Bottoms up: Better organic semiconductors for printable electronics

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Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Seoul National University (SNU) have learned how to tweak a new class of polymer-based semiconductors to better control the location and alignment of the components of the blend. Their recent results—how to move the top to the bottom—could enable the design of practical, large-scale manufacturing techniques for a wide range of printable, flexible electronic displays and other devices.*

Low-birth-weight children should have their blood pressure checked, researchers find

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DALLAS – Sept. 4, 2008 – Blood pressure in low-birth-weight children younger than 3 years of age not only can be measured but should be, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

The findings appear in the September issue of Pediatrics.

Blood pressure has not been screened routinely in children with very low birth weights because the measurements were viewed as not feasible or unreliable in infants and toddlers; however, evidence has shown that low-birth-weight infants might develop hypertension later in life.

New 'trick' allows HIV to overcome a barrier to infection

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Researchers have discovered a new 'trick' that allows HIV to overtake resting T cells that are normally highly resistant to HIV infection, according to a report in the September 5th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication. The binding of the virus to the surface of those cells sends a signal that breaks down the cells' internal skeleton, a structure that otherwise may present a significant barrier to infection.

Ancient DNA evidence points to woolly mammoths' dynamic past

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The largest study ever conducted of DNA evidence extracted from long-dead woolly mammoths points to a rockier past for the iconic Ice Age giants than many had suspected.

The last mammoths left in Siberia some 50,000 to 5,000 years ago weren't natives, they report in the September 4th Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. Rather, they were North Americans that had migrated in and replaced the dwindling Siberian populations.

Researchers decode viral process that prepares cells for HIV infection

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MANASSAS, Va. -- With the publication of a study led by Yuntao Wu, assistant professor in George Mason University's Department of Molecular and Microbiology, the medical community is one step closer to understanding how the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attacks cells in the immune system. AIDS, which is caused by HIV, affected more than 33 million people worldwide in 2007 according to World Health Organization statistics.

You can be replaced: Immune cells compensate for defective DNA repair factor

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A new mouse model has provided some surprising insight into XLF, a molecule that helps to repair lethal DNA damage. The research, published by Cell Press in the September 5th issue of the journal Molecular Cell, suggests that although XLF shares many properties with well known DNA repair factors, certain cells of the immune system possess an unexpected compensatory mechanism that that can take over for nonfunctional XLF.

DNA shows that last woolly mammoths had North American roots

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Hamilton, ON. September 4, 2008 – In a surprising reversal of conventional wisdom, a DNA-based study has revealed that the last of the woolly mammoths—which lived between 40,000 and 4,000 years ago—had roots that were exclusively North American.

The research, which appears in the September issue of Current Biology, is expected to cause some controversy within the paleontological community.

Older Vietnamese report more mental health problems

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Irvine, Calif., Sept. 3, 2008 — Vietnamese Americans over 55, most who came to the United States as political refugees, report more mental health problems than non-Hispanic whites, according to a UC Irvine Center for Health Care Policy analysis of state data.

Vietnamese Americans participating in the California Health Interview Survey were twice as likely as whites to report needing mental health care but were less likely to discuss such issues with their doctor. In addition, they were more prone to have trouble functioning in their daily lives because of these problems.

Study: Delaying evolution of drug resistance in malaria parasite possible

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- There's no magic bullet for wiping out malaria, but a new study offers strong support for a method that effectively delays the evolution of drug resistance in malaria parasites, a University of Florida researcher says.

New NIST publication series addresses design of earthquake-resistant structures

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Where can you find some of the latest insights in designing earthquake-resistant buildings joined together with current information on building codes? As part of its support for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a publication that provides guidelines for designing a special type of structural frame used in regions with high seismic activity.*