Culture
Farm manure could be a viable source of renewable energy to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.
Researchers at the University of Waterloo are developing technology to produce renewable natural gas from manure so it can be added to the existing energy supply system for heating homes and powering industries. That would eliminate particularly harmful gases released by naturally decomposing manure when it is spread on farm fields as fertilizer and partially replace fossil natural gas, a significant contributor to global warming.
Watching YouTube videos, Instagram demos, and Facebook tutorials may make us feel as though we're acquiring all sorts of new skills but it probably won't make us experts, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
The sixth edition of The Tobacco Atlas and its companion website TobaccoAtlas.org* finds the tobacco industry is increasingly targeting vulnerable populations in emerging markets, such as Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, where people are not protected by strong tobacco control regulations. The report was released at the 17th World Congress on Tobacco OR Health in Cape Town, South Africa.
A trauma to the spinal cord, quickly leads to a progressive loss of nerve tissue. This not only affects the injured area, but over time affects also other parts of the spinal cord and even the brain. These neurodegenerative changes can be explored in detail using magnetic resonance imaging.
Jupiter's got no sway. The biggest planet in the solar system has no tilt as it moves, so its poles have never been visible from Earth.
But in the past two years, with NASA's Juno spacecraft, scientists have gotten a good look at the top and bottom of the planet for the first time. What they found astounded them: bizarre geometric arrangements of storms, each arrayed around one cyclone over the north and south poles--unlike any storm formation seen in the universe.
Cancer treatment guidelines produced by the US National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) are often based on low quality evidence or no evidence at all, finds a study published by The BMJ today.
The researchers, led by Dr Vinay Prasad at Oregon Health & Science University, say their findings "raise concern that the NCCN justifies the coverage of costly, toxic cancer drugs based on weak evidence."
NCCN guidelines are developed by a panel of cancer experts who make recommendations based on the best available evidence.
Some see acupuncture as a safe alternative to drugs, while others argue there's no convincing evidence of clinical benefit and potential for harm. So should doctors recommend acupuncture for pain? Experts debate the issue in The BMJ today.
Acupuncture is a safe alternative to drugs for chronic pain, argues Mike Cummings, Medical Director of the British Medical Acupuncture Society and Associate Editor of the journal Acupuncture in Medicine, published by BMJ.
New research published in The Journal of Physiology indicates that an obese pregnant mother and exposure to a high fat, high sugar diet during pregnancy produces a "fatty liver" in the fetus, potentially predisposing children to obesity, metabolic and cardiovascular disorders later in life. The research aims to understand the cellular mechanisms involved in laying down fat in the liver of a fetus - leading to a "fatty liver". This knowledge is essential to developing strategies to combat childhood obesity.
Half of the Scottish adult population do not feel confident administering CPR - and more than a fifth do not know when it is required, according to a new study led by the University of Stirling.
The study, which has been welcomed by the Scottish Government, is the first to examine the readiness and willingness of Scots to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Experts believe the work could help to explain why our survival rates from cardiac arrest are poor when compared to other countries.
When fee-pressured audit offices focus on non-audit services, financial statements suffer, study sho
Firms hire auditors to create independent assessments of their financial statements, providing assurance to investors and outside parties that they are free from material misstatement.
However -- especially since the economic downturn -- companies pressure auditors to lower their fees as a way to reduce costs. Auditors, in turn, place greater emphasis on more-profitable non-audit services, such as consulting, which can negatively impact audit quality, according to new research from the University of Notre Dame.
A new International Journal of Nursing Practice study demonstrates that during childbirth, women may benefit from warm showers, perineal exercises with a ball, or the combination of both strategies. The study found positive effects of these strategies in terms of lessening pain, anxiety, and stress.
A new British Journal of Dermatology study provides information that may help explain why many people experience eczema and dry skin in the winter.
In tests of skin on 80 adults, the levels of breakdown products of filaggrin--a protein that helps maintain the skin's barrier function--changed between winter and summer on the cheeks and hands. Changes were also seen regarding the texture of corneocytes, cells in the outermost part of the skin's epidermis.
The unique Australian approach of creating quantum bits from precisely positioned individual atoms in silicon is reaping major rewards, with UNSW Sydney-led scientists showing for the first time that they can make two of these atom qubits "talk" to each other.
The team - led by UNSW Professor Michelle Simmons, Director of the Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology, or CQC2T - is the only group in the world that has the ability to see the exact position of their qubits in the solid state.
This spectacular and unusual image shows part of the famous Orion Nebula, a star formation region lying about 1350 light-years from Earth.
A new study using surveys and classroom noise analysis shows the success of a three-year effort by faculty in the Biology Department at San Francisco State University to get smarter about their teaching. The results run counter to conventional wisdom that scientists care more about research than they do about the students in their classrooms.