Moth-inspired nanostructures take the color out of thin films

Tweet

Inspired by the structure of moth eyes, researchers at North Carolina State University have developed nanostructures that limit reflection at the interfaces where two thin films meet, suppressing the "thin-film interference" phenomenon commonly observed in nature. This can potentially improve the efficiency of thin-film solar cells and other optoelectronic devices.

Women with chronic physical disabilities are no less likely to bear children

Tweet

Most climate scientists agree: Humans are causing climate change

Tweet

Do most climate scientists agree that human activity is causing global climate change? Yes, they do, according to an analysis of the abstracts or summaries of scientific papers published over the past 20 years rated by participants and the study authors on a site run by the lead author that is devoted to debunking climate skepticism. Public perception tends to be that climate scientists disagree over the fundamental cause of climate change but the results show that they do not.

Patients fare better at hospitals using Get With The Guidelines-Stroke

Tweet

People with strokes caused by blood clots fared better in hospitals participating in the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke program according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2013.

Risk of death, hospital readmission prolonged after heart attack, heart failure

Tweet

Heart attack or heart failure patients may have a high risk of death or re-admission for a month or longer after leaving the hospital, researchers said at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Scientific Sessions 2013.

Reading the unreadable

Tweet

Pioneering X-ray technology is making it possible to read fragile rolled-up historical documents for the first time in centuries.

Old parchment is often extremely dry and liable to crack and crumble if any attempt is made to physically unroll or unfold it. The new technology, however, eliminates the need to do so by enabling parchment to be unrolled or unfolded 'virtually' and the contents displayed on a computer screen.

Penn Medicine study finds broad support for rationing of some types of cancer care

Tweet

PHILADELPHIA – The majority of cancer doctors, patients, and members of the general public support cutting health care costs by refusing to pay for drugs that don't improve survival or quality of life, according to results of a new study that will be presented by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania during the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago in early June (Abstract #6518).

Mayo Clinic: Scheduled imaging studies provide little help detecting relapse of aggressive lymphoma

Tweet

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Imaging scans following treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma do little to help detect a relapse, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The overwhelming majority of patients with this aggressive lymphoma already have symptoms, an abnormal physical exam or an abnormal blood test at the time of relapse, the researchers say. The findings will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting May 31-June 4 in Chicago.

Vitamin C does not lower uric acid levels in gout patients

Tweet

Despite previous studies touting its benefit in moderating gout risk, new research reveals that vitamin C, also known ascorbic acid, does not reduce uric acid (urate) levels to a clinically significant degree in patients with established gout. Vitamin C supplementation, alone or in combination with allopurinol, appears to have a weak effect on lowering uric acid levels in gout patients according to the results published in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) journal, Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Experts to present data addressing patient and physician barriers to clinical trials

Tweet