Microbe detective seeks out germs

We are surrounded by microorganisms. They inhabit our skin, the air we breathe, the surfaces we touch. In most cases this is not a problem, but there are situations in which these constant companions can be dangerous or even life-threatening. They are unwelcome, for example, on medical instruments, in culture fluids or on laboratory-grown tissue transplants such as cartilage. Constant sterility checks are therefore required during the production of artificial cartilage. Conventional testing methods for detecting germs are, however, time-consuming.

A mini-laboratory for all cases

Designer nanomaterials on-demand

Composites are combinations of materials that produce properties inaccessible in any one material. A classic example of a composite is fiberglass - plastic fibers woven with glass to add strength to hockey sticks or the hull of a boat. Unlike the well-established techniques for producing fiberglass and other macroscale composites, however, there aren't general schemes available for making nanoscale composites.

Researchers find infrared thermal detection systems useful for patient screening

Atlanta, Ga. (March 20, 2010)–Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) found an Infrared Thermal Detection System (ITDS) to be a fast and effective fever screening tool in clinical settings during the H1N1 influenza pandemic. The ITDS detected fever in patients through split-second, non-contact skin temperature measurements. Fever is a primary symptom of seasonal influenza, H1N1, avian influenza, SARS and other infectious diseases.

Sleep deprivation influences drug use in teens' social networks

Recent studies have shown that behaviors such as happiness, obesity, smoking and altruism are "contagious" within adult social networks. In other words, your behavior not only influences your friends, but also their friends and so on. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Harvard University have taken this a step farther and found that the spread of one behavior in social networks – in this case, poor sleep patterns – influences the spread of another behavior, adolescent drug use.

Financial relationships and positive results in scientific research examined

Virtually all (94%) of the scientific authors who provided positive results for the anti-diabetic drug rosiglitazone had financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies, according to research published on bmj.com today.

While the study acknowledges that financial relationships may not necessarily be the reason for positive research results, it concludes that further reform is needed to ensure trust in scientific work.

Evidence indicates humans' early tree-dwelling ancestors were also bipedal

More than three million years ago, the ancestors of modern humans were still spending a considerable amount of their lives in trees, but something new was happening.

David Raichlen, an assistant professor in the University of Arizona School of Anthropology, and his colleagues at the University at Albany and City University of New York's Lehman College have developed new experimental evidence indicating that these early hominins were walking with a human-like striding gait as long as 3.6 million years ago.

Awesome female power: Women make men throw caution to the wind

Los Angeles, CA (March 18. 2010) The presence of an attractive woman elevates testosterone levels and physical risk taking in young men, according to a recent study in the inaugural issue of Social Psychological and Personality Science (published by SAGE).

Researchers asked young adult men to perform both easy and difficult tricks on skateboards, first in front of another male and then in front of a young, attractive female. The skateboarder's testosterone levels were measured after each trick.

Linheraptor exquisitus: new species of raptor dinosaur discovered by students in Mongolia

A new species of dinosaur, a relative of the famous Velociraptor, has been discovered in Inner Mongolia by two PhD students.

The exceptionally well preserved dinosaur, named Linheraptor exquisitus, is the first near complete skeleton of its kind to be found in the Gobi desert since 1972, and will help scientists work out the appearance of other closely related dinosaur species.

Rare ATM gene mutations, plus radiation, may increase risk of a second breast cancer

Certain rare mutations in the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene, combined with radiation exposure, may increase a woman's risk of developing a second cancer in the opposite breast, according to a study published online March 19 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.