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Vitamin C does not lower uric acid levels in gout patients
Tropical air circulation drives fall warming on Antarctic Peninsula
Study Finds Plasmin—Delivered Through A Bubble—More Effective Than Tpa In Busting Clots
NIST Demonstrates Significant Improvement in the Performance of Solar-Powered Hydrogen Generation
Squishy Hydrogels May Be the Ticket for Studying Biological Effects of Nanoparticles
Black Hole Powered Jets Plow Into Galaxy
Making frequency-hopping radios practical
Wireless signals could transform brain trauma diagnostics
Researchers find widespread but neglected disease as real health threat in Africa
Body fat hardens arteries after middle age

Vitamin C does not lower uric acid levels in gout patients

Posted: 16 May 2013 06:04 AM PDT

Despite previous studies touting its benefit in moderating gout risk, new research reveals that vitamin C, also known ascorbic acid, does not reduce uric acid (urate) levels to a clinically significant degree in patients with established gout. Vitamin C supplementation, alone or in combination with allopurinol, appears to have a weak effect on lowering uric acid levels in gout patients according to the results published in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) journal, Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Tropical air circulation drives fall warming on Antarctic Peninsula

Posted: 16 May 2013 05:59 AM PDT

The eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula, a finger of the southern polar continent that juts toward South America, has experienced summer warming of perhaps a half-degree per decade – a greater rate than possibly anywhere else on Earth – in the last 50 years, and that warming is largely attributed to human causes.

Study Finds Plasmin—Delivered Through A Bubble—More Effective Than Tpa In Busting Clots

Posted: 15 May 2013 01:50 PM PDT

A new study from the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine has found that, when delivered via ultrasound, the natural enzyme plasmin is more effective at dissolving stroke-causing clots than the standard of care, recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA).

NIST Demonstrates Significant Improvement in the Performance of Solar-Powered Hydrogen Generation

Posted: 15 May 2013 12:04 PM PDT

Using a powerful combination of microanalytic techniques that simultaneously image photoelectric current and chemical reaction rates across a surface on a micrometer scale, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have shed new light on what may become a cost-effective way to generate hydrogen gas directly from water and sunlight.

Squishy Hydrogels May Be the Ticket for Studying Biological Effects of Nanoparticles

Posted: 15 May 2013 11:58 AM PDT

A class of water-loving, jelly-like materials with uses ranges ranging from the mundane, such as superabsorbent diaper liners, to the sophisticated, such as soft contact lenses, could be tapped for a new line of serious work: testing the biological effects of nanoparticles now being eyed for a large variety of uses.

Black Hole Powered Jets Plow Into Galaxy

Posted: 15 May 2013 11:08 AM PDT

>> A giant black hole in the center of the galaxy 4C+29.30 is generating two powerful jets of particles.

>> By combining X-rays (blue), optical (gold), and radio (pink) data, astronomers get a full picture of what is happening.

>> The X-rays reveal superheated gas swirling around the black hole, some of which may eventually be consumed by it.

>> The black hole at the center of 4C+29.30 is thought to be about 100 million times more massive than our Sun.

Making frequency-hopping radios practical

Posted: 15 May 2013 08:34 AM PDT

The way in which radio spectrum is currently allocated to different wireless technologies can lead to gross inefficiencies. In some regions, for instance, the frequencies used by cellphones can be desperately congested, while large swaths of the broadcast-television spectrum stand idle.

Wireless signals could transform brain trauma diagnostics

Posted: 15 May 2013 08:08 AM PDT

New technology developed at the University of California, Berkeley, is using wireless signals to provide real-time, non-invasive diagnoses of brain swelling or bleeding.

The device analyzes data from low energy electromagnetic waves that are similar to those used to transmit radio and mobile signals. The technology, described in the May 14 issue of the journal PLOS ONE, could potentially become a cost-effective tool for medical diagnostics and to triage injuries in areas where access to medical care, especially medical imaging, is limited.

Researchers find widespread but neglected disease as real health threat in Africa

Posted: 15 May 2013 07:58 AM PDT

The newest public health threat in developing countries may not be a cinematic-quality emerging disease but actually a disease from animals that was identified over 100 years ago.

Researchers have identified leptospirosis as a significant health threat in Botswana. The world’s most common disease transmitted to humans by animals according to the World Health Organization, leptospirosis is a two-phase disease that begins with flu-like symptoms but can cause meningitis, liver damage, pulmonary hemorrhage, renal failure, and even death if untreated.

Body fat hardens arteries after middle age

Posted: 15 May 2013 07:47 AM PDT

Having too much body fat makes arteries become stiff after middle age, a new study has revealed.

In young people, blood vessels appear to be able to compensate for the effects of obesity. But after middle age, this adaptability is lost, and arteries become progressively stiffer as body fat rises – potentially increasing the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.