Key Advance Toward 'Micro-spacecraft'
Fleets of inexpensive, pint-sized spacecraft are one giant leap closer to lift off. Researchers describe a new, razor thin temperature-regulating film that brings this sci-fi vision of "micro-spacecraft" weighing barely 50 pounds and 10-pound "nano-spacecraft" closer to reality.
20 Aug 2008 at 1:00pm

Critical Protein Complex In Formation Of Cell Cilia Identified
Scientists have identified a protein complex that regulates the formation of cilia, which are found on virtually all mature human cells and are essential to normal cell function.
20 Aug 2008 at 1:00pm

Researchers Uncover Attack Mechanism Of Illness-inducing Bacterium
An infectious ocean-dwelling bacterium found in oysters and other shellfish kills its host's cells by causing them to burst, providing the invader with a nutrient-rich meal, researchers have found.
20 Aug 2008 at 1:00pm

Silver Is Key To Reducing Pneumonia Associated With Breathing Tubes
People have long prized silver as a precious metal. Now, silver-coated endotracheal tubes are giving critically ill patients another reason to value the lustrous metal. Researchers now report that the silver-coated tubes led to a 36 percent reduction of ventilator-associated pneumonia.
20 Aug 2008 at 1:00pm

Can Biofuels Be Sustainable?
With oil prices skyrocketing, the search is on for efficient and sustainable biofuels. Research published this month in Agronomy Journal examines one biofuel crop contender: corn stover. Corn stover is made up of the leaves and stalks of corn plants that are left in the field after harvesting the edible corn grain. Corn stover could supply as much as 25 percent of the biofuel crop needed by 2030.
20 Aug 2008 at 1:00pm

Calculators Okay In Math Class, If Students Know The Facts First, Study Finds
Calculators are useful tools in elementary mathematics classes, if students already have some basic skills, new research has found. The findings shed light on the debate about whether and when calculators should be used in the classroom.
20 Aug 2008 at 1:00pm

Greenland Ice Core Reveals History Of Pollution In The Arctic
New research, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that coal burning, primarily in North America and Europe, contaminated the Arctic and potentially affected human health and ecosystems in and around Earth's polar regions.
20 Aug 2008 at 10:00am

Bacterial Pneumonia Caused Most Deaths In 1918 Influenza Pandemic
The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection. The pneumonia was caused when bacteria that normally inhabit the nose and throat invaded the lungs along a pathway created when the virus destroyed the cells that line the bronchial tubes and lungs.
20 Aug 2008 at 10:00am

Heads-up Study Of Hair Dynamics May Lead To Better Hair-care Products
From frizzy perms to over-bleached waves, "bad hair days" could soon become a less frequent occurrence. Chemists report the first detailed microscopic analysis of what happens to individual hair fibers when they interact with each other, an advance in knowledge key to the development of improved shampoos, conditioners and other products for repairing damaged hair, the researchers say. Their research will be presented in August at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Philadelphia.
20 Aug 2008 at 10:00am

'Point Of Care Diagnostics' In The Starting Blocks
Tracking down cancer at a very early stage, studying cell growth, developing new medicines: future lab-on-a-chip systems will use nanoscale electrical fields to enable the detection and manipulation of cells and biomolecules.
20 Aug 2008 at 10:00am

New Speed Record For Magnetic Memories
An experiment carried out at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) has realized spin torque switching of a nanomagnet as fast as the fundamental speed limit allows. Using this so-called ballistic switching future non-volatile magnetic memories could operate as fast as the fastest non-volatile memories. The experiments are described in the next issue of Physical Review Letters (22 August, 2008).
20 Aug 2008 at 10:00am

Magician's Hand: How Humor And Misdirection Can Manipulate Levels Of Attention
Two neuroscientists have studied how magicians mix humor into their performances because a laughing audience is unable to pay attention to the magician's hand. The study also determined that there are various levels of misdirection that magicians use to trick an audience. These insights, which were previously unknown to scientists, suggest that humor and misdirection can help manipulate levels of attention.
20 Aug 2008 at 10:00am

Novel Method To Grow Human Embryonic Stem Cells Developed
The majority of researchers working with human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) use animal-based materials for culturing the cells. But these materials could transmit viruses and other pathogens to the hESCs, making the cells unsuitable for medical use. Now a biochemist has devised a method of growing hESCs in the lab that uses no animal-derived materials -- an important advance in the use of hESCs for future medical purposes.
20 Aug 2008 at 7:00am

Are Your Eyes A Window To Diabetes-related Health Issues?
Scientists are carrying out a unique study using the eyes to detect early signs of health problems which could lead to diabetes, and they?re looking for volunteers to help.
20 Aug 2008 at 7:00am

Cataloguing Invisible Life: Microbe Genome Emerges From Lake Sediment
Scientists have taken a sample of Lake Washington mud and successfully sequenced a complete genome for an unknown microorganism. Their method provides a way to discover new microscopic life in complex communities.
20 Aug 2008 at 7:00am

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