leaves. For that to happen, according to a new study in Current Biology, plants had to evolve 3-D arrangements of their leaf veins in order to maintain adequately efficient hydraulics for photosynthesis.

Study Shows One Quarter of Patients Discharged from Hospitals Return for Emergency Care Within 30 Days

Posted: 16 Apr 2013 11:02 AM PDT

A study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Boston University School of Medicine has found that nearly one quarter of patients may return to the emergency department within 30 days of being discharged from a hospitalization. None of these emergency room visits that do not lead to subsequent admission are included in calculating hospital readmission rates, which are a key focus of health care cost containment and quality improvement efforts. The findings are published in Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Scientist's Discovery Could Lead to a Better Capacitor

Posted: 16 Apr 2013 10:26 AM PDT

A new process for growing forests of manganese dioxide nanorods may lead to the next generation of high-performance capacitors.

Methods to repair kidney cells, assess kidney function on the horizon

Posted: 16 Apr 2013 10:16 AM PDT

Researchers may have found a way to block kidney-destroying inflammation and help damaged kidney cells recover.

In a related study, they report progress on a non-invasive method to assess how much kidney function has survived a serious bout of inflammation or a chronic problem like high blood pressure.

Scientists discover new materials to capture methane

Posted: 16 Apr 2013 10:10 AM PDT

Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and UC Berkeley and have discovered new materials to capture methane, the second highest concentration greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere.