Aluminum foil lamps outshine incandescent lights
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Researchers at the University of Illinois are developing panels of microcavity plasma lamps that may soon brighten peoples lives. The thin, lightweight panels could be used for residential and commercial lighting, and for certain types of biomedical applications.... Built of aluminum foil, sapphire and small amounts of gas, the panels are less than 1 millimeter thick, and can...A first glimpse at healthy brain and behavioral development
Yes, there are gender differences in cognitive function, but they're more limited than previously thought. And yes, income does affect cognitive performance but less than expected when only healthy children are considered. And while basic cognitive skills steadily improve in middle childhood, they then seem to level off questioning the idea of a burst of brain development in adolescence. These...Aspirin use during pregnancy could reduce risk of pre-eclampsia
... ... Dr Lisa Askie, University of Sydney, Australia, with funding from the Aus...IceSAR campaign provides glimpse of future Sentinel-1 images over ice
... Carrying a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), the images that Sentinel-1 will provide are particularly well suited for applications based on mapping sea ice. High-resolution ice charts, monitoring icebergs and forecasting ice conditions are examples of important application areas that ar...Improvement seen in fetal survival following preeclampsia
... Preeclampsia (a potentially dangerous condition that may develop in late pregnancy with symptoms that include high blood pressure, fluid retention, excessive weight gain, and the presence of protein in the urine) is a well-known cause of perinatal (occurring during the period around birth) death. Despite improvements in clinical manage...When preventing pre-eclampsia, a little carbon monoxide goes a long way
... Pre-eclampsia, a form of pregnancy-associated hypertension, affects 5-7% of pregnancies and poses serious risks for both mother and child. If maternal blood vessels at the placental barri...US trumps Europe in public funding for cancer research
... ... The survey authors, Seth Eckhouse (Chief Proje...High good cholesterol trumps low bad cholesterol for heart protection
INDIANAPOLIS Having a high level of HDL cholesterol the good cholesterol is more important than having a low level of LDL the bad cholesterol in protecting individuals from heart attack, according to a study published in the March issue of American Heart Journal by researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine and pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, Inc....... The researcher...Vitamin C and E supplements do not prevent pre-eclampsia in pregnant women at risk
Vitamin C and E supplements do not lower the risk of pre-eclampsia in ...pregnant women with a high chance of developing the condition, ...according to the results of a randomised trial published online today (Thursday March 30, 2006) by The Lancet. The study also found that vitamin C and E supplements might increase the rate of low birthweight babies....... In 1999, results of a small randomised...Poverty trumps race to explain poor prostate cancer outcomes
Socioeconomic factors predominantly explain racial and ethnic disparities in prostate cancer outcomes, according to a new study. Published in the March 15, 2006 issue of CANCER ( ), a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study found race plays a minor role in prostate cancer survival, and that the most important factors related were education, community poverty, and income le...MPs should consider health for all when they vote on a smoking ban
Members of Parliament across all parties should consider health for all when they vote on a complete smoking ban, states an editorial in this week's issue of The Lancet. ...... Last week, the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair finally heeded pressure to allow a free vote on an amendment to the Health Bill removing the exemption of pubs that do not serve food from a smoking ban. Without a complete ban p...Food insecurity and food stamps: How is the US doing?
Imagine being one of the 38 million people in the United States whose family can't count on having enough food throughout the year. According to new federal data, the number of families considered "food insecure" is growing. The Economic Research Service (ERS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in October that household food insecurity increased in 2004. What's more, says Parke...Collapse of p53 into clumps might be linked to cancer, according to St. Jude
...(MEMPHIS, TENN.--Dec. 1, 2005) The disruption of a molecular bridge that holds together the molecule p53 tends to destabilize this protein, allowing it to form potentially disease-causing aggregates, or "clumps," according to a study by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. ... The mutation that causes clumps to form is associated only with the pediatric cancer adrenocort...Psychologists glimpse biological imprint of childhood neglect
The absence of a loving caregiver in the earliest years of life could sway the normal activity of two hormones - vasopressin and oxytocin - that play an essential role in the ability to form healthy social bonds and emotional intimacy....... Announced by psychologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the new finding demonstrates for the first time that severe neglect and social isolation c...Implantable pumps extend lives of patients too sick for transplant
DALLAS. Pumps implanted into the chest to maintain circulation can significantly extend the lives of the sickest patients in end-stage heart failure who are not candidates for heart transplantation, according to the results of a clinical trial led by Duke University Medical Center cardiologists.... ...The pumps, known as left ventricular assistant devices (LVADs), are employed when the heart's l...New ultrasound technique could reduce number of diagnostic procedures for breast lumps
"Streaming detection" ultrasound accurately differentiated fluid-filled cysts from solid masses in a recent pilot study and has the potential to reduce the number of cyst aspirations and imaging follow-ups for breast masses that are indeterminate at conventional ultrasound, say researchers from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC....... According to the researchers, streaming detection u...The United Kingdom is in the grip of a nationwide mumps epidemic, with almost 5,000 notifications in the first month of 2005 alone, show two papers in this week's BMJ....... The outbreaks are occurring predominantly in 19-23 year olds, but cases are also occurring in susceptible children, underlining the importance of ensuring that all children and young adults have had two doses of the MMR vacci...