Scientists detect cosmic 'dark flow' across billions of light years

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WASHINGTON -- Using data from NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), scientists have identified an unexpected motion in distant galaxy clusters. The cause, they suggest, is the gravitational attraction of matter that lies beyond the observable universe.

"The clusters show a small but measurable velocity that is independent of the universe's expansion and does not change as distances increase," says lead researcher Alexander Kashlinsky at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "We never expected to find anything like this."

New ways to use biomass

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Alternatives to fossil fuels and natural gas as carbon sources and fuel are in demand. Biomass could play a more significant part in the future. Researchers in the USA and China have now developed a new catalyst that directly converts cellulose, the most common form of biomass, into ethylene glycol, an important intermediate product for chemical industry. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the catalyst is made of tungsten carbide and nickel on a carbon support.

Immunohistochemical localization of Glutathione-S-transferase-pi in human colorectal polyps

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Specific molecular forms of GST are known to be expressed in preneoplastic cells, and have been known to participate in their resistance to drugs. GST-pi are present in most epithelial tissues of the human gastrointestinal tract. Significant amounts of the class pi GST was expressed in the majority of human tumors and human tumor cell lines. Studies have shown that GST-pi expressed highly in neoplasm and could be regarded as a tumor marker. However the immunohistochemical and the immunoelectron microscopical localization of GST-pi, in human polyps, are not clear.

New studies find global warming will have significant economic impacts on Florida coasts

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Case report: Duodenal perforation caused by an ingested toothbrush handle

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Accidental swallowing of foreign bodies occurs in children and adults. The majority of ingested foreign bodies pass uneventfully through the gastrointestinal tract. However, in some patient, the ingested foreign body may cause impaction, perforation, or obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract.

The research team led by Dr. Tzu-Chieh Chao from Taiwan report a rare case of duodenal perforation caused by an ingested 12-cm long toothbrush handle. This will be published on July 21, 2008 of the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

How to choose the optimal surgical procedure in patients with sigmoid volvulus?

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Melting ice under pressure

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LIVERMORE, Calif. -- The deep interior of Neptune, Uranus and Earth may contain some solid ice.

Through first-principle molecular dynamics simulations, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists, together with University of California, Davis collaborators, used a two-phase approach to determine the melting temperature of ice VII (a high-pressure phase of ice) in pressures ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 atmospheres.

Ban on betting would boost ailing economy, gambling critic says

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Congress should resurrect the nationwide gambling ban that existed through most of the 20th century to help soothe a fragile U.S. economy shaken by the worst credit and financial crisis in decades, a University of Illinois professor and national gambling critic says.

John W. Kindt argues that gambling is a multi-billion dollar drag on the economy, not the moneymaking boost touted by supporters. Cash merely changes hands from bettors to casino owners, he says, creating no products or anything else of value.

MU expert says presidential debates likely to be as significant as 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debate

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – With many polls showing presidential candidates Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain in a dead heat, many are predicting that the first presidential debate on Sept. 26 could be a turning point in the election. In addition, with the surprising selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate, the St. Louis vice presidential debate could be the most viewed in U.S. history.

New study looks to define evangelicals and how they affect polling

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The way the evangelical movement is defined has profound implications for where evangelicals fit into the political spectrum, according to a study by sociologists at Rice University and the University of Texas-Austin.

"In this election year, there is much debate over whether Sen. Obama can shave off enough evangelical votes to carry certain swing states, said Rice's D. Michael Lindsay, one of the researchers. "That depends a great deal on which poll you are looking at and, more importantly, how the survey defines the evangelical population."