New filtering technology has environmental, industrial applications

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Materials engineers have created a new type of membrane that separates oil from water and, if perfected, might be used for environmental cleanup, water purification and industrial applications.

The new technology would last longer than conventional filters for separating oil from water and works by attracting water while beading oil, traits that are usually mutually exclusive. Researchers attached the material to a glass filter commonly used in laboratory research.

A good ear: Rats identify specific sounds in noisy environments

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A study conducted on hundreds of rats could help us understand how the brain identifies specific sounds in a noisy environment. The investigation, soon to be published in the journal Brain, was conducted by Alex Martin of the Université de Montréal Department of Psychology.

"Our ears have thousands of ciliated cells with different sensitivities," says Martin. "These cells identify the frequencies that make up a particular sound, but also the spectrum of different frequencies that blend together. That is why we can identify different instruments playing the same note."

Bound by attention: Bringing rats and humans together

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The psychology of deja vu

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Cancer survival rates impact type of Web communities used by patients

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Online support communities for high survival rate cancers contain a greater amount of emotional support content than online support communities for cancers with low survival rates, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Health System and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

The researchers also found that support communities for low survival rate cancers contain a greater amount of informational support content than online support communities for high survival rate cancers.

Study shows how social support may protect brain during stroke

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- New research in mice suggests that high levels of social support may provide some protection against strokes by reducing the amount of damaging inflammation in the brain.

Researchers at Ohio State University found that male mice that lived with a female partner before and after a stroke had a much higher survival rate compared to those mice that lived alone.

In addition, the paired mice suffered much less brain damage than did the surviving solitary mice.

Can China's future earthquakes be predicted?

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Ji ShaoCheng of the Université de Montréal's affiliated engineering school École Polytechnique is part of a team studying last May's devastating earthquake in China.

On May 12, 2008, at 2:28 p.m., China's Szechwan province changed forever. In the space of 90 seconds, an earthquake equivalent to 1,200 H-bombs pulverized the earth's crust for more than 280 kilometers. Entire cities disappeared and eight million homes were swallowed up. This resulted in 70,000 deaths and 20,000 missing.

New tool trains athlete brains to react 53 percent faster

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All great athletes know that in order to perform well, they can't just depend on their physical capabilities. Speed and efficiency in decision-making are just as essential. Two researchers from the School of Optometry of the Université de Montréal have discovered how to train the brain of athletes to improve their overall athletic performance.

26 percent of sleepless children become overweight

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Between the ages of six months and six years old, close to 90 percent of children have at least one sleep-related problem. Among the most common issues are night terrors, teeth-grinding and bed-wetting.

Crohn's disease surgeries make steady advances

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NEW YORK (Nov. 18, 2008) – Thousands of Americans suffering from the chronic inflammatory bowel condition known as Crohn's disease are leading longer, healthier lives due to innovative new surgeries, according to experts at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.